Blackjack Rules
Decks: 1 – 8
Card Values:
Cards ranking 2 – 10 have their face value
Jack, Queen, King – Value of 10
Ace – Value of 1 or 11
To Win: The player wins when his cards have a higher point score than the dealers without going over 21 which is know as busting. The best hand is being dealt blackjack, which is a combination of an Ace and a card worth 10 points. Three or more cards with the value of 21 are not considered “blackjack” and blackjack wins over three cards totaling 21. If the player has an ace its value can be 1 or 11, which is referred to as hard and soft hands. An example is an Ace and an Eight, which is a hard 9 or a soft 19. This means if the player took another card and it was a five they would not bust because their new hand would be worth 14 not 24. If both the player and the dealer busts, the house wins. Generally if the dealer and the player have the same hand then it’s known as a “push” and bets are returned.
Payouts:
Scoring blackjack usually pays 3:2.
A normal win pays 1:1.
Insurance pays 2:1 (see below)
After placing your initial bet the dealer deals cards one at a time in a clock wise direction with the dealer receiving the last card. The player is dealt two cards face up and the dealer one face up, one face down; known as the hole card. Depending on which game variation, if the dealer is dealt a 10 or an Ace then he will check immediately for blackjack. If the dealer is showing an Ace it may be possible to purchase insurance, which is betting that the dealer will get blackjack, so is insuring against the worse. Insurance bets cost equal to the initial bet and they payout at 2:1. If the dealer does not have blackjack you will loose your insurance money otherwise you win.