For those of you who are new to the game of blackjack and have never sat at a blackjack table in a casino, the following will teach you the how the game is played, from table etiquette, to the basic rules of the game.

The dealer’s upcard is 3 through 6 (2 through 6 in a single deck blackjack) On the other hand, you should never double down when: The dealer’s upcard is 7 through Ace. Needless to say, these ‘rules’ can vary from a casino to casino. For that reason, always make sure you are familiar with the casino rules for blackjack before playing the. Some casinos host games with a 6:5 blackjack payoff ratio, which should be avoided. Once all naturals are paid and the money on all busts is collected, the dealer reveals their second card and draws cards, according to the table's rules. We will discuss additional table rules and variations a bit later. Although casino staff members might offer you a different explanation, Blackjack insurance is nothing more than a side bet that the dealer with an Ace up has 10 in the hole, giving him 21. With normal card distribution, at the 2 to 1 payoff, it is about 8% against you. Blackjack is one of the most popular card games at casinos, particularly owing to its simple rules. Even beginners can easily learn and understand the rules of blackjack, and if they master a few basic blackjack strategies, they can make quite a profit at the blackjack tables.

The blackjack table in a casino is generally set up with seven betting spots, although some games have as few as five. A dealer acts for the house and stands behind the table to distribute the cards.

When you’ve decided upon the game you want to play by examining the sign that announces the minimum and maximum wagers, you will buy in for chips. Do not place your money in the betting circle, however. Instead, set it to one side and wait for the dealer to convert it into chips.

After you receive your chips place your bet in the circle in front of your seat. The blackjack dealer shuffles the cards, and if he’s dealing more than two decks, he’ll place the shuffled cards in a box known as a “shoe.” After he shuffles, he’ll ask a player to “cut” the deck, by using a colored card, known as the cut card. The player simply slides the colored card into the deck at any point. The dealer divides the deck at the cut point, and takes the cut card and places it about two-thirds the way into the deck. This deck “penetration” varies from casino to casino, and sometimes even from table to table.

The dealer then places the cards into the shoe, or arranges them in his hand (for two or less decks). The dealer will then discard-“burn”-the first card, and check to make sure that all players have their bets in the right place and in the right amount. He begins distributing the cards to the players from the front of the shoe or the top of the deck.He’ll begin with the player farthest to his left-known as “first base”-and then proceed to give one card to each player, including the dealer’s “upcard.” He’ll repeat the motion until every player has two cards. He completes the deal by sliding his “hole card” under his upcard.

In some casinos, the players are allowed to handle the cards. In this situation, the players receive their cards face down, and pick them up with their hands. If you’re playing this type of game, do not use two hands to pick the cards up. Pick them up with one hand and hold them over the table. Never remove them from the table or shield them in any manner from the dealer’s view. The dealer is responsible for the security of the cards, and must prevent them from being replaced by other cards or otherwise tampered with.

In other casinos, the players’ cards are dealt face up, and the players are prohibited from touching them. The dealer handles all the cards and chips.

The object of blackjack is to beat the dealer. The winner is whoever has closest to a total of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards. Tens and face cards are worth ten points, the other cards count as their numerical values, and Aces are worth one or 11, at the discretion of the player.

For example, a six of spades and a eight of hearts is 14. A Queen of spades and a Jack of diamonds counts as 20. An Ace of spades and a six of hearts can count as 17 or seven.

You determine the valuation of the Ace, and can decide the change it in mid-hand. In the last example, for instance, say you draw an Eight to the Ace and six. That would “bust” your hand if the Ace was counted as 11, so you drop it to a one. In that situation, you count it as one, and you’ve got a 15.

A “soft hand” is a hand that contains an Ace which is counted as 11. A “hard hand” is a one that does not contain an Ace or a hand where the Ace can only be counted as one point.

After the dealer gives each player two cards, he’ll return to first-base and start acting on each hand individually. He will point to your cards when it is your turn.

If you want another card-a “hit”-you indicate by scratching the table with your hand. The dealer will not accept a verbal command because the hand signal must be given so that the security cameras can see exactly what you want to do with that hand. If you want to “stand”-take no cards-you indicate by waving your hand, palm down. You use that motion when you’ve decided to stop taking additional cards, as well.

In the hand-held game, you scrape the table with the edge of your cards to indicate you want to hit. When you’re satisfied with your hand, you slide your cards under your chips in the betting circle.

If you take a hit and that card puts your total over 21, you lose automatically. The dealer removes your cards and your chips.In the hand-held game, turn your cards over immediately if you’ve exceeded 21, so the dealer can finish your hand.

At the end of the hand, if the totals of your cards are closer to 21, you win! If the dealer’s hand is closer to 21, you lose. And if you tie the dealer-called a “push”-no one wins or loses. If the dealer hasn’t busted, he will pay the winners and take the loser’s chips. If you have pushed, the dealer will rap the table with his knuckles and leave the chips where they stand. You are then allowed to increase, decrease or remove the bet.

The rules the dealer must play by are very simple. If the dealer’s hand is 16 or less, he/she must take a card. If the dealer’s hand is 17 or more, he/she must stand. Note that some casinos allow the dealer to hit on soft 17 which gives the house a very small additional advantage. The dealer’s strategy is fixed and what you and the other players have is immaterial to him/her as far as hitting and standing is concerned.

There is one way to win automatically, and that is to receive a total of 21 in the first two cards. That requires a ten-value card and an Ace. This is called a “natural” or a “blackjack.”

When a player receives a blackjack, he wins a bonus. Normally, all bets are paid off at even money when playing blackjack,but when you get a blackjack, you receive a three-to-two payoff. If you’ve bet $10, you’ll get paid $15, for example.

If you’re playing the hand-held game, you should turn your cards over immediately to get paid.

The only time a player can receive a blackjack and not get paid immediately is if the dealer also has an blackjack. In this case, it’s a push, and no one gets paid. You can protect yourself by taking “insurance.” If the dealer has an Ace showing he will ask all players if they would like insurance. The insurance bet is a side bet in which you can wager half of your original bet. To place an insurance bet place chips in the amount of half your original wager on the table in front of your original bet. If the dealer does have blackjack your insurance bet will be payed at 2-1 and you will lose your original bet. If the dealer doesn’t have blackjack you will lose your insurance bet but continue play with your original bet. In general, the insurance bet is NOT a good bet unless you are counting cards and you have determined that there is a high probability of the dealer having blackjack. If you aren’t counting cards DO NOT take the insurance bet.

One of the nice things about blackjack is the ability to increase your bets in mid-hand if you feel you have a good opportunity to win. When you have the chance to make these bets, you should take advantage of them.

One of the circumstances in which you may increase your bet is called doubling down. This means the casino will allow you to make a second bet equal in size to your first bet. In return for this right, you agree to accept only one more card for your hand. You can double down only after looking at your first two cards. You cannot take a hit and double down.

Many casinos allow you to double down for less than the amount of your original bet. This should be avoided because if the situation is worth doubling down, it is worth betting as much as you can, which is the amount of your original bet.

To tell the dealer you want to double down, you slide a second wager next to your original wager in the betting circle. Do not place the additional bet on top of the original wager, because the dealer may think you are trying to cheat by increasing your bet illegally. No hand signal is necessary. The dealer will see your double-down bet and give you one card, generally placed horizontally across the first two cards. In the hand-held game, the dealer will place the card under your chips in the betting circle. You may pick up the card to see what you’ve been given, but you’ll get more respect if you wait until the dealer settles all bets to expose your hand.

If you win your bet, you’ll be paid even money for the two bets, and receive double your original wager. If you lose, of course, both bets are taken away. In the event of a push, you keep both bets, but are not paid.

Another way of increasing your bet mid-hand is splitting. If the two original cards dealt to you are a pair, such as a seven of clubs and a seven of hearts, you can then split your hand if you wish, thus giving you 2 separate hands to play. To do this a wager equal to your original bet must be placed along side your initial wager.

If you have a pair that you want to split and your cards are dealt face down, turn them over and place them a few inches apart. If your cards were dealt face up, point to your cards and say “split” when the dealer prompts you for a card. The original bet will go with one card and you will have to place an equal amount of chips in the betting box near the other card. You are now playing two hands, each as though they were regular hands with the exception being that if you have just split two aces. In that case, you only get one card which will hopefully be a 10. If it is a ten, that hand’s total is now 21 but the hand isn’t considered a BlackJack. That is, you are paid 1:1 and not 1:1.5 as for a natural (BlackJack).

After splitting your cards the dealer will deal cards to your 1st hand until you decide to stand. He will then deal cards to your next hand. Keep in mind that stand, hit, split, and double-down rules apply to each new hand being dealt. Casino rules vary on how many times a player can split his cards. For example, if you draw a pair of eights, split them, and are dealt another eight, most casinos will allow to you split again and start a third hand. Ask the dealer what the split rules are if you do not know them.

So that’s how blackjack is played. But there is much more to learn if you want to be a successful blackjack player. You must know when to split your cards, when to double, when to take a hit, and when not to. The rules behind this are called basic strategy.

Most blackjack players who’ve played for any length of time understand that rules for the game vary from casino to casino. In fact, they vary from one table to another.

The obvious example is the size of the payout for a blackjack (a 2-card total of 21).

The standard for decades is for a blackjack to pay off at 3 to 2 odds.

But recently, many casinos started offering blackjack games that pay off at 6 to 5 odds.

What does this do to the house edge?

It increases the house’s advantage by 1.5%.

That might not sound like much, but a basic strategy player at a standard blackjack player faces a house edge of only 0.5%.

This means that the house’s mathematical edge quadruples because of what seems like one small rules change.

In this post, I look at some of the rules changes and what stakes they happen at.

6/5 Blackjack Versus 3/2 Blackjack

Some casinos offer 6/5 blackjack at their lower stakes tables while offering the standard 3/2 payouts at their higher stakes tables.

Let’s take a hypothetical Las Vegas casino and look at what happens to their profits when they implement this rules change at lower stakes.

They might offer the standard 3/2 payout on their $25 minimum tables. An average blackjack player might play 80 hands per hour at such a table, putting $2000 per hour into action.

Assuming perfect strategy on the part of that player, you’re looking at a house edge of only 0.5%, which means that a player at this table will lose an average of $10 per hour at this table. A table full of these players might generate $60 per hour for the casino.

The players at the $5 table are only putting $400 per hour into action.

But with the 6/5 payout in effect, the house edge increases from 0.5% to 2%.

This means that the players at this table are losing $8 per hour – almost as much as the players gambling 5 times as much per hand at the other table.

Casinos want to encourage action at the higher stakes tables because they make more money from gamblers who are betting more per hand.

But the payout for a blackjack isn’t the only rule a casino might change.

Hitting and Standing on a Soft 17

Everyone knows that the dealer has to hit any total of 16 or less.

It’s better for the player if the dealer has to stand on all totals of 17 – even soft totals of 17.

But in lower stakes games, the dealer hits a soft 17.

What does this do to the house edge?

It increases it by 0.2% — which sounds like a minor increase, but it’s a bigger increase than you might think.

Suppose a casino has a game where the minimum bet is $50, and the dealer has to stand on all 17s. The house edge for such a game might be 0.5%.

At 80 hands per hour, the gambler is putting $4000 per hour into action. The expected loss per hour for that player is $20.

That same casino might have a game with a minimum bet of $25, but the dealer hits a soft 17. This increases the house edge from 0.5% to 0.7%.

The gamblers at this table are putting $2000 per hour into action, but now they’re losing $14 per hour instead of the $10 per hour you’d expect.

Blackjack Rules Pdf

The casino STILL makes more money from the higher limit table, but by just changing one small rule, they come closer to getting the same kind of hourly win rate.

The Worst Blackjack Rules in Las Vegas Are at the Strip Casinos

80% of the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip are owned by the same 4 companies. They all have similar blackjack rules – and those rules aren’t as favorable to the players as you’d hope.

Your best bet as a blackjack player is to just avoid the blackjack games on the Strip altogether. You can find better games elsewhere in the city.

For one thing, it’s almost impossible to find blackjack for less than $10 per hand on the Strip.

You’d think that such casinos would offer terrible rules for players, but you’d be surprised.

For example, I’ve read reports about the $3 games at Arizona Charlies. You can double down on any total there, and you can even double down after splitting. Good luck finding those generous rules at one of the Strip casinos.

You can also play $5 blackjack at Arizona Charlies from a 2-deck shoe, which is practically unheard of elsewhere in Vegas. And, if you didn’t already know it, the more decks you have in use, the higher the house edge becomes.

Single deck blackjack has the lowest house edge, everything else being equal.

You can find $5 blackjack at a host of locals casinos, especially in Downtown. Some of the casinos offering $5 blackjack include Boulder Station, El Cortez, and the Orleans.

In fact, any of the Stations casinos offer good rules for low stakes blackjack players.

If You ARE Going to Play Blackjack on the Strip

Treasure Island is your best bet for $10 blackjack on the Strip, but those tables are usually crowded, and there aren’t many of them. The game does have good rules, though – you can even find a game there sometimes that’s dealt from just 2 decks.

But, if you’re going to play blackjack on the Strip, you’re probably going to need to wager $25 prer hand or more. Any of the MGM properties are good for this level of play.

These include Circus Circus, Excalibur, Luxor, Mirage, Monte Carlo, and New York New York,

Comparing Rules Variations in Blackjack

For the most part, the rules variations in blackjack involve giving the player more options or fewer options. In any given blackjack situation, having more options is better than having fewer options.

For example, in some casinos, you can only double down on a 9, 10, or 11.

Dealer Rules Blackjack In Casinos No Deposit

In other casinos, you’re allowed to double down on any total.

In some casinos, you’re allowed to double down after splitting.

In others, you can’t double down after splitting.

These are all examples of how having more flexibility in your choices increases or decreases the house edge.

You always want to decrease the house edge when you can.

And don’t make the mistake of thinking the 0.1% or 0.2% doesn’t matter.

When you’re dealing with something like the house edge, every tenth of a percent matters.

What if You Want to Count Cards?

If you want to count cards, one of the first things you want to do is find a casino that isn’t using a continuous shuffling machine. You can’t get an edge counting cards if the discards get shuffled back into the deck immediately.

Card counting works because some higher value cards are no longer in the deck, or some lower value cards are no longer in the deck. When the composition of the deck becomes favorable to the player instead of to the house, the card counter raises the size of his bets.

You can’t do that if you’re getting cards from a freshly shuffled deck every hand.

Also, the fewer decks being used, the better it is for the card counter. Every card dealt from a single deck affects the house edge.

Blackjack Ace Rules

But the value of each card is diluted in a pack of cards made up of multiple decks.

Here’s an example:

If 4 aces have been dealt out of a single deck blackjack game, it’s now impossible to get dealt a blackjack before the cards are shuffled again. This is advantageous for the casino, and the card counter knows it and lowers his bet accordingly.

Blackjack House Rules

But if you’re playing in an 8-deck game, you have 32 aces in the deck total. The elimination of 4 of those aces doesn’t make nearly as much of a difference.

Casino Blackjack Rules

Conclusion

Tiny differences in the rules have a major effect on the math involved when playing real money blackjack. Generally, you’ll find more flexibility in the games with lower stakes.

You’ll have a hard time finding a combination of low stakes and good rules variations on the Strip in Las Vegas, especially. Try to stick with the casinos Downtown or on Boulder Highway if you’re a low roller looking for a game with good odds.