The Rules of Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the most widely played card-based banking games in casinos. Blackjack players need to outplay the dealer. This makes the game more interactional and engaging. With the advent of live casinos, players find it even more amusing to outplay the live dealer. . Live Blackjack is a happening option for an interactive, real-time play. As a thumb rule, do not get intimated by expert players in the Blackjack table. It is not the team that you are up against but the dealer. Online casinos offer a great range of blackjack games. Casino Estrella welcomes blackjack lovers with new and exciting variants of the game, including Classic Blackjack Gold Series, Blackjack Multihand VIP, European Blackjack, and Blackjack Vegas Strip, to mention a few. The following are some guiding steps to win it big at the blackjack table.

The Table and The Terminology

Up to seven players (sometimes 5) and the dealer are accommodated in a typical blackjack table, usually green or blue in color. The shape is always semi-circular, resembling a crescent,  although occasionally octagonal shaped tables are used. While players sit around itshalf-moon shaped circumference, the dealer stands behind the opposite straight side and distributes the cards for the players.Beginners can use the ‘learn the lingo’ snippet provided by Euro Palace casino that familiarizes players with blackjack terminology like going bust, hard hand and soft hand. These are some of the must-knows before taking the blackjack plunge. The Blackjack Bet Behind feature in this casino, allows players to bet on others, with the Hot Streaks table option helping you track their progress, on screen.

Know Your Card’s Worth

The aces cards are always worth 11 points, except during the moment when a hand equals or exceeds 11, in which case the value becomes 1. While the cards numbered 2 to 10 account for their respective face values, the face or picture cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks)are worth 10 points. The suits of cards (diamond, heart, spade, etc.) are of no significance in blackjack. What is crucial, is the sum of the value of cards held in the total of a hand. For example, if you hold three cards 2-6-4, then the hand totals 12. The ace ,which is counted as 11, reverts to the value of 1 in case your hands total exceeds 21. This brings up the concept of 21 in blackjack, as discussed further.

The Significance Of 21

Getting 21 is a moment of paramount significance in blackjack. This is also the reason behind, why blackjack is also referred to as “21”. If a hand totals to exactly 21 when two cards are drawn it is a natural blackjack and the player wins. Natural blackjack happens only when a ten-value card and the ace are held. The winner is paid a bonus. In plain terms, the ultimate objective of blackjack is to get a hand total closest to 21 before the dealer does. When the player hand or the dealer hand totals to more than 21, it becomes a busted hand. When players bust, the house wins and vice versa.

Understanding Blackjack Rules

A fifty-two deck card is normally used in blackjack. Newbies must understand the value of each color of chips. Red chips are equivalent to $5, whereas green chips are equal to $ 25 and black chips equal $100. There are also white, purple and orange chips worth, $1, $500 and $1000 respectively. Before the cards are dealt with, players place their bet by placing the chips in the boxes provided in the table. The dealer deals the cards from the shoe, which is a dispensing device, with the capability to hold multiple decks of cards. The cards are dealt face-up. Cards given by the user using his hands are dealt face down. In any case, once the player finishes seeing both his cards as well as one of the dealer’s cards, he has to make a decision.

When the dealer’s face-up card is an ace, then he extends the option of taking insurance to the players. Taking insurance means the placement of a side bet, which is independent of the main wager. Insurance is always 2:1, which means it pays twice the amount of bet placed. In other words, the odds of a player winning against the dealer’s blackjack are 2 to 1(2:1).  Insurance is a special protection that players can make use of. Players can stake up to half of their primary bet against the condition that the dealer hits a natural blackjack. However, the insurance option can be availed of only after all the initial cards have been dealt with.

There is another side bet option called Even money. The cost of the bet is half of the original bet. The option is available when players are dealt with natural two hand cards of value 21 and the dealer displays an ace in his first card. Usually, it is paid 3:2. One of the basic differences between insurance and even money is that you exercise the even money option only when you have a blackjack. 

Players going over a hand total of twenty-one stand to lose automatically. In case the total of the dealer exceeds 21, all players who hold a total of less than twenty-one win the game. On the other hand, if the dealer does not exceed twenty-one, all those players whose hands are above that of the dealer, win, provided the total is less than or equal to twenty-one. There is also the possibility of a no-win, no-loss when dealer’s hand proceeds to tie those of the player’s. It is then time to begin a new round.

Playing Options Available

When it’s time to make a playing decision, there are many options available before the player. To ask for a hit is to communicate to the dealer that you require another card to your hand. You can use the stand option if you are satisfied with the hand total and agree to stand by the cards you have. The pair splitting option can be exercised when you find that you have two like cards. This requires players to place a fresh bet equal to the original bet. The resulting effect is that each of the like cards is played like a separate hand. Other options include doubling down and surrender rules. These options depend on the cards held by the player and the type of blackjack played. Over 45 variants of Blackjack are extended for players at the Casinia Casinos. Double Exposure Blackjack, Spanish Blackjack Gold Series, Super 7 Blackjack, Scalable Blackjack, and Atlantic City Blackjack are some among the top picks. Popular game providers like Evolution, Merkur, BF Games, and NetEnt power these games that vouch for fairness and player security.

The Blackjack Protocol – Buy In And Color Up

Also called the blackjack etiquette, it is a matter of timeliness and presence of mind to abide by the protocol of buying in and coloring up. Not knowing when to buy-in and when to color up can end up as an embarrassment to new players. The buy-in amount refers to the amount brought by players to the table. Usually, the buy-in amount must lie in the range of ten to twenty times the average bet. Do not attempt to buy-in mid-game. Be patient for the dealer to pay the winning hands and collect money from the losers. Proceed to buy-in when a hand is finished. Players do not hand over money to the dealer. Cash is placed (exact change is recommended) in the middle of the table, whereupon a required number of chips are furnished by the dealer.

Blackjack success is a combination of probability and luck. Winners are those who take calculated risks, which include the knack of finding when it is apt to quit or play with higher denomination chips. When dealer is informed of color-up, the chips won by the player areexchanged for an equivalent value of higher denomination chips. Here again, it is a matter of casino etiquette, not to ask for color up when a hand is in play. It is better to wait till the shoe is done and then proceed to stack your chips up and push them forward in the betting circle. In case you are left with a multitude of low denomination chips, it is a matter of convenience to get them exchanged for chips of higher value.

Blackjack is thus the king of card games, and many leading casinos offer a colorful choice of live blackjack as well, with presentable and well-groomed dealers. One of the difficulties with regards to online playing is with regards to counting of cards. However, digital casinos have gained fame and popularity due to speed and convenience.  It is possible to try a hand at blackjack even with very low stakes that a land-based casino might not offer. Even the betting minimum is very low in online when compared to offline casinos. With world-class software to shuffle the cards and a whole new bouquet of blackjack games updated frequently, online casinos definitely have an edge up as far as blackjack is concerned. Once the objective and rules of blackjack have been understood well, it is time to go in for high stakes and place some big bets on the table.