Information about Blackjack Rules
Blackjack is probably the most popular casino game currently available (poker is catching up quite a bit, but blackjack still rules). The reason therefore is probably because blackjack is very easy to understand, which means that most people will know how to play this game very shortly after trying to learn it. However, the game also offers some features which might not be known to all players. So, read through the rules as described below and you'll be ready to play blackjack in no time.
The goal of blackjack is to get closer to 21 points than the dealer, without getting more than 21. If you get more than 21 points, you will definitely lose your hand, even if the dealer later also gets more than 21 points and also busts. This rule is the only advantage the casino actually has over you (but it's obviously a pretty big advantage).
To find out what your hands value is, you should
use the following values for each card:
2 through 10 all count at face value, i.e. 3 counts
3 points, 9 as 9 points.
Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth 10 points.
Aces count either 11 or 1 point, depending on which
value is more beneficial for the hand and bring the
hand closer to 21, without going over. (The value of
the Ace can also change during the hand if you
decide to draw another card when the Ace was
originally valued at 11 points, but would now give
you a hand value over 21 points).
The suits of the cards have absolutely no meaning
and should be ignored.
Before each hand starts, the players place their bets. Then, the dealer gives everybody 2 cards. If a player shows an Ace and a card valued at 10 points (10, Jack, Queen or King), the player has a blackjack and his / her winnings will be paid immediately, except if the dealer also has a blackjack. Blackjacks can only be achieved with the first 2 cards a player or dealer gets. As soon as another card is drawn, blackjack is not possible anymore.
If the player doesn't have a blackjack, he / she has to decide if they want to draw another card to get even closer to 21 points. Should the player draw another card and now has a hand value above 21 points, he / she automatically busts and loses the bet.
After all players have made their decisions with regard to their hands, the dealer will draw last. The dealer always has to draw another hand when their hand value is 16 points or less. Depending on the casino, the dealer also has to draw when he / she has a soft 17 (soft hands are the ones in which the Ace counts as 11 points).
If the dealer busts, the players that did not bust win their hands and will win $1 for each $1 bet and therefore gets $2 back ($1 in winnings and the $1 original bet). Should the dealer not bust, but has to stand on a value between 21 and 17, the person with the higher point value wins. Should the player and the dealer have the same hand value, the hand is a push and the player receives his original bet back.
There are several other choices a player can make instead of just hitting and standing:
Splitting Pairs: If the player has 2 cards of the same value, he / she can split their hand and continue to play with 2 hands. However, the original bet has to be placed again for the second hand. Generally, I don't recommend splitting pairs for people that haven't played much blackjack and don't know optimal strategy. However, in some cases, it's actually correct to split pairs to increase one's odds of winning the hand. For more on that, check the blackjack strategy section.
Doubling Down: This happens when the player has his / her original 2 cards and decides that he / she only needs one more card and wants to increase their bet. The player will double their original bet and receive exactly one more card to complete their hand. This is generally recommended when the player has a hand value of 9, 10 or 11 and the dealer has a hand that is more likely to bust them, i.e. 5 or 6 (the reason therefore is that 10s are very common in the deck and if the dealer draws high cards, he should bust when originally showing a 5 or 6).
Insurance: When the dealer shows an Ace as one of his two cards (the other one isn't shown), players can purchase insurance, up to half your original bet. Should the dealer have a blackjack, the insurance pays two to one, but the original bet is list. This means that if you bet half the original bet amount on insurance and the dealer actually has a blackjack, you will get your insurance bet back, as well as the amount of your original bet. While this might seem like an interesting bet, I recommend to never take insurance, as the edge of the house is very high on this bet.
Now, you have just read everything there is to know about the basic blackjack rules. To learn more, I recommend you check out my blackjack strategy section.