Rules of Blackjack

After each Blackjack bet, players are dealt two cards face up, and the dealer has one of the two cards hidden face down. The object of the game is to score more points than the dealer without going over the 21-point line or waiting for the dealer to overcall himself. Unlike other casino card games, the suits of the cards in blackjack do not matter. Instead, only the face value of the card is important for scoring. For example, a combination of cards 5 and 9 will give a total of 14 points.

Cards with no designated numbers - Jack, Queen and King - will bring 10 points each. The Ace, on the other hand, can have a value of 1 or 11 depending on the situation:

• If the sum of the points with the ace does not exceed 21, the ace is 11;
• If adding 11 would result in an excess, the ace is valued as 1.

The term “blackjack” refers not only to the game itself, but also to the combination of two cards: an Ace and any card equal to 10.

Move and betting options

After the cards are dealt, players always make their first decisions, and there are four main actions:

1. Stand. The player decides not to draw any additional cards and to leave their current hand unchanged. This usually happens when a player has a high enough card count, close to 21;
2. Hit. A player draws an additional card from the deck. He may continue to draw cards until his card total exceeds 21, or until he decides to stop;
3. Double. A player can double his initial bet after the first two cards have been dealt and draw only one additional card. This allows the player to increase the potential winnings if the situation is favorable. This is usually done when the hand is 10 or 11 points, especially if the dealer has low cards;
4. Split. If a player holds two cards of the same value (e.g. two Jacks or two Eights), he may choose to Split. In this case his two cards are split into two separate hands and he makes another bet equal to the original bet. Each card becomes the first card for a new hand, and the player draws another card for each of these hands. He then plays each hand separately as if they were two separate games of blackjack. Splitting allows him to increase his chances of winning, especially if he has a couple of low value cards that can be advantageous in splitting.

When the dealer has an open card valued at 10 points, he checks his closed card. If it's an ace, all players who don't have blackjack lose.

Additional Options

The Surrender option gives the player the option to surrender and save half of their bet if they feel their chances of winning are slim. This action is usually available after a player has received his first two cards, but before he starts drawing additional cards. There are two types of surrender:

• Early Surrender. This option allows the player to surrender before the dealer checks their covered card for blackjack. This is the most favorable option for the player, but not all casinos and not all blackjack variants offer it;
• Late Surrender. In this case, the player can only surrender after the dealer has checked his closed card and made sure he has no blackjack. This is a less favorable option because the dealer may have already had a blackjack, making surrender less attractive to the player.

Insurance

If the dealer has an ace open, the player is invited to bet that the dealer has blackjack. This additional bet is called an Insurance. When the dealer does have a blackjack, the main bet and the Insurance are returned. If the dealer does not have blackjack, the insurance is lost, but play continues.

Additional options may vary from game to game and from casino to casino.