Blackjack - The Game
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Blackjack is a very simple game to play. That is, it is an easy game to learn-all you
have to do is try to get closer to a total card count of 21 than the dealer, wíthout
going over.
The tough part is knowing how to do this in a manner that will maximize your chance of winning.
The primary emphasis of this chapter is on the multi deck-games that have become the
mainstay of casino blackjack.
Those casinos that still offer them, are slowly changing the rules for single-deck
hand-dealt games, making them harder to beat.
So much so that when you do find a good single- or double-deck game, it is almost
impossible to get a seat at the table or else the minimum bet limit is at least 25 euros.
The recreational gambler, however, can do just fine at multi-deck games by playing according
to the basic strategy recommendations, given in the following pages.
The game begins when the dealer distributes two cards to each player.
In a multi-deck game, the players' cards are always dealt face-up. She also gives herself two cards, one face-down and one face-up. Each player, in turn, is then given the opportunity to take additional cards, one at a time. Players may also exercise other options, such as splittėng pairs and doubling down, all of which will be explained later.
The main goal for the player is to beat the dealer. This can be done in two ways.
The first is to attain a total count higher than the dealer's hand without exceeding 21 (called busting).
The second is to keep the hand alive by staying at 21 or under, in the hope that the dealer will bust
and lose by default.
Since the dealer plays her hand last, the only clue players have for making their playing decisions
is the dealer's upcard.
In conjunction with the first two cards dealt to the player, the value of the dealer's upcard is
the primary basis for good playing strategy.
Sometimes the players' cards are dealt face down, but this is only done in single and double-deck
hand-dealt games-and, today, such games are in the minority.
Blackjack games in most casinos use four to eight decks of cards, all shuffled together and dealt
from a shoe.
Although the advice and strategies given in this chapter are intended for multiple-deck blackjack games,
it turns out that they work just fine for the single-deck games as well.
Fundamentals of play
The implements used for playing blackjack in a casino are pretty basic.
They include a half-moon table with stools for the players, several decks of
cards, and a dealing shoe.
These items are described below.
The playing table
Blackjack is played on a felt-covered table that is roughly semicircular in shape
with six or seven player positions around the curved side (see illustration).
The dealer stands at the fiat side with a chip rack directly in front of her and a
card-dealing shoe to her left.
To the dealer's immediate right is a slot in the tabletop leading to a drop box.
Whenever the dealer accepts cash from a player in exchange for casino chips, the cash
is pushed into the drop box.
Further to the dealer's right is a discard tray where the dealer deposits out-of-play
cards that she has collected from the table.
At each player position is a betting spot in the shape of a rectangle or a circle.
This is where the player's initial bet is placed before the first two cards are dealt.
During a players turn, additional bets may be placed alongside the original bet by splitting
pairs or doubling down.
The first player seat to the left of the dealer is called first base.
This spot is the first hand dealt in a round of play.
The last seat to the dealer's right is called the anchor position, and is also referred to
as third base. It is the last player hand dealt in a round.
The felt surface of the table has two or three basic game rules imprinted on it.
The most common rule is: Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17s.
In some games (sometimes in the same casino), this rule is modified to read: Dealer
must hit soft 17.
A second rule that appears on almost all tabletops is: Insurance pays 2 to 1.
Some tables display a third rule: Blackjack pays 3 to 2. lf a natural does not pay 3 to 2,
there will almost always be a sign to that effect.
The dealing shoe
Most blackjack games use four, six, or eight decks of cards, which are dealt from
a dealing shoe.
The shoe, which was originally borrowed from the game of baccarat, is an elongated
plastic box into which pre-shuffled cards are stacked.
One end of the box has a slot and a finger notch so that the dealer may easily slide
out the cards, one at a time.
The shuffling machine
To speed up the game, many blackjack tables are now equipped with an automatic shuffling
machine or a continuous shuffling machine.
The cards
The game of blackjack uses one or more standard 52-card decks with the jokers removed.
In most blackjack games, four, six, or eight standard decks are intermixed and dealt from
a shoe.
Card values
In blackjack, the value of a hand is purely numeric; the card suits have no meaning and
are completely disregarded.
The numeric value of the cards 2 through 10 are their face value.
That is, a 5 of spades counts as 5, and a 9 of hearts counts as 9.
The face cards, jack, queen, and king, are valued the same as a 10 card.
Thus, any reference to ten-value or ten-count cards always includes the jack, queen,
and king, as well as the 10 spot.
Any statement that a hand contains a 10 means that it contains one of the ten-value cards.
Since there are sixteen ten-value cards in a 52-card deck, they account for over 30Yo of the
cards in each deck.
In blackjack, the ace possesses the trait of having a dual numeric value.
It can be a one-count card or an eleven-count card, and automatically takes on
the value that is most beneficial to the hand. Clearly, the ace is very significant card in blackjack,
especially since it is needed to complete a natural.
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