How to Play Blackjack
Setup
Blackjack is played at a table with a single dealer and from one
to seven players. The layout gives a few basic rules, such as
the payoff for
blackjack; for
insurance; and
whether the
dealer hits on
soft seventeen.
There will
usually be a small sign to one side of the dealer that gives the
table stakes and any special rules, such as whether surrender is
allowed. You must ask to discover the other unposted rules and
regulations. You will need to know, for example, whether dou
bling down after splitting is allowed, whether a player may dou
ble down on any two cards, whether pairs may be split a second
time, and whether aces may be resplit. Such rules determine
whether the basic game is favorable or unfavorable.
Rules
The game itself is simple. You, the player, attempt to accumu
late cards with a numerical total closer to (but not more than)
twenty-one than those accumulated by the dealer. If you do so,
you win. If the dealers' total is closer to twenty-one than
yours, you lose. Winning hands are paid off at even odds. If you
and the dealer both arrive at the same total, the hand is a
"push," and nobody wins. All bets must be made before any cards
are dealt, and no bet may be changed once the first card has
been dealt.
Each player is initially dealt two cards; they may be face-down
or face-up, depending on the rules of the casino. The dealer
gets two cards, one face-up and one face-down. The value of the
cards is given by their face value except that the ace (A)
counts as either 1 or 11 and the 10, jack (J), queen (Q), and
king (K) all count as 10.
The combination of an A and any 10 on the first two cards is a
blackjack and is an automatic winner (unless both dealer and
player have it, in which case it's a push). A player blackjack
is paid at 3 to 2. When the house has a blackjack the player
merely loses his bet and not one and a half times that bet. Any
combination of cards that exceeds 21 is a bust and a loser. The
player always goes first, so if the player's total exceeds 21 the hand is lost -- even if the dealer also busts later. If the
dealer busts, all remaining players are winners. The dealer has
no options; play is fixed by the rules.
After the first two cards are dealt, the player must decide
whether or not to take additional cards based on two pieces of
information: the cards held and the dealer's upcard. This is
where the game begins to get interesting. A wide variety of op
tions offer themselves, and unless the player understands the
principles of the game there are numerous ways to go wrong.
Let's review the options first; correct play will be discussed
later.
Player Options
Standing
The player elects to "stand" with the current total and not to
draw any additional cards. If you are in a game where the cards
are dealt face-down, you slip your cards under your chips. The
dealer will understand the message. If you are in a face-up
game, wave your hand back and forth in a wiping motion just
above your cards, which is the signal for standing. All casinos
insist on some form of hand signal; verbal statements are not
accepted. Casinos can get rather noisy, and it is easy for a
dealer to mishear a player. Also, the cameras hidden in the casino's ceilings can be used to resolve disputes only if hand
signals are used, since they do not have an audio component.
Hitting
The player elects to draw an additional card or cards. If you
are in a face-down game, draw your cards toward you with a quick
scratching motion against the felt once or twice. In a face-up
game, make a similar motion with your fingertips or , prefera
bly, point to your cards with your index finger.
Splitting
If your first two cards are of the same value, you may split
them and play each as a separate hand. To indicate a desire to
split your cards, place an additional wager equivalent to the
original one to the side of it. If you are playing in a face
down game, you must expose your cards. After splitting a pair,
various other options become available. You can re-split if a
third like-valued card appears. Or you can double down on the
split hands should an appropriate card be drawn. For example, if
you have split 8's and catch a 3 on the first 8, you may now
double down on this total of 11. Both re-splitting and doubling
and doubling down after a split are to the player's advantage.
Doubling Down
The player may double the size of the original bet and elect to
draw only one additional card. The typical doubling situation is where you have a hand that stands a chance of becoming a
_very_ good hand with one additional card; for example, your
first two cards total 10 or 11. To indicate a double down bet,
slide a second wager to the side of the original bet. This wager
may be as much as but no more than your original bet. If you are
playing in a face-down game, you must expose your cards. Virtu
ally all casinos permit doubling on 11 and 10; most on 11, 10,
and 9, and many will allow it on any two cards. The latter rule
is the most advantageous to the player.
Insurance
When the dealer shows an A, players are given the option of tak
ing insurance against the dealers' having blackjack. Calling
this "insurance" is a bit misleading. Actually, it is nothing
other than a side bet that is paid at 2 to 1. If you wish to
take insurance (which is only recommended in very specific cir
cumstances recognizable by an expert card counter only), place a
bet equal to half your original bet in the semicircle running
just in front of the your betting spot. If the dealer has black
jack, you will lose your original bet but win the insurance wa
ger and break even on the hand. If the dealer does not have
blackjack, you will lose the insurance bet and the hand will be
played out normally. Surrender
If your hand looks particularly unpromising against the dealers'
exposed card, you have the option of surrendering half of your
bet and retiring from the hand. For example, should you have 9,
7 against a dealer 10 and your chances of winning the hand are
slim -- less than .5 -- and it would be to your advantage to
give up half your bet. There are to forms of surrender: "late"
and "early." In the late form, the player may surrender after
the first two cards provided that the dealer does not have
blackjack. In early surrender, the player may surrender after
the first two cards even when the dealer is later revealed to
have blackjack. Both forms of surrender are to the players' ad
vantage, with early surrender being most beneficial. Not all ca
sinos permit late surrender, and those that do don't necessarily
post it at the tables. Except for the occasional promotion, no
casino offers early surrender any longer.
Surrender, by the way, is the only play at the table that re
quires a verbal response; there is no hand signal. If you wish
to surrender you hand, just say "Surrender." The dealer will remove half your bet and return the other half.
