Count Cards in Blackjack

Blackjack is an age old game played by many and enjoyed by all. There is even online blackjack, card counting, blackjack strategy, blackjack gambling, and blackjack rules we could read about for days on end, but today we are just going to cover the basic concept of playing the game for those who may not have played before.

Learning to play black jack is less complicated then most would think. The object of the game is to have a hand greater then the dealer’s without going over 21. No matter how many players are at the table, you as a player are still only playing against the dealer.

Each card 10 or under has a value equal to the number on the card. Face cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings) have a value of 10. The Ace in blackjack has a special value of 1 or 11, it is your choice in relation to the other card(s) you have which value you wish to assign to an Ace and which best suits your goal. The goal in blackjack, as stated above, is to get closest to or reach 21 points without going over and having a better hand then the dealer. If the dealer busts, every player still in the hand is a winner, regardless of what they have in hand. Perhaps the fact that you could potentially win with a 2 and a 6 could be the reason this is one of the most popular card games played today. However, do not bank on the dealer busting as it is not typical. There are many variations of 21 that can be achieved in the game by being dealt cards. In a friendly game, at the start of play, the dealer deals each player a card face down including him or herself, and than follows with a face up card for each. The first player to the dealers left than checks his or her face down card and decides to either hit or stay. For example, if the player has a face up 7 and a face down 2 there total is only 9, so naturally they would want to call out “hit me” at which time the dealer accordingly deals them another face down card. If that card is an Ace the player would typically stay and choose to refer to the Ace as 11 totaling 20 for their hand. Play resumes this way until each player is content with their hand and then the dealer goes last to reach the highest possible points hoping to beat each of the players.

At the casino the game of black jack is played much like explained above. Each table typically has seating for 6 players and the rules for the table are posted by it. Table information is usually betting limits such as a $2-$100, this limits the bets to a minimum of $2 per hand and a maximum of $100 per hand. The biggest difference in playing blackjack at the casino is players cards are all dealt face up with the exception of the dealers second card which is face down. Bets are placed before cards are dealt and any blackjacks, including the dealers are taken care of before play resumes, if the dealer is showing an Ace face up, the dealer must then check the hole card, if its blackjack all players except those with a blackjack themselves lose. Once blackjacks are taken care of and the dealer is still in play the player closest to the dealers left has the first options. These options are:

* Hit- Take another card
* Stand- Take no more cards and finalize your handwritten
* Double Down- Double your wager, taking one hit and then standing
* Split- If dealt two cards of the same value you can split them into two new hands which doubles your wager
* Surrender- Forfeit half your wager and give up the hand

You can hit as much as you like as long as you do not go over 21, once satisfied, play moves to the next player ending with the dealer. The dealer must conform to house rules, such as standing at 17 and hitting until at least 17 is reached. All bets are collected or paid after the dealer plays and than the next hand begins with bets. The player to the dealers right gets paid or turns in losses first and so on around the table. Overall, blackjack has its many advantages and can be a very rewarding and enjoyable game to play.

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