Casino Games

Is blackjack an easy game?

Could it be simpler? In theory, it’s the easiest game in the world to play. You play against the dealer with a number of standard decks of 52 cards which are stacked in the shoe (usually four or more decks). You can play with a single hand-held deck, but we don’t need to worry about that here. Even though there may be other players around the same table, each player in sequence competes against the dealer. So the Dealer may win against some players and lose to the others in the same round. The significance of these others is limited to the rate at which you all get through cards in the shoe. The more players, the quicker you get through the shoe.

How do you play?

To give you a clue, the French name for the game is vingt-et-un. You are dealt two cards. You have the choice whether to play those two or you can hit, i.e. draw one or more cards. As between you and the dealer, the winner has the higher total not exceeding 21. Usually, you aim for a hand close to 21 to give yourself the better chance of winning. If your hand totals over 21, this is a bust and you lose even if the Dealer also busts. So if you collected 4,8,9, or 2,3,7,9 this gives you 21 and the highest possible total. This means you would either beat the Dealer or tie the Dealer’s total of 21. If you and the Dealer tie, this is called a "push". We’ll explain the consequences of this later.

How do you value the cards?

As you’ll see, all the standard cards numbered 2 through 9 count at face value. The 10 and all picture or face cards count as ten. The Ace can count as either 1 or 11. When you play, you don’t have to declare the value of the Ace. When you stop playing, the Ace is given whichever value gives you the better hand. For example, suppose the first two cards dealt to you are Ace,3. This can either be 4 or 14. It’s not advisable to stand on either total so you would hit. If you draw 9, you have to value your hand as 13 because otherwise your hand totals more than 21 and is a bust. If you had drawn 7, you would stand because the better value for the Ace gives you 21. If one of the first two cards is an Ace and the total does not go over 21 on either value, this is called a "soft" total. Thus Ace,6 is a soft 17. Because a player can safely draw another card without going bust, the choice whether to draw is soft or relatively easy. But the combination Ace,6,10 is a "hard" 17 because counting the Ace as 11 would total more than 21.

What’s a blackjack?

If your opening two cards total 21, i.e. you have drawn an Ace plus a card valued at 10, this is called a "blackjack" or a "natural". This hand wins automatically unless the Dealer also has a blackjack. If both you and the Dealer have blackjacks, the hand is a push. Check the table rules — a player with a natural is usually paid 3:2 on his bet.

Why can we see everyone’s cards?

As we saw in the last article, the dealer must play according to the blackjack rules for the table. In the case of the free online blackjack on this site, the Dealer must stand on all 17s. So the Dealer has no discretion, no strategy. He must hit any total less than 17 with no right to split a pair. Once all the players know the table rule, there is no need for anyone to hide their cards. The Dealer’s play is set no matter what you do. Thus, both in the real world and in online casinos, all cards to the players are dealt face up. The dealer draws one card face up and keeps the other face down. So, when you play the game, you can always see all the cards in play but one.