Game rules Blackjack

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Blackjack has been invented by the French at the start of the 17th century. It is the most famous casino game,  one can usually make a profit from it and casino player have a certain amount of control. The player has to collect cards and to get a total as close to 21 as possible. If the player has a number over 21, he goes bankrupt.  In order to win the courpier will have to be defeated. The 21 is achieved by adding up the numbers on the cards.

The Jack, Queen and King are worth 10 points. The is either worth 1 point or eleven points depending on what is best for the casino player . All other cards have value that is on them. If the player and the croupier play a tie (same amount of points), it is a push and nobody wins. When the first two cards are and ace and a 10 (blackjack), the casino player automatically wins 1.5 to 1, except when the house ties. A casino player can always decide to not play, and for example sit out a round.

Six casino players can play at a blackjack table. A six or eight deck card game is used for this game. They are shook by the croupier and then put in a cardbox, the so called “shoe”. Before the cards are handed out, the player has to enter money, after which he will get two cards. The croupier gets an open and a closed card. Every casino player will then have to decide whether or not he wants a third card to get as close to 21 as possible.  The casino players that do not get above 21 wait for the croupier. When all the casino players are done, the croupier turns the closed card. According to the rules the croupier can not pull a third card if the total is 17 or higher.

A casino player with a total below 11 will try to improve by pulling an extra card. With a total between 12 and 16, every casino player can decide for themselves whether they want to get another card or not. With a total of 17 or more,  the casino player does not pull a third card. When a casino player has a total of 21 with the first tow cards (10 and ace) he automatically wins. This is called a blackjack.

When a casino player has blackjack he wins 1,5 times the amount he entered, except if the croupier also has blackjack. If that is the case it is a Push or a Tie and he will get the money he entered back. The other casino players will get paid if they get a higher score than the croupier.  However, the money the entered will be lost if the money the entered is lower than that of the croupier. All players win if the croupier goes above 21. In short, the winning hand gets paid 1 tot 1, with insurance 2 to 1 is paid and blackjack is 3:2.

A few terms a used in Blackjack. Hands where the ace can be used as 1 or 11, are called soft hands. All other hands are called hard hands. Soft hands become hard hands when the ace become either 1 or 11. When a casino player has an ace and a 6 and receives a 10, his total value is 17.

The term Split is also important. This applies when two cards have the same value. The casino player can then decide to split them into two hands by entering the same amount twice. He then plays on and pulls a second card. The casino player can pull as many cards for each card as he wants.  But when you split two aces, you will only get one card for every ace. When you split to aces and one of the hands reaches 21, this is not seen as a blackjack.

In the case, when a casino player has two tens, he can decide to split them. But this is not advised. Two aces can and should be split. Normally the casino player can split further after the intial split. For example, when he splits to eights and the next card that is handed out is another eight. The casino player can then decide to split again and in that case will play with three hands. Some casino’s have boundaries for the number of splits. It is therefore advisable to always ask the croupier for the rules.

Another term is Double. After the first two cards have been handed out, and when the casino player thinks he has a big chance to beat the casino player, he can decide to double the money he entered. This is called “Doubling Down”. When the casino player decides to do this, he gets only one extra card.  He cannot stay with his first two cards and will have to get an extra card. For example when he gets a five and a six for a total of eleven. He then decides to double down in hopes of the next card being a ten . The doubling down rules differ per casino. Some only allow doubling down when the total of the first two cards is 10 or 11, while others do not care about the total of the two cards. The casino player must know the rules before playing.

The last term in blackjack is insurance. When the casino player thinks the croupier has blackjack he can get insurance. When he buys insurance, he places half of his originally entered amount by pushing the insurance button. When the croupier has blackjack, it is paid 2 to 1. When the croupier does not have blackjack, the casino player loses the money he entered.