It is sometimes a bit confusing when people start throwing the jargon related to playing blackjack around. To play blackjack you need to know a bit about the terminology, as this would help you in understanding the whole game much better. One of the easiest ways for you to learn how to play blackjack for money would be for you to download the software of one of the casinos mentioned on this site and register a guest account. By doing this you would not be spending a cent learning how to play the game and you would be able to follow the game very easily. So let’s start at the beginning.
The Deal:
Each round of blackjack begins when the dealer delivers the initial cards (two each) to the players and himself. Cards are dealt methodically, beginning with the player at the dealer’s left, moving clockwise around the table.
After each player receives his one card, the dealer usually receives his first card, which is kept facedown. Players will not see this card (called the hole card) until the end of the hand. A second card is dealt to each player and, finally, to the dealer.
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Depending on the game, the player’s cards may be placed face-up or face down in front of each player. In virtually all games, one of the dealer’s cards is placed face-up (up-card) and the other facedown (hole card). In this way, players will not know the total value of the dealer’s hand, but can make an informed guess based on the value of the card that is exposed.
Drawing Blackjack:
When you get blackjack it is an initial hand of two cards that total 21: an ace and a ten-value card. It is an instant winner for any player, or for the dealer (against all players). If the dealer’s up card is an ace, players are offered the option of making an insurance bet before the dealer reveals his hole card. Players opting to take insurance make a separate wager, half the amount of their original bet. If the dealer has blackjack, the player who elects to buy insurance loses nothing (neither the insurance bet nor the original wager), otherwise, the insurance bet is lost, but the original wager remains in play.
If any player has blackjack, he will be offered the option of taking even money a one-for-one payoff of his original bet at the same time the others are offered insurance. A player who takes even money is paid immediately, regardless of what the dealer’s hand turns out to be, and his original wager is out of play.
If the dealer’s hole card is a ten, completing a blackjack, the card will be turned and the game will be finished. All players’ bets will be claimed by the dealer unless they made an insurance wager or opted to take even money. If a player has blackjack, but did not opt to take even money, this will tie (push against) the dealer’s blackjack and the player will keep his original wager.
If the dealer’s up card is a ten, neither insurance nor even money is offered. The dealer will check his hole card. If it turns out to be an ace, completing his blackjack, he will overturn it, and the hand is ended. All players lose their wagers unless they also have blackjack, in which case they tie and keep their original wager.
After checking the dealer’s hand for blackjack (if necessary), any player who has blackjack is paid immediately a three-to-two payoff of the original wager, and his hand is taken out of play. If the dealer does not have blackjack, play will continue. Each player will take his turn in the order in which the hands were dealt, starting at the dealer’s left, and moving clockwise around the table.
Initial Options:
In addition to playing their hand in the typical fashion, players may be able to exercise these options immediately after the cards are dealt.
Surrender:
A player may choose to surrender immediately and forfeit half his wager (but retain the other half). If a player elects to surrender, the dealer claims half of the wager and collects the player’s hand. The round is over for that player.
Doubling:
A player may elect to increase his wager, typically (though not necessarily) to double the amount of his original bet. The player will receive only one additional card. If this card brings the total value of the player’s hand to over twenty-one, he loses. The dealer immediately collects the cards and the player’s wager (including the increase) and the round is over for that player. Otherwise, the player is forced to stand, and the dealer moves on to the next player. Doubling is an irrevocable decision the player can’t take additional hits or retrieve the additional wager afterward.
Originally, the additional card was placed facedown (it is still often called doubling down) and was not exposed until the end of the round. This remains a common practice in hand-dealt games, but the card is usually dealt face-up in multiple-deck games dealt form a shoe.
Splitting:
If a player gets two matching cards (two sevens, two kings, two aces), he may opt to split them into two separate independent hands. An additional wager is placed, typically equal to (though it may be less than) the original wager and the cards are moved apart.
There are a few conventional rules regarding splitting hands:
Generally, players may exercise the option to surrender or double a split hand.
If none of these rules or options comes into effect, the hand is played normally, as follows:
Playing a Hand:
Unless the player has opted to surrender or double, he will play the hand (or each of two or more split hands) by deciding to hit or stand. When the player opts to hit, one additional card is dealt to it, and its total increases by the value of that card. If the total value of the hand exceeds twenty-one with an ace counted as eleven (a soft hand) the ace reverts to a value of one.
If the total value of a hand that does not contain an ace, or in which all aces have reverted to a value of one (hard hand) exceeds twenty-one; the player has busted and lost. The dealer will collect the cards and their corresponding wager, and the round is over for that hand.
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If the total value is less than twenty-one, the player may opt to take additional hits, one at a time, until he is satisfied with the value, at which point he opts to stand and take no more cards. Standing is an irrevocable decision.
When a player elects to stand, the cards and wager remain where they are until the end of the game. He must wait until all other players, as well as the dealer, have played their hands before knowing whether he has won or lost.
The Dealer’s Hand:
Unless the dealer has drawn blackjack, his hand will be played last, after all other players have completed their hands. The dealer does not have the option to split, double, or surrender, but must play his hand normally.
Further, the dealer must play the hand according to the established rules. Typically, he must continue to take hits until the hand totals 17 or more, though some games will require the dealer to hit a soft 17.
If the dealer exceeds 21, he busts and loses to all remaining hands. Players are paid even money (one-to-one) for wagers that remain on the table, and the round has ended. One very important point: any player who has busted is already out of the game, and does not receive any compensation for his loss, even if the dealer busts. This is what gives the house its edge in the game.
End of the game:
If the dealer has busted, all that remains is to pay off all players who have remained in the game, regardless of the value of their hands.
If the dealer successfully completes his hand without busting, the round has been played out and hands are evaluated (typically in reverse-order, from the dealer’s right, counter-clockwise). Wagers are taken or paid as the hands are evaluated, and the cards are collected at the very end.
The evaluation of each player’s hand has one of three results:
Repeat:
After clearing the table, another round will be dealt if there are sufficient cards remaining in the deck (or unless the cut card has shown. Otherwise, the dealer will shuffle before play continues.
One word of advice for novice players: the game of blackjack should be regarded as a sequence of hands with some winning, some losing. Since there is no reliable (and permissible) way to ensure victory in every hand, the objective of playing the game is to win more than lose over the course of a session in which many hands are played. A Repeat is not an option however when it comes to an online casino as the deck or decks of cards are shuffled after each hand.
