So what's the deal? What is the goal?
Often you will hear Blackjack defined as "getting as close
to 21 as you can without going over". This is really not the
greatest description if you really want to learn blackjack. A simple
definition would be that you are trying to beat the dealer, this
can be done with as little as 4 as the total of your cards. Just
remember that all you want to do is beat the dealer’s hand.
The blackjack table
How does a hand start?
A maximum of 7 players will be sat at the gaming table. Each of
the players will make a bet by placing chips in front of him in
the circle marked on the table. The dealer will then deal two cards
to each player, including themselves although only 1 of the dealer’s
cards will be dealt face up. This gives you a major clue to how
strong of a hand the dealer has. You can safely ignore the cards
dealt to the other players, you are playing against the dealer not
them, and this is hard to understand when you first begin to learn
blackjack.
What happens next?
Take it slowly at first; you need to learn Blackjack before you
can play at the same speed as a professional. Play starts with the
player to the left of the dealer. The idea is to beat the dealers
hand without going over 21 (busting). If you and the dealer both
bust you still lose.
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You can do several things when it is your turn:
1. Hit - Ask for a card from he dealer, you can
take as many as you wish one at a time.
2. Stand - Complete your turn.
3. Double Down - Double the bet and take one card
before ending your turn.
4. Split - If you have two cards the same value
you can split them into two hands, you will be given 1 fresh card
for each hand and then play as two separate hands.
5. Surrender - Quit your hand and only lose half
your bet.
When all players have finished their hand the dealer will then play
their own, they will turn over the card you could not see previously
and with take cards until they have 17 or over, once they reach
17 they may decide to stand. When you first learn Blackjack you
should try to remember the dealer is going to try and beat as many
people at the table as they can but they will not take unnecessary
risks.
So what are the possible outcomes for a hand and what are
the values of the cards?
Picture cards are counted as 10; ace is 11 or 1 depending upon
whether 11 would bust you.
There are several possible outcomes for your hand.
1. Bust - You went over 21, you always lose when
this happens even if the dealer also busts
2. Win - Your total is higher than the dealers.
3. Lose - Your total was lower than the dealers.
4. Push - You and the dealer have the same total.
5. Natural - You are dealt a 10 or a picture card
and an ace, this is known as a natural or a Blackjack.
It can be fun to learn Blackjack; it is on the surface a simple
game, as you progress more you will learn that there is much more
to a good Blackjack player than first meets the eye.
