Entertainment 10841 Views

Blackjack for Beginners



Summer brings a lot of fun activities, with weddings and vacations being among the top. Casino resorts have long been a popular wedding site and the rise in the number of casinos across the US and in other parts of the world as well, the odds of you being near a casino over the summer can be fairly high.

At first the prospect of playing a game in a casino can be a bit intimidating. As a casino games dealer, I see that often. Most of the times the intimidation is caused by players being unsure of the rules and being afraid of “playing wrong.” It is important to realize that the people you see having fun around the tables were all first time players at some point.

While the slots are without a doubt the easiest games to play in the casino it is not the most social game at the casino. For a combination of easy to play and social one of the best games to play is also one of the most popular, blackjack. As a dealer, I've had a lot of first time players at my table. Here is the blackjack game beginners' guide that I give all new players at my table.

The object of the game – Most people think the object is to get the closest to 21. In fact the object of blackjack is far simpler; your goal is to beat the dealer. The best way to do that is to play what is called basic strategy, which we will get to in a moment.

Your choices - After you have placed your wager, you will receive two cards face up. The dealer will also receive two cards one of which will be face up. You then have several options.

  • Hit – take a card. You can hit until you decide to stop or bust (meaning your hand total is more than 21.)
  • Stand – Stay with the cards you have
  • Split – If your two cards are the same rank you can split them and play two hands by making another wager equal to your first.
  • Double down – If you initial two cards total 10 or 11 you can double down, which means that you double your bet and receive only one additional card.

Basic Strategy – After you have your first two cards is when you begin to play basic strategy. The rank of the dealers up card determines your action. Here"s the simple version of basic strategy.

  • Hit/Stand
  • If the dealer"s upcard is a 2, or 3, - Hit with a hand that is 12 and stand on all hands 13 or higher.
  • If the dealer"s upcard is 4, 5, or 6 – Stand with 12 or higher.
  • If the dealers" upcard is 7 or higher – Stand with 17 or higher and hit with any hand 16 or lower.
  • Double down
  • If your hand totals 10 double down against any dealer 9 or less.
  • If your hand totals 11 double down against any dealer 10 or less.
  • Splitting pairs
  • Never split 10s.
  • Never split 5"s, follow the double down rules instead.
  • Always split 8"s and Aces.
  • Split 9"s against a dealer 6 or less. Stand on a dealer 7, and split against a dealer 8 or 9.
  • Split 7"s against a dealer 7 or less.
  • Split 6"s against a dealer 6 or less.
  • Split 4"s against a dealer 4, 5 or 6.
  • Split 3"s and 2"s against a dealer 7 or less.

That"s it. Most casinos let you bring a basic strategy card to the table with you if you wish, and of course you can always use one when you play online. Blackjack is a fun way to spend some time at the table. Since you are all playing against the dealer, the table often wins or losses as a group, which adds to the social aspect.


Comments

There are 0 comments on this post

Leave A Comment