If you win the hand against the Dealer, you are paid even money. It is possible to tie the Dealer. In that case, you neither win nor lose, but have a push. If you receive a natural Blackjack, a two-card hand consisting of an Ace and a 10, you automatically win one and a half times your original wager. A Blackjack cannot lose; it will tie (push) if the dealer has a Blackjack.For a person who does.Dealer Wins Blackjack TieBlackjack Rules Dealer Ties casino gambling in jamaica how to win at the casino online casino games us players for realIf the player and the dealer tie, the rules blackjack rules dealer ties Slot Wins Blackjack.

The basics

The object of the blackjack game is to accumulate cards with point totals as close to 21 without going over 21. Face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) are worth 10 points. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever is preferable. Other cards are represented by their number.

If player and the House tie, it is a push and no one wins. Ace and 10 (Blackjack) on the first two cards dealt is an automatic player win at 1.5 to 1, unless the house ties. A player may stand at any time.

Playing blackjack

To win you need to beat the dealer without busting. You bust when your cards total to more than 21 and you lose automatically. The winner is whoever has closest to a total of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards.

The blackjack table seats about 6 players. Either six or eight decks of cards are used and are shuffled together by the dealer and placed in a card dispensing box called 'Shoe'.

Before receiving any cards players must place a wager. Then the players are dealt two cards face up. The dealer gets one face up, one face down. Each player in turn either stays or takes more cards to try and get closer to 21 without busting. Players who do not bust wait for the dealer's turn. When all the players are done, the dealer turns up the down card. By rule, on counts of 17 or higher the dealer must stay; on counts of 16 or lower the dealer must draw.

If you make a total of 21 with the first two cards (a 10 or a face and an Ace), you win automatically. This is called 'Blackjack'. If you have Blackjack, you will win one and one-half times your bet unless the dealer also has Blackjack, in which case it is a Push or a Tie (or a Stand-off) and you get your bet back.

The remaining players with a higher count than the dealer win an amount equal to their bet. Players with a lower count than the dealer lose their bet. If the dealer busts, all the remaining players win. There are other betting options namely Insurance, Surrender, Double Down, Even Money and Split.

• Insurance: side bet up to half the initial bet against the dealer having a natural 21 - allowed only when the dealer's showing card is an Ace. If the dealer has a 10 face down and makes a blackjack, insurance pays at 2-1 odds, but loses if the dealer does not.
• Surrender: giving up your hand and lose only half the bet.
• Early Surrender: surrender allowed before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• Late Surrender: the dealer first checks to see if he has blackjack. If he does, surrender is not permitted.
• Double Down: double your initial bet following the initial two-card deal, but you can hit one card only. A good bet if the player is in a strong situation. Most casinos will allow you to double down on any two cards. Some casinos will let you double down after splitting and some will limit your doubling down to hands that total ten or eleven. However, there is one condition: When you double down, you must take one additional card and you cannot receive more than one.
• Even Money: cashing in your bet immediately at a 1:1 payout ratio when you are dealt a natural blackjack and the dealer's showing card is an Ace.
• Split Hand: split the initial two-card hand into two and play them separately - allowed only when the two first cards are of equal value. Use each card as the start to a separate hand and place a second bet equal to the first.
• Hard Hand: A hand without an Ace, or with an Ace valued at 1 is said to be Hard in that it can only be given one value, unlike a Soft Hand. (You can value an Ace 1 or 11 to suit you).
• Soft Hand: A hand that contains an Ace counted as 11 is called a Soft Hand.

House advantage (approximate, may vary with different rules)
Without basic strategy 7% average.
With basic strategy 0.5% or less.
Card counting can reverse the advantage up to 1% to the player.

Some blackjack variations

Using different number of decks: all other conditions being the same, as a general rule the fewer the decks, the better for the player.

Allowing the dealer to hit a soft 17: a disadvantage to the player. It gives the dealer a chance to improve.

Allowing a double down after splitting pairs: can be advantageous to the player if used wisely.

Allowing re-splitting of Aces: a clear advantage to the player.

No dealer hole card: common on cruise ships, this variation is a disadvantage to the player. The dealer does not deal himself a second card until the players have played and they can lose the doubles and splits.

Las Vegas and Atlantic City variants

Las Vegas blackjack:
Las Vegas games are played with two decks and the House must hit on hands less than soft 17 (17 involving an Ace) and must stand on hands of 17 or greater.

Atlantic City blackjack:
Atlantic City games are played with four decks and the House must hit on 16 and stand all 17's.

Perfect Pairs blackjack

Perfect Pairs is a blackjack side bet. It can be played on a standard blackjack table and does not require the main game rules to be changed. All Perfect Pairs wagers are decided and dealt with at the completion of the initial deal.

Perfect Pairs bets are made prior to any cards being dealt and must be supported by a regular Blackjack bet on the same betting box. A Perfect Pairs bet wins if the first two cards dealt to a players Blackjack hand are a pair and it loses if they are not a pair.

There are 3 different types of pairs and the payout odds vary accordingly:

• Mixed pair (A pair that is made up of 1 red suited card and 1 black suited card - example 2 of clubs + 2 of hearts)
• Coloured pair (A pair that is made up of 2 same cards of the same colour but are of different suits - example 6 of clubs + 6 of spades)example 8 of spades + 8 of clubs)
• Perfect pair (An identical pair - example K of diamonds + K of diamonds)

Perfect Pairs rules

• A player may place a Perfect Pairs wager on any box on which the player has placed a Blackjack wager
• A Perfect Pairs wager must be placed before any cards in the round of play are dealt
• A Perfect Pairs wager wins if the first 2 cards dealt to the player are a pair
• A Perfect Pairs wager loses if the first 2 cards dealt to the player are not a pair
• Winning Perfect Pairs wagers must be paid as per the displayed paytable
• After each player has been dealt the first 2 cards, the dealer must take all losing Perfect Pairs wagers and make a payout to each player who has a winning Perfect Pairs wager
• The dealer then goes on to deal with each player in the usual way for Blackjack

Perfect Pairs payouts

• Perfect Pair pays 30 to 1
• Coloured Pair pays 10 to 1
• Mixed Pair pays 5 to 1

The house edge on Perfect Pairs blackjack side bet is 6.76%.

21+3 - Blackjack and Three-card poker side game

Play Blackjack and 3-card Poker at the same time. 21+3 is a European-style Blackjack game with a high-paying side bet opportunity similar to the very popular Pairs Plus bet in the Three Card Poker game. No special poker skill is required.

The 3-card side bet, which pays relative to the combination of your first two cards and the dealer's up card, is optional. You receive two cards, both face up, and, the Dealer receives one face up card. If you made a 3-card bet and these first three cards form a winning outcome, you are immediately paid according to the side bet pay table. This side bet is independent of your subsequent Blackjack play.

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Tips for beating one of the world’s toughest card games

By J. Phillip Vogel

Like many of our favorite casino games, the exact origins of blackjack are forever lost to history. One of the first recorded descriptions of the game places its appearance in France during the 17th century, where it thrilled gamblers under its simple, yet appropriate appellation “vingt-et-un.” Some gaming historians, however, contend that rather than originating in France, vingt-et-un was nothing more than a variation of Spain’s already popular game “One and Thirty” or perhaps even a spin-off of Italy’s baccarat.

Regardless of its origins, so popular was the game that it quickly emigrated globally, taking on slight changes in both name and rules to suit regional appetites. In Russia, the game was called “Ochko” (roughly translated as “the hole’). In England, where players were rewarded for drawing both the jack and ace of spades as their first two cards, it became known as “blackjack.” But whether it’s “21” “California Aces” or even “Ochko,” blackjack continues to be one of gambling’s perennial favorites.

Blackjack Basics

In its most basic form, blackjack is one of the easiest casino games to learn. The objective is to attain a hand value that is greater than that of the dealer, yet does not exceed 21. It can be played using anywhere from one to eight standard decks, with cards of rank 2 through 10 scored according to their face value, while face cards—jack, queen, and king—are valued at 10 points. Aces can be worth either 1 or 11 points. The game is further governed by the following rules:

➤ Players win if their hand has a greater total point value than the dealer’s, without going over 21.

➤ The best possible hand is called a blackjack. It consists of an ace and any 10-point card. A winning blackjack pays 3:2 or in some cases 6:5.

➤ If both the player and the dealer have a tie—including with a blackjack—the bet is a tie or “push” and money is neither lost nor paid.

➤ All other winning hands pay even money, 1:1.

Cards Blackjack Rules

➤ If either the player or the dealer exceeds 21 or “busts” the hand automatically loses.

➤ If both the dealer and player bust, the player loses.

A round of blackjack begins with the player placing a bet in the circle or designated betting area in front of him. Every player will then be dealt two cards (both typically face up) while the dealer receives two cards, one of which is exposed and the other (known as the “hole” card) face down. If the dealer has a 10 or an ace exposed, he will check for blackjack, in which case all player hands lose, except another blackjack. However, should the dealer have an ace exposed, players may take “insurance,” a side bet that pays 2-1 and hedges the initial bet against a dealer blackjack.

Blackjack Tie Rules

If the dealer does not have blackjack, play continues starting with the player seated immediately to the left of the dealer. The following options are then available:

Stand. If the players decide their hand is sufficiently strong, they may opt to take no additional action.

Hit. Players may draw additional cards until they either bust or decide to stand.

Double down. If players hands warrants, they may opt to double their current bet and receive one additional card. This option is only offered on the first two cards, and in some cases on the first two cards after splitting.

Split. When a player’s first two cards are of equal point value, he may separate them into two hands with each card being the first card of a new hand. To split, the player must make another wager of equal value to the initial wager for the second hand. In cases where another identical point valued card is dealt following the split, re-splitting may be allowed. (Re-splitting aces is often an exception.) When allowed, players may also double down after splitting.

Surrender. In certain versions of blackjack, players may surrender or yield a poor hand on their first two cards, rather than play against a potentially superior hand. Surrendered hands return ½ of the wager to the player.

Once all players have acted, the dealer will then complete his hand. Unlike players, the dealer has no freedom to determine the best course of play and must abide by the house rules which govern all actions. Usually the dealer must hit until his cards reach a total value of 17 or more. In some casinos or game versions, if a dealer is dealt a soft 17 (an ace plus cards totaling six additional points) he must also hit. If the dealer busts, all players active in the hand win automatically.

Basic Strategy

Despite its simplistic premise, blackjack is one of the most difficult games in the casino. But with an extremely low vigorish—sometimes reaching 0.18%—it can also be one of the most profitable. Or at least it is if you master basic strategy.

Although daunting and at times confusing, basic strategy is really nothing more than a breakdown of the optimal way to play every possible situation based on the house’s rules, your current hand and the dealer’s exposed card. Table A and Table B are a sample basic strategy table for use.

Remember, optimal basic strategy varies with the version of the game you play, and there are tables such as these that outline exactly what action to take given the circumstances. And while they may be challenging to memorize, if making money as a black- jack player is your ultimate goal, there’s simply no other option.

Strategies to avoid

A lot of new players can be taken in by seemingly sound strategies that actually have no real place at the tables. Avoid the following dangerously ineffective methods:

Blackjack Wins

Play as the dealer plays. Some people think because the house has an edge on the game that by playing according to the dealer’s rules (such as always hitting 16 or less, or never doubling or split- ting) that same edge will apply. Wrong. Remember, the player acts first, and even if both you and the dealer bust, the house wins the hand. Such strategy results in a house edge of approximately 5.5%

Martingale System. Some players advocate an age-old, misguided betting system design ostensibly to guarantee winning. Called the “Martingale System,” this method requires players to double their bet for every hand following a loss. The theory is that by doubling the bet you will eventually win a hand and recoup any previous losses. Although it sounds powerful, this system is flawed and ineffective, and fails to take into account high-risk bets, a moderately bad run of cards, and table limits.

Never draw to a hand that can bust. Rather than take a card that could break the hand, some players prefer to always stand pat on hard totals of 12 or more. Such play is harmful in the long run and results in a vigorish of approximately 4%.

Although these and many other half-baked strategies may sound good in theory, at best they’re mildly innocuous and worst devastating. Stay clear of tricks and systems and stick with basic strategy, the only proven method of minimizing the house’s edge.

Variations on a Theme

While the traditional version is often the game of choice among blackjack enthusiasts, there are many other exciting and profitable variants available in both traditional and online casinos. Although the basic premise for each variation is akin to traditional blackjack, each has its own set of rules and strategy.