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Blackjack is one of the oldest and most popular casino card games in the world. It’s played everywhere, from right here in India to the farthest reaches of South America. It’s the classic game of player against dealer and it is a game that features more strategy than almost any other card game there is.
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The basic rules of Blackjack are that you have to try and get closer than the dealer to 21, without going bust. You go bust by getting more than 21. The game starts with the dealer giving you two cards and then dealing themselves two cards, with only one of them visible to the player. The player then has a number of choices that they can make to decide how they want to go about trying to beat the player.
The players choices have a direct impact on the game. A good quality Blackjack player will win more often than a poor Blackjack player. This means that while the dealing of the cards is left to chance, the skill of the player also has an impact on the result.
The value of the different cards is quite easy to work out. The standard number cards are all worth what they say on them. So 2 - 10 are all worth the number on the card. The Jack, Queen and King are all worth 10 too. The only card that is a little bit confusing is the Ace. This is worth either 1 or 11. So when you play and are given an Ace, you can choose what you want it to be worth. This is also useful if you go bust when holding an Ace. If your Ace was worth 11 then it will instantly change to being worth 1 if you go bust, giving you another chance to win the game.
If the player gets closer to 21 than the dealer without busting then the player will win. If the dealer gets closer to 21 without busting then the dealer will win. If both get the same then it’s what’s called a push. This will return the players wager. If a player gets a natural Blackjack, an Ace and a card worth 10, then they will instantly win. If the player has 21 through three cards and the dealer gets a Blackjack then the dealer will win.
Players might think they can count cards when playing online Blackjack, but the software doesn’t allow this. It reshuffles a complete deck of cards for each new hand in online Blackjack, so card counting is ineffective.
The range of game choices that are available in Blackjack start off quite simple but can become a little bit more complicated over time. The first two choices should be well known to all Indian players. These are hit and stand. When you have chosen your wager and been dealt your cards you can look at them and decide what to do next. The most basic decisions that are available to players are hit and stand. Hit means that you would like another card to be dealt to you. Stand means that you are finished and ready for the next player or the dealer to take their turn. These are the only two decisions that most people are aware of, but there are actually a few others on offer.
The first advanced choice is to double down. This means that the player will double their bet but they will only be allowed one more card. This is usually used by players who are confident that one more card will win them the game.
Next up is the split. This becomes available when a player is dealt two identical cards. This will split the two cards into two different hands. The player will then have to match their original wager on top, so their total wager will be doubled. The dealer then deals a new card to each of the players new hands. The player then has the opportunity to play both hands. Some online Blackjack games will allow splitting to take place again if another pair is dealt, but this isn’t always the case.
Some versions of online Blackjack will allow players to surrender. This means that if you are dealt a really bad hand you can surrender your hand. This will return half of your wager but you will be out of the game.
Finally, there is the insurance bet. This allows you to place a wager at 2/1 odds on the dealer getting a natural Blackjack. This is only available if the dealer is showing an Ace as their face card.
There are a lot of different variations of Blackjack available to players. American Blackjack, Classic Blackjack, European Blackjack, Spanish 21, Blackjack Switch and Pontoon are just some of the different versions available. The majority of them follow the same basic premise but just have minor rule changes.
For example, Spanish 21 is exactly the same as Classic Blackjack except all of the 10 cards have been removed from the deck. Before you begin playing your Blackjack game of choice, make sure you look at the rules so you can play it properly.
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