All about Black Jack

We are about to tell you all you need to know about playing Blackjack

The basic objective of the game is to have a hand with a value closest to 21, never exceeding 21 and always playing and thus trying to beat the dealer. Others on the table do not matter and can see your cards.

• You first need to choose the table that you will be playing on. Make a note of the bet size of each table - maximum and minimum and then choose the table that best suits you. Make sure that the game being played on the table is blackjack. Thirdly, observe the type of game being dealt. Beginners should begin with the shoe game, where 6-8 decks are used. The advantage here is that all the cards are dealt face up and thus the dealer can help with decisions and questions.

• Once seated, you need to buy chips for your bets from the dealer. An appropriate buy is about 10-20 times that of the average bet. Lay the cash on the table and the dealer will change it for you.

• Learn the value of the cards. An Ace is either 1 or 11, cards from 2 to 9 are as per their actual number value and 10, Jack, Queen and King are all 10. The suits have no meaning.

• Place your bet in a circle made in front of you. If you are betting multiple denominations, place the larger valued chips on the bottom of the stack, and the smaller value chips on top. Once the cards are dealt, you are not allowed to touch the best. Once the hand is over, the dealer will pay the winners and collect from losing hands. Then you can place another bet.

• The dealer will then deal the cards. In a shoe game the cards are dealt face up. Two cards are dealt starting from the dealer's left. In a hand held game they are placed face down. The dealer must play his hand in a specific way, with no choices allowed. There are two popular rule variations that determine what totals the dealer must draw to. In any given casino, you can tell which rule is in effect by looking at the blackjack tabletop. If both a player and the dealer make blackjack, the hand is a tie or push. The dealer will usually pay your winning blackjack bet immediately when it is your turn to play.

• Surrender is one of the least common decisions and offers you the choice to fold your hand, at the cost of half of the original bet. You must make that decision prior to taking any other action on the hand.

• Hitting/Standing- The most common decision a player must make during the game is whether to draw another card to the hand ("hit"), or stop at the current total ("stand").

• Doubling Down can only be done with a two card hand, before another card has been drawn. It allows you to double your bet and receive only one additional card to the hand. Add an additional bet to the betting circle. The dealer will deal one additional card to the hand. Players are allowed to double down for any amount up to the original bet amount, so you could double down "for less" if you wanted.

• Splitting Pairs
  When you are dealt a matching pair of cards you have the ability to split the hand into two separate hands, and play them independently. If you get additional pairs (in the first two cards of a hand), most casinos will allow you to resplit, making yet another hand. The most common rule allows a player to split up to 3 times, making 4 separate hands, with 4 separate bets. If double after split is allowed, you could have up to 8 times your initial bet on the table if you chose!

• Insurance and Even Money
  Insurance is perhaps the least understood of all the commonly available rules for Blackjack. The insurance bet is normally a poor bet for the player, with a high house advantage. However, that's not always the case.

  If the dealer turns an up an Ace, he will offer "Insurance" to the players. Insurance bets can be made by betting up to half your original bet amount in the insurance betting stripe in front of your bet. The dealer will check to see if he has a 10_value card underneath his Ace, and if he does have Blackjack, your winning Insurance bet will be paid at odds of 2:1. This is why the bet is described as "insurance", since it seems to protect your original bet against a dealer blackjack. Of course, if the dealer does not have blackjack, you'll lose the insurance bet, and still have to play the original bet out.
  

• Cashing in
  When you're finished playing, you'll want to take your chips to the cashier to exchange them for cash.