The Rules of Blackjack
Your first step to winning Blackjack is to learn the rules and how each one affects the game. Las Vegas has the best rules for the player. You may double down on any two cards. Some clubs stand on soft seventeen (A-6). Some clubs will let you double down after you split a pair. These are all good rules for the player. In Northern Nevada you can only double down on ten or eleven and you cannot double down after you have split a pair. Each casino has a set of rules which generally agree with those of the other clubs in the area.
Some of the clubs in Nevada use two or four decks. Most of the casinos in other parts of the world use four and six decks. Regardless of the number of decks, your play will be basically the same.
The object of the game is to beat the dealer. You try to get a hand that is better than the dealer has, without exceeding 21. If you draw and get a total of more than 21 you "go busted." You then turn your cards face up and the dealer takes your money.
The game is played at a table with a dealer and from one to seven players. The game begins when the player places his bet in the small betting circle or square in front of him.
The dealer shuffles the cards in a flat, stylized fashion demanded by all the clubs. When the shuffle has been completed, the cards are offered to a player to be cut. The dealer may do this by extending the cutting privilege from player to player on a rotation basis, or by arbitrary selection. It is the player's prerogative to decline to cut the cards if he so desires, on the basis of luck or instinct, and allow another player to cut them. After the cards have been cut, the dealer places the top card face up on the bottom of the deck. This is known as "The Burn Card." The dealer then deals two cards to each player and two cards to himself. The dealer's top card is turned up and is called "The Up Card." His other card is called "The Hole Card." The player's cards are both dealt face down as a general rule. However, in some clubs in Las Vegas, Reno, and other parts of the world, they are dealt face up. This will not give the dealer any advantage, for he must always play his hand according to fixed rules.
The player looks at his two cards, his "hand." If he has the right combination, a "standing hand," he slips his cards under his bet "he stands." If he does not have a standing hand, then he will want one or more additional cards. If he wants an additional card, he scratches his original cards across the felt, signaling for a "hit." The dealer then deals the player as many additional cards as he wants, one at a time. When the player is satisfied that he has the proper hand, he slips his first original two cards under his bet, and he stands. In drawing extra cards, should his count exceed 21, he busts, in which case he turns his cards over and the dealer takes his bet.
You count your hand as follows. Any ten or face card counts ten. Aces count one or eleven. All of the other cards count the number on the face of the card.
A Blackjack is an ace with a ten or face card, and is only counted as a Blackjack if it is your first two cards dealt. (If you split a pair of aces or tens and end up with an ace-ten, this is not a Blackjack.) Should a player be dealt a Blackjack, he turns his cards face up immediately and the dealer will pay him off at odds of three to two. If the player and the dealer each get a Blackjack, it's a tie or a "push."
The rules of the game are rigid for the dealer, but not for the player. The dealer must hit 16 or less, and he must stand on 17 or more. On the Las Vegas Strip, in Puerto Rico and some clubs in England, the dealer stands on soft seventeen (A-6).
Most all new players have trouble counting a hand with an ace or aces in it because they have been told that it is a "Soft Hand," and they are confused. If a new player has an ace and a four, and you ask him what hand he has, he will usually answer "five or fifteen."
Here is the way to count a hand with an ace in it. The player has Ace-four. His hand is Ace-four. The player has Ace-two-ace. His hand is Ace-three. The player has Ace-six-ace. His hand is Ace-seven. The player has Ace-ace-three-four. His hand is Ace-eight. The player has Ace-six-four. His hand is Ace-ten or 21. The player has Ace-six-five. His hand is Ace-eleven or 12.
There are additional variation bets. These include doubling down and splitting pairs. There is also the insurance bet.
Doubling down may be accomplished by turning up the original two cards, doubling your bet, and receiving one card from the dealer.
The split may be chosen by the player when the first two cards dealt to him are a pair. He may then turn them face up and bet the same wager on each hand he previously bet on the single hand. After he splits the pair and draws another card to the split card, he may then double down if he has the right hand to double or continue to draw until he has a satisfactory hand. Should he draw another of the split cards, he may split them again. The exception is two aces. When you split two aces, you only get one card on each ace.