|
|
Blackjack .:. Roulette .:. Slots .:. Craps .:. Baccarat .:. Sic Bo .:. Poker .:.
The primary goal in blackjack is to have a hand which value which beats the dealer's hand value, while not exceeding the value of 21. Essentially, come as close to 21 as possible without going over, or busting. If your first two cards are an ace and a ten (or face card), that is a natural blackjack. Blackjack always beats a hand that totals 21 by adding the values of more than the first two cards. If a player beats the dealer without busting, the payout is usually 1 to 1. If a dealer gets a blackjack, the payout is usually 3 to 2 (but will vary somewhat from location to location). A face card counts as 10, cards from 2-10 are counted at their value, and an ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. A hard hand either does not contain an ace or has an ace that must be counted as 1 (to avoid a bust). A soft hand is a hand that contains an ace where the sum of the cards could add to 11 or less (soft meaning no single card will bust the hand). It is not unusual to see people hit a soft 17, especially against a dealer's 8, 9 or 10. Since the odds are the dealer will pull a 10, the player draws hoping for a 2 or 3 to give them a better chance against the dealer, knowing they are safe that the 1 card they draw will not bust their hand. In contrast, it is extremely unusual that anybody would hit a hard 17. Nothing beats a blackjack, but another blackjack will tie or result in a push. A push occurs any time the dealer's hand matches the player's hand. In this case, no money is won or lost. If a player exceeds 21 or has a hand that is less than the dealer's hand, the wager is lost. The dealer has an objective they must continue to draw to achieve. Usually the dealer must hit when their hand is under 17. Some casinos also hit when the hand is a soft 17. It is important to know what rules the dealer is playing by. There are interesting strategies to play at blackjack. For example, if the dealer has a 4 or 5 (or 6 when the dealer must hit soft 17), the chances are very good that the dealer will bust their hand (a dealer must continue to hit until they reach at least 17, so a 4 or a 5 will likely draw two cards high enough to put the dealer over 21). In this case, it is not unusual to see a player stay on absurdly low losing hands, in the range of 12 to 16. An experienced player knows they have a better chance waiting to see if the dealer busts their own hand (which results in a player winning, as long as they did not bust already), than take their chances with a card that might bust their own hand. |
