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Mon Sep 01 2003 - Casino Games - Best Casino Games
Playing the Game of Blackjack
Playing the Game of Blackjack There are different playing and betting methods:
Hit
You receive another card. For example, if your 2 cards equal 10 you have nothing to lose by requesting another card, since your total could not exceed 21.
Stand
This means that you have decided that your hand is good enough and you don’t want to be dealt another card.
Double Down
After you have received your first two cards you have the option to double the initial wager. Once you have chosen to do this, click on the ‘Double’ button and you will be dealt a third card and that’s it. Your hand will only consist of these 3 cards.
Split
If you are dealt two cards of identical value you can then split them (i.e. 8, 8 or 10, J). You would now be playing two separate hands of one card each. You will be dealt a second card to one of the hands. After this hand is played out, the second hand will be dealt a second card and continued until that hand is played out (when splitting Aces the player receives only one additional card for each hand). You may split your hand twice and a new wager equal to the initial wager will be placed for each split hand.
A split hand resulting in Blackjack pays out at a ratio of 1-1 rather than the normal 3-2. If it is possible to split two cards the ‘Split’ button will be highlighted to allow the player to split the cards. Simply click on the ‘Split’ button to facilitate the splitting of the cards.
Insurance
If the dealer’s first card is an Ace, there is a possibility of a Blackjack. If you believe the dealer has Blackjack you can buy insurance to protect yourself. If you choose to insure yourself, you have to pay an amount equal to half your wager. If the dealer gets Blackjack, the insurance will pay 2 to 1, which corresponds to your original stake. If you have insured yourself and the dealer does not obtain Blackjack then you lose your insurance but retain your original wager.
Insurance is considered a game of its own within Blackjack, and gives you a chance to protect yourself from the dealer’s Blackjack
Push
A Push refers to when the sum of the dealer’s hand is equal to the sum of the player’s hand. In this event the play is a draw, and no one wins nor loses.
Examples:
Your beginning hand is: Ace, 6. This hand can be either 7 or 17. If you stop there, you’ll have 17. Let’s say that you decide to ‘Hit’ and receive a ‘3′ .You now have: Ace, 6,3. Your total hand is now 20, counting the Ace as 11. Let’s backtrack and assume that you had instead drawn a third card which was an ‘8′. Your hand is now: Ace, 6, 8, which totals 15. Notice that now the Ace must be counted as only 1 to avoid going over 21.
If you split a pair of Aces, and then draw a ten-valued card on one of the Aces, this is not a Blackjack, but rather a total of 21. The distinction is important, because a winning Blackjack pays the player odds of 3 to 2. A bet of $10 wins $15 if the player makes a Blackjack. A player’s Blackjack beats any dealer total other than a dealer’s Blackjack, including a dealer’s regular 21. If both a player and the dealer make Blackjack, the hand is a tie or push.
A good example of Doubling Down is when you hold a total of 11 (a 5, 6 or a 9, 2) against a dealer’s upcard of 6. In this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so you might as well increase your bet in this advantageous situation. You have to place an additional bet next to the original bet. The dealer will deal one additional card to your hand and you will not be able to take any more cards until the current round has ended.
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