Blackjack is a popular card game available at casinos. The rules of the game are simple to learn, making it popular with amateur players, but it requires skill and strategy, making it popular with professional gamblers as well. An average blackjack player plays with a house edge of around 2%; however if you employ optimal blackjack strategy you can reduce that edge down to as low as 0.5%.
How to Play Blackjack
The aim of the game of blackjack is to achieve a hand total of closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over (going bust). Each player will place a bet and will then be dealt two cards face up. The dealer will be dealt one card face up and one card face down. Each player, in turn, will make a decision on how to play their hand. Player actions include hitting (receiving one more card), standing (receiving no more cards and ending your turn), doubling down (doubling your bet on your first two cards and receiving one more card to end your turn) or splitting (splitting two identical cards into two hands with two separate bets).
Blackjack Strategy Charts
A blackjack strategy card should be a vital part of your game at this stage. When you are learning how to play blackjack, you need to learn how to use this strategy card as well. It will give you instructions of how to play your first hand depending on your cards and the dealers up card and using this strategy will significantly reduce the house edge. As a beginner, you can keep this card in front of you; however as your game improves you should commit the information to memory.
Advanced Blackjack Strategy
Once you have mastered the use of blackjack strategy cards, you can move on to advanced blackjack strategy. There are a number of strategies that can be employed including card counting, clump reading and shuffle tracking.
Card Values in Blackjack
Each card in a game of blackjack has a value and these values are added together to result in your hand total. Cards 2 through 10 have their face value. Face cards have a value of 10 and Ace has a value of 1 or 11, depending on your hand total at the time.
House Rules
The dealer has set rules of how to play his hand and this may vary slightly between casinos. The dealer will either need to stand on all 17s which means that if he holds 16 or lower, he has to hit. It is possible that the dealer will have to hit on a soft 17. This means that if the dealer holds 16 or lower or if the dealer holds a 17 that includes an Ace valued at 11, he will have to hit.
Winning at Blackjack
The player continues to play his hand until he doubles down, stands or goes bust. At this point all hands are compared to the dealers hand and winners are paid out accordingly. A Blackjack is made up of an Ace and a card valuing ten and it is the highest playing hand.
