To win the “Blackjack” means to reach a total of 21 with the cards you got from the dealer. It is important to note that no matter how many players are involved in the game you always play against the dealer. You should also know that the dealer doesn’t go over 17. Other basic rules to know are:

1. You can double down on two initial cards, but not after playing Split.
2. You Split in case you get equal card value and you can do it once per hand.
3. The dealer places one card on each Split Ace.
4. If you consider it necessary, offer Insurance when the dealer shows an Ace.
5. You are paid 2 to 1 for Insurance.

Card Value

A dealer uses 8 standard 52-card decks with cards from 2 to 10 having their face value. When it comes to cards showcasing Jacks, Queens, and Kings you get worth 10 for each. Aces could be either 1 or 11 depending on what is more suitable to the hand.

When dealt a soft hand, an Ace is worth 11.

How does the game begin?

After placing bets, the dealer gives one card face up to each player. The total number of players is seven per game. When all players are given their first cards, the dealer will move on to dealing one more card to every player, including himself. Every card is again faced up, except for the dealers. Then you will know the total value of your cards. 

You can choose to get insurance if the dealer’s upcard is an Ace. This is done to prevent the dealer from getting Blackjack once he reveals his down-facing card. The Insurance bet and the bet on your hand are separate. The dealer then must check if he’s won Blackjack. If not, the game moves on. If it tunes out the dealer has Blackjack, the game is ended in a push. You get your bet back. – in the long term this is a bad move as you reduce your edge.

Insurance cannot be purchased in case the dealer’s upcard is either a face card or a 10 and the dealer will not be checking the downcard.

You can improve the value of cards in your hand if the dealer doesn’t win Blackjack. The dealer will then offer a card to each player. You can Double Down if you didn’t receive 21 from your initial two cards and be dealt one more card. Until you are pleased with the value in your hand and decide to Stand, you can ask the dealer to Hit and be given an additional card. 

It sometimes happens that a player gets two same cards. If that happens to you, you can decide to Split them and make two separate hands. The bets in these two separate hands are equal to your original bet. The dealer will add one more card to each hand after which you’ll decide if you want to Hit to be dealt one more card to each hand. Stand once you’re satisfied with the value. 

You already know that the value of your cards should exceed 21. When this happens, you lose your bet. The rule for the dealer is that he mustn’t get a value of cards more than 17. The dealer should Hit when the value of the card reaches 16 or less.

If both the dealer and the player get the same value, it is a tie and nobody wins, nobody loses and the player gets his bet back.

You get Blackjack only from the first two cards, and not if you hit 21 from a split hand.

Side bets can be played with your original Blackjack bet. This gives you an additional opportunity to win money even in case you lost your man Blackjack bet. A side bet called Perfect Pairs happens if you get any pair of face cards, two Aces, or two 3s. Each combination offers different payouts.

The next side bet is called 21+3 happens if your first two cards and the dealer’s upcard have a combination of:

1. Suited Trips include 3 Queens of Hearts
2. Straight Flush is won in the case of numerical sequences of the numbers of the same suit – Jack, Queen, and King of Spades.
3. Straight side bet happens in case of numerical sequence but with different suits – 2 Hearts + 3 Spades + 4 Clubs.
4. Flush is a side bet without sequential cards in the same suit – 5, 8, 10 of Spades.