How to Play Blackjack

If you are new to casinos, you might need to understand the different games that you can play. One way of doing this is looking at the rules and picking something easy to understand. Blackjack, fortunately, is one of the games that you can learn as a beginner and become good at.

The Blackjack Pack

Blackjack has a standard 52-card pack, but most casinos shuffle several decks of cards instead. A six-deck game will have 312 cards, and it's the most popular. Furthermore, some dealers use a blank plastic card that's never dealt but is placed close to the bottom of the pack. This helps the dealer know when it's time to reshuffle.

To ensure that the game remains fair, the dealer can use four or more decks per game. After which, they deal new decks from a shoe. Here, the dealer can remove the cards, one at a time, without holding one or more packs. With this, you can be sure that you will have a fair and enjoyable blackjack game.

The Objective of a Blackjack Game

Your aim in a blackjack game is to beat the dealer. You can do this by getting a count that's close to 21 without going over 21. Furthermore, you have the power of determining whether your ace is worth 1 or 11. Learning the different card values is necessary to ensure that you can beat the dealer.

All face cards have a value of 10, while all other cards are worth their pip value. Therefore, before a deal begins, you need to place your bet in chips. There is always a designated area where you place these bets, and it's always in front of you. The minimum and maximum limits are also established during this period.

Blackjack Shuffle and Cut

In all blackjack games, the dealer must shuffle all portions of the pack thoroughly to ensure that they are properly combined and missed. Furthermore, the dealer gets to designate one of the players to cut the pack. In a live dealer game or a land-based casino, the dealer will insert a plastic card.

This ensures that the last 60 to 75 cards are not used for the entire game. Doing this guarantees that all players can have a fair game. In online casinos, this is automatic because the casino uses a random number generator (RNG). Therefore, professional card counters will have a hard time trying to operate effectively.

The Deal in Blackjack

After placing your bet, the dealer gives each player one card face up in a clockwise rotation. Furthermore, the dealer will also get one card face up for themself. After this, the dealer deals another round of cards face up but keeps theirs face down. Therefore, all players expect the dealer ends up with two cards face up.

If your first two cards are a 10 card (a 10 or a picture card) and an ace, you have a natural or blackjack. More so, if the dealer doesn't have a natural, they get to pay you one and half times your bet. However, if the dealer has a natural, they collect bets from all players without a natural.

How to Play Blackjack

After learning the rules, you need to understand how you ought to play the game. Therefore, after the dealer deals the cards, the player on the left gets to go first. If you are the first player, you get to choose whether to stand or hit. Stand means not asking for another card, while hit means asking for another card.

You only choose to stand when your card count is close to 21. If you hit, you should be aiming to get the card count close to 21. When you hit, the dealer can only give you one card at a time. However, if you exceed 21, you bust, and you lose your bet.