Blackjack or ‘21s’ is one of the most popular card games in both casinos and online.

This is because unlike poker it is relatively simple to understand so if you are newbie to the gambling world it is a good place to start. Blackjack is a game where with even a slight strategy you should be able to play well without losing too much money and making some wins.

The Table

The table whether online or in a casino generally has between 5 or 7 seats or places or in single play games, there is just you playing against the dealer.  The cards are always dealt face up in this game to the player and in some casinos you are not even allowed to touch the cards.  The dealer is always dealt one card facing up and one card facing down so you have decide whether you think you will beat the total the hidden card will make.  The player must always go first and the dealer second because then if you are bust straight away the dealer automatically wins.  There is normally more than one deck of cards to combat card counting but the lower the number of decks used normally makes for better odds.

Basics

The objective of the game is to get your cards to add up to the total sum of 21 or out of everybody playing and the dealer get the closest without going bust (going over the total of 21).  The Royal cards or cards with pictures such as Jack, Queen and King all have a value of 10 and then the other cards with the exception of the Ace have a value of whatever number they are so 3= 3.  Ace can be either a value of 1 or 11 at the players own choice.

You can choose to stand or hit, which means either sticking with the cards you have or getting another card. Simple- However it is not so simple when you have to outdo the other players as you have to work out whether you own hand will beat them as well as if you might go bust with another card.

There are terms within this game that explain different card hands as well such as hard and soft.  A hard hand is when you have cards that don’t contain an ace and a soft hand is when you do. This is because the values can change depending on whether you decide an ace is a 1 or 11 in a soft hand. There are also the terms cutting and doubling down. Cutting means that if you are dealt to cards that have the same value you can then decide to play the two hands separately.  Doubling down is where you can decide to increase your bet on the hand you have but have to get another card.   Insurance betting- not as reassuring as it sounds! Surrender. These actions are not always available thought it is at the casinos discretion so always read the house rules before setting down to play.

Strategy

Although the objective in this game is to get 21, really it is all about beating the dealer.  One handy tip to remember is that the dealer a third of the time has to have a 10 as their second card so assuming that it will be a 10 can help decide what you should do with your own hand. The dealer also has a set of rules that they always have to adhere to, which means you have some basis to build up a strategy and you don’t just have to rely on instinct.  The dealer will always get another card if their hand has 16 or less and stop at 17 or more.  If the value of cards ranges between 12 and 17 in your hand then you could go bust with another card so this is called a ‘stiff’ hand.  For the dealer with his set rules his ‘stiff’ hand is lower with the card values being between 2 and 6. However there are also the higher hands to consider if you have a hand of 17 or over it is called a ‘pat’ hand– the same with if the dealer has a card of 7 up to an ace. A simple strategy to remember is if you have a stiff hand – cards between 12 and 17 then you stand if the dealer also has a stiff but if the dealer has pat hand then always hit.

Below you will find a cheat sheet on basic Black Jack strategy.