How to play casino blackjack 21
Some people call this game Blackjack while others call it 21. It does not matter what you would like to call it, learning how to play casino blackjack 21 is fun, and maybe you will someday beat the house.
The blackjack Revolution
Blackjack originated back in the 18th century in France, and it was known as vingt-et-un, which means 21. After Edward O, it became a very popular Casino game. Thorp wrote a book outlining the basic strategy of winning the Blackjack in 1963; the book was bestseller “Beat the Dealer.” This is the sole objective of the game to beat the dealer. Blackjack is not only a source of entertainment but to some people, blackjack gambling is also a means of making a living.
It’s All in the Cards
Blackjack is a simple game deceptively played with one, two, four, six, or eight decks of cards. Traditionally dealers shuffle the card but now in most casinos shuffling machine is used. In single or double deck games, the dealer holds the cards and deals them. When the game is being played with multiple decks of cards, these are dealt out of the shoe, a tray like a box. In some casinos, the shoe is also used to shuffle the cards along withholding them. When handheld games are played, the cards are dealt facing down, and the players can pick their cards. However, in a shoe game, the cards are dealt facing upwards towards the player, and the players are not allowed to touch the cards.
The basic casino blackjack rules:
- The blackjack game starts with making a bet by each player.
- Then the dealer deals two cards to each player and to himself.
- All the blackjack cards count only the face value. The picture card has value ten, and the ace is either one 0r 11.
- The card suits do not mean anything in the blackjack game. The total of any hand is equal to the sum of all the values of the cards in hand.
- Players have to decide whether to hit, surrender, stand, split, or double down.
- The dealer is the last one to act and must hit 16 or less and should stand on 17-21.
- When the player’s hand value is higher then the dealer’s, the players win the game 21 or if the dealer busts and the player has less then 21.
How to play casino blackjack 21?
Basic Game Play
The play for 21 Casino is the same for both facedown and handheld games. The main motto of the game is to beat the dealer- what that means is getting as close as possible to the score of 21. If your card score higher than the dealer’s cards but not 21, you still win. If your cards score more than 21, you “bust” that means you lose the bet. In case of the dealer busts, you win. This is one of the most interesting features of not only Blackjack but all casino games. That is why the casino or house is always on the benefit side. In the case of Blackjack casino games, it is 5 percent; this means that for every 1 dollar that you bet, the casino will keep an average of 5 cents. One more interesting thing is that the chance of the dealer getting a bust is lower than the players.
Value of Cards
The suit of blackjack cards has no effect on this game, unlike poker. In Blackjack, only the numerical value of the game is used to play. Cards 2-10 have a count at face value, which means two of hears, diamond, spades, and clubs are always equal to two similarly up to 10. All the face cards queen, king, jack have value equals to 10. An Ace can either be counted as one or an eleven.
In the play 21 casino, a queen and five is equal to 15, but a five, and ace will either be 6 or 16. When a hand has no ace, it is called a hard hand because it only has one value. A hand containing ace card is referred to as a soft hand because it can change the value. If you draw a soft hand, the total of three cards with an ace is 11 outs you above 21; then, this hand becomes a hard hand. For instance, you are dealt with a three and an ace. You can either count this as 14 or 4. Then if you draw a 10, now you have 14 because if you count an ace as 11, then you would have 25 that will bust you.
Table Play
Blackjack cards are dealt with on a special table with semi-circular shapes. The table has a separate square or circle for each player. When you sit, you need to buy chips from the dealer, or you can also bring them from another table. Then you start putting a bet in the circle that is in front of your space. The chips that will be put in the betting circle will be counted as a bet. The game begins after every player has made a bet.
For Example, consider that you are playing with multiple decks of card game and the cards are dealt from a shoe. Every player is dealt with two cards facing up. The dealer will be dealt two cards, one facing up other facing down, this is known as hole cards. After all the cards are dealt, the dealer will then ask every player to make their decision. The first player to act is one sitting on the left of the dealer. This player’s position is called the first base. The last positioned player is called the third base. The decision you make is based on the card of the dealer facing up and your two cards. For the beginner, one rule of thumb to follow is assuming that the dealer has a ten in the hole. This assumption makes betting a little easier.
Using Hand Signals in Blackjack
Remember, when you are dealt with cards from the shoe, the players are not allowed to touch the cards. To make the decision knows, you have to use hand gestures. This keeps the game moving and avoid any chance of verbal misunderstanding while maintaining a track of the game.
Hand signals used:
Hit- taking a hit means you would like to draw one more card. To make this signal, you have to tap or make a beckoning motion with the hands. If you want one more card, you will repeat the same signal.
Stand- when you are satisfied with your cards, then you have to signal the dealer the same. You wave your hand on top of your cards.
Double Down- you are allowed to double your bet amount after you receive the first two cards. Then you only receive one card on your hand. Some casinos also allow doubling any two cards (DOA). And in some casinos doubling is limited to hands total of 10 or 11. DOA is good for the player. To make a signal for doubling down your bet, you will have to place an additional bet next to the original bet amount.
Split a Pair- when you are dealt a pair of cards with the same rank, then you can split them both into two separate ranks. At this point, you have to make an additional bet equal to your original bet. To signal the dealer that wants to split, you place your second bet next to the first one in the betting circle. You should not separate the cards. The dealer for you. The dealer offers the second card to split with the first card. Then you will decide whether to stand or hit. Some casinos allow you to double down on the first two cards after you split.
How to get a Blackjack?
If the dealer or you is dealt with an ace and ten value face cards, then you have 21 or the Blackjack. When you get Blackjack, you will be paid 3-to-2 for the bet, but the dealer should not get 21 in this case. If both the dealer and you have the Blackjack, this is called a push, and the bet you placed will be returned to you. All players will lose in case the dealer is Blackjack.
Insurance
If the dealer has an ace in the face-up card. The dealer will get insurance. This means you make a side bet by wagering half the amount of your original bet, that the dealer has 10 in facing down card. You will be paid 2- to -1 if the dealer has ten and you make a bet. Then you would lose the original bet but will get the insurance bet, which is the push of your original bet. If the dealer has an ace and you have the Blackjack, the dealer will ask you if you want even money for the Blackjack instead of 3-to-2. If you don’t take the money, you will have a push-in case the dealer has a blackjack. Both the ven money and insurance are sucker bets. The dealer will not get ten times that they have one.
Surrender
Some casinos allow the players to surrender the hand and give half the bet on the first two cards after the dealer gets Blackjack. This is called late surrender. Not every casino offers this position. When played in a correct manner, this offer can be of advantage to the players. However, many players surrender many hands when this option is given. Therefore it cancels out the advantage.
Strategy
When playing Blackjack, a player has to make many decisions. If the player plays the hand properly, he/she can reduce the house edge to 1 percent or less. For this, the payer needs to learn a basic strategy. Which mathematically has been proven right to determine when to stand and hit.
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- If the total of your first cards is 12-16 that means you have a stiff hand (your hand can be busted)
- If the up faced card of the dealer is 2-6, the dealer has a stiff hand
- If you have a 17 or higher score, that means you have a pat hand, and you stand.
- In the case of the dealer show ace-7, the dealer has a pat hand.
- If both the dealer and you have a stiff hand, then you STAND
- In case you have a stiff hand, and the dealer has a pat hand, then you HIT.
This strategy will help you get by a few initial times when you start playing the game. But you should still make efforts to learn the basic strategy of the game. If you do not like to memorize this, you can bring along your basic strategy chart to the casino with you. Casinos let you bring along the chart, given the conditions that it does not slow down your game.