«Best Blackjack Games in Licensed Online Casinos»

Idea behind blackjack

Blackjack players compete with one another, instead of a dealer. The goal of a player is to achieve a card hanf whose points total is nearer to 21 than the dealer’s hand. At the same time, the total value must not exceed 21. If your total card value is more than 21, you lose, regardless of the total card value of a dealer’s hand.

To determine your hand’s total value, add values of all cards. Every card’s value is its nominal value. Cards with pictures (Jack, Queen, and King) are worth 10 points each. Ace is worth 1 point or 11 points, depending on which value is better for the player or the dealer.

The best blackjack hand is an Ace and a 10-point card. This combination totals 21 points and is called a natural blackjack.

Blackjack Rules

Players are dealt two cards each. Players’s cards are dealt face down. One of dealer’s cards is dealt face down and the other - face up.

If the dealer gets Ace, the player can use insurance by making an additional bet of up to 50% of the initial bet. This protects the player from losing money if the dealer has a natural blackjack.

If the dealer has no natural blackjack, the game continues. The player can make one of the following four choices:

Hit - Player signals to Dealer that he wishes to have another card. Player can take an unlimited number of cards, until the total value is 21 (in this case, you win) or more (in this case, you go “bust”).

Stand – Player stops at the current total.

Split - if Player was dealt two cards of the same rank, he can ask Dealer to split the pair into two separate hands. Then Player doubles his or her initial bet. As the game continues, Dealer deals cards to each one of the split cards.

Double Down - Player doubles his or her initial bet and receives only one additional card to his or her hand.

Some blackjack variations offer one more option:

Surrender – Player can refuse to continue playing, if he is sure than he will lose with a hand like that. In this case, Player loses only 50% of his initial bet.