Blackjack Rules Tips and Tools

Blackjack is one of the easier gambling card games to learn and play. This introduction is geared for beginning and medium level players. Visit Rivers Casino Blackjack for more information on Blackjack at the Rivers Casino.

How to Play Blackjack

Blackjack is a card game where all players are pitted against the dealer. The object of the game is to achieve a hand that is worth more than the dealer’s hand, without breaking a total of 21.

In blackjack, the dealer has an advantage because one of his cards is not exposed. Also, because the dealer owns a statistical edge in hands that tie, players face an uphill climb to come out ahead. Applying a few simple strategies will help you lower the house edge to as little as 1%.

Card Values

The value of a player’s hand in blackjack is determined by adding the value of each of your cards. Face cards (Jack, Queen and King) are worth 10. Cards 2 through 10 retain their face values. Aces are worth either 1 or 11—whichever value results in the better hand.

Blackjack

A hand of Ace and any 10-value card with the original two cards is called blackjack; it pays 3 to 2 (win $15 on a $10 bet).

Game Play

Players place a wager. The dealer then waves a hand over the table, closing all bets. Once the first card is placed on the table, al original bets must remain the same until the conclusion of the hand. Two cards are dealt face-up to each player, and two cards (one face-up, one face-down) are placed in front of the dealer. The card dealt face-down is known as the dealer hole card.

After it has been established that the dealer does not have blackjack, the players in turn may play their hands. The following options are available.

Stand: One option is stand pat and make no changes.

Hit: If you want to add cards to your hand, you can take a hit. You can continue to hit until you reach or go over 21.

Double: If you need one and only one more card, then you can double your bet and be dealt one more card, good or bad. This option is only offered on the first two cards, and sometimes on the first two cards after splitting.

Split: If your first two cards are of equal point value you may split them into two hands. In this event each card is the first card of a new hand. The player must also make another wager, of equal value to the first wager, for the second hand.

Surrender: Surrender gives a player the option to fold at the cost of half of their original bet. A player must surrender at the beginning of the hand, before the dealer checks his cards for blackjack. Surrendering is a good move for a player only if they are sure they are going to lose.

Taking Insurance

Insurance can be played when the blackjack dealer has an up-card of Ace. In an insurance bet, you may bet up to half of your original bet. Following an insurance bet, the dealer checks his face-down card to see if he has blackjack. If he does have blackjack then you receive a 2:1 payout on your insurance bet, meaning that even if you lose your initial bet you break even.

Dealer Restrictions

In blackjack, players can play their hands without restrictions. The rules are different for the dealer. These rules are as follows:

• When the dealer’s hand is worth a total of 16 or less, he or she must draw additional cards until reaching a total between 17 and 21, or busts by breaking 21.
• If the dealer’s hand is worth 17 or higher then he or she must stand.

End Game

Once all players complete their hands, the dealer reveals the hole card, placing both cards face-up. If the dealer hits to a total of hard 17 or better, hands closer to 21 than the dealer win. Hands totaling less than the dealer lose.

If the dealer and player have the same total, the result is a push: no one wins, no one loses. The player loses if the dealer has blackjack and the player has a total of 21, which is not blackjack.

Blackjack Tips

Here are some basic tips to help the beginning player:

• If your first two cards total 16 or lower, hit.
• If your first two cards total 10 or 11, double down.
• If your first two cards total 17 or higher, stand.

Another tip involves “card counting,” where you basically remember the cards that have been played so you can predict which cards are likely to come up next.

When there are more high cards in the deck the player has an advantage, and therefore should place a higher bet. When there are more low cards in the deck the dealer is at an advantage, and the player should place a lower bet.

Books on Blackjack

The Beginners Guide To Dominating Blackjack: Little-Known Blackjack Secrets Casinos Don’t Want You To Know About! by Randall Magwood (Kindle Edition – Jun 16, 2009) – Kindle eBook

Blackjack for the Clueless: A Beginner’s Guide to Playing and Winning (The Clueless Guides) by Walter Thomason (Paperback – Dec 1, 2000)

Blackjack Web Sites

Hit or Stand – Blackjack Strategy Game & Trainer

1. Blackjack Strategy and Odds – The Wizard of Odds

2. Blackjack – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3. Blackjack Basic Strategy
4. Blackjack Strategy – Blackjack Basic Strategy
5. Blackjack Strategy – Ace-Ten.com

Blackjack is the number 1 table game at Rivers Casino. Rivers has 15 blackjack tables. In the high roller room, limits on Blackjack without prior approval are $20,000, and $50,000 on blackjack for approved players.

High-limit games are hand shuffled, others machine shuffled. Machine shuffled means you play more hands per minute.

Out on the main floor, limits are closer to $10, but tables can go higher ($25) based on the action.

Another big difference is that on the main floor, blackjack dealers are required to hit soft 17 — 17s in which Aces are counted as 11, such as Ace-6 or Ace-2-4. In the high-limit room, dealers stand on all 17s, a rule that trims the house edge. If you’re planning to play $25 a hand on up, you’re better off in the high-limit room.

Blackjack Rules

The object of Blackjack is to draw cards that will come closer than the dealer to 21, but not exceed 21. The game begins with the player making a wager in the area designated on the table. Each player receives two cards and the dealer receives two cards, one card face down and the other.

Scoring

Cards are counted at their face value. All face cards count as 10. Aces count as either 1 or 11. A blackjack is a total of 21 on the original two cards. Blackjack pays one and a half times the bet. A blackjack cannot lose; it will tie (push) if the dealer has a blackjack.

When dealt any other two-card combination, the player

can stand or, when it’s one’s turn, signal the dealer for a hit. If the player’s hand is closer to 21 than the dealer’s, the player wins. If the dealer’s hand is closer to 21 than the player’s, the house wins. In the event of a tie, neither hand wins nor loses; it is a push.

Splitting Pairs

When the first two cards received are of the same value, the player has the option of SPLITTING them to form two separate hands. Pairs may be split up to three times for a total of four hands. The wager on each hand must equal the original wager. Each hand may be hit as many times as desired. When splitting Aces, each ace may receive one card only. Aces may be split only once.

Double Down

Players have the option of increasing their wager by DOUBLING DOWN after the first two cards are received. The DOUBLE DOWN wager may be an amount up to the amount of the original wager. The hand will then receive one additional card only. A player may DOUBLE DOWN after a split, but may not DOUBLE DOWN after splitting Aces of after receiving a blackjack.

Insurance

When the dealer’s up card is an Ace, the player may make an additional wager known as INSURANCE. INSURANCE protects the player’s hand against the possibility of the dealer having a blackjack. At the dealer’s prompt, one may wager up to half of the original wager. The player is betting that the dealer’s hole card has a value of 10. If the hole card has a value of 10, the INSURANCE wager is paid 2 to 1. If the hole card is not a value of 10 the INSURANCE wager loses.

Remember: the INSURANCE wager is completely separate from the original wager. The game continues as normal after INSURANCE activity is settled.

Lucky Lucky

This side wager is based on the player’s first two cards and the dealers up card. Any three card 19 or higher wins according to the posted pay table.