Learn to play Blackjack: the most important rules

Blackjack is a very simple card game in which the margin of the counter is rather reduced, two factors that made it the most played casino game ever. Here are the basic rules to learn the blackjack.

In Blackjack the player bets against the counter. The goal of the game is to get a score higher than that of the counter, trying to reach 21 but without overcoming it. For this reason, Blackjack is also called "21". Whoever exceeds the 21 "high" and lose the game.

The episode is carried out only once at the beginning of each hand to be able to receive the cards, with some exceptions in the case of insurance or split, which we will see in detail in the following.

Each participant are initially distributed only two cards, he will then be the player to decide whether to ask others or stop. Let's start then explaining what the value of the cards is.

The value of the cards

In Blackjack they are used by one or 8 standard decks of 52 cards mixed together.

In this game the seed and the color of the cards have no importance: only the numerical value is taken into consideration.

All numbered cards from 2 to 10 maintain their value.

All figures are worth 10. All axes are worth 1 or 11null A hand composed of value paper 10 and a ace is called Blackjack and numerically represents the highest feasible value, that is 21.

The value of the ace is at the discretion of the player: if a hand is made up of an ace and an 8 should consider it a 11 (11 + 8 = 19, a good score), while in a hand consisting of ace and 6 it is better to consider it one (6 + 1 = 7) To be able to ask the house another card.

How much the winnings are paid

In general, the winning episodes in the Blackjack are paid 1: 1. This means that betting $ 10 in case of winning the player receives $ 20, of which $ 10 to cover the bet and $ 10 of useful win.

In the case of winning with a blackjack (ace and king, queen, infantrymen or 10) the episode is paid 3: 2. Betting $ 10, therefore, the player receives $ 25, of which $ 15 as a useful win.

If the counter and player have the same score, even in the case of Blackjack, the game ends with a draw and the player is returned the entire sum hit in the episode.

The performance of the game

Before starting the game, the player must make an episode by placing the amount of Fiches chosen in the appropriate box on the table. Once the episode has been made, the game begins and the cards are distributed.

Both the counter and the player receive two cards: those of the player are both discovered, while one of those of the counter is covered. The player can therefore only hypothesize what the score of the counter may be.

Without considering a couple of particular situations that we will deal with below, the actions that the player can perform at this point are essentially two:

  • Ask another card (hit): The player receives a further card, whose score is added to that of the two cards of the opening hand. This action can be done more than once as long as the score does not exceed 21. If the player sweeps the hand is considered loser.
  • Decide to stop (stay): The player closes his hand with the current score without further actions.

Once the player has finished his actions and his score is decided, the counter takes the initiative, also showing his covered card. The counter has no total freedom of choice, but must follow two rules:

  • If his score is less than 17, he is forced to ask for further cards (hit) until the score is equal to 17.
  • If his score is the same or greater than 17, he must stay.

At this point the scores of the bench and the player, if neither of them has talked and then lost his hand, is compared. The highest decrees the winner.

The blackjack, the split, the double down and the insurance

During the Blackjack matches, special situations may occur that alter the regular performance of the game:

  • The player has a blackjack: In this case, if the descended card is not an ace, the game ends immediately and the win is paid 3: 2.
  • The split, or division: If the player has two cards of equal value in the opening hand (a couple), he can decide to divide them into two separate hands. This operation requires the payment of an additional episode equal to the initial one. The two hands are independent.
  • The Double Down, or double: before requesting any other additional card in addition to the two opening, the player is given the opportunity to double the episode already made. In this case, the player will be distributed one and only one more card, after which in any case his turn ends.
  • Insurance: If the discovery of the desk is an ace, the players have the possibility of "securing" themselves against a possible blackjack of the counter. This "side bet" is considered disadvantageous, which is why it is not taken into consideration in the most used game systems. We will deepen this particular aspect with a dedicated article as soon as possible.

With the exclusion of the first case seen, the other possible actions can represent a good advantage for players, but must be used as an advanced and well -weighted game strategy, not suitable for beginners.

The most common variants of Blackjack

There are mainly two variants of Blackjack who follow the same rules but differ in the number of hands:

  • Single hand (single-hand): the player focuses on one hand at a time, often sharing the table with other players.
  • More hands (multi-hand): the player bets with multiple hands simultaneously against one hand of the counter. In this case, an episode is made for each hand (usually 3 or 5).

Il Blackjack online

Online blackjack follows practically the same rules seen so far. A peculiarity to keep in mind concerns the decks used in virtual games: after each game all the cards are stored in the deck automatically, which is why it is not possible to adopt strategies that require counting the cards.

Another peculiarity of online blackjack is the variety of tables available: in addition to different games for minimum and maximum limits of episode, number of decks and number of hands, it is sometimes possible to bet on tables that offer some variant compared to the classic rules. The players concerned are required to control the rules of the game inside the casino.