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Virtual Blackjack
 Blackjack
is one of any casino’s most popular games. Part of the game’s appeal
lies in the simplicity of its basic rules. The object of the game
is to accumulate two or more cards with a point total as close to
twenty-one as possible, without, of course, going over twenty-one.
Face Cards - Jacks, Queens, and Kings - are all worth ten points
each. Aces, on the other hand, are worth either one or eleven. All
the other cards have a value equivalent to their respective number.
The dealer
gives each player two cards and himself one card up and one card
down. The gambler plays against the dealer. The object of the game
is to draw cards that add up to 21, or as close to 21 as possible
without going over. Ten's, Jack's, Queen's, and King's count as
10; Aces count as either 1 or 11, as you choose. Other cards play
at their face value. You are given a chance to draw additional cards,
one at a time, to get closer to 21. If you "bust", (go
over 21) the gambler loses. If the gambler's count is closer to
21 than the dealer's, the player wins. If it is under the dealer's,
the gambler loses. A tie is a standoff and results in a "push"
(nobody wins). The casino has no choice on hitting or staying; it
must hit when holding 16 or under and stay on 17 or over. After
the gambler is done with his play, the dealer turns up his hidden
card. If he has 16 or less, he must "hit," that is draw
an additional card or cards, until he reaches 17 or over. If he
"busts," the player wins. The dealer must play his hand
in a specific way, with no choices allowed. HOWEVER, the dealer
will hit a "soft" 17. This rule is identical except for
what happens when the dealer has a soft total of 17. Hands such
as (Ace, 6), (Ace, 5, Ace), and (Ace, 2, 4) are all examples of
soft 17. The dealer hits these hands, and stands on soft 18 or higher,
or hard 17 or higher. The basic premise of the game is that the
gambler wants to have a hand value that is closer to 21 than that
of the dealer, without going over 21. The gambler's hand is strictly
played out against the hand of the dealer.
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In blackjack,
the cards are valued as follows: An Ace can count as either 1 or
11, as demonstrated below. The cards from 2 through 9 are valued
as indicated. The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10.
The suits of the cards do not have any meaning in the game.
The value of
a hand is simply the sum of the point counts of each card in the
hand. For example, a hand containing (5,7,9) has the value of 21.
The Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. You need not specify which
value the Ace has. It's assumed to always have the value that makes
the best hand. An example will illustrate, suppose that you have
the beginning hand (Ace, 6). This hand can be either 7 or 17. If
you stop there, it will be 17. Let's assume that you draw another
card to the hand and now have (Ace, 6, 3). Your total hand is now
20, counting the Ace as 11. Let's backtrack and assume that you
had instead drawn a third card which was an 8. The hand is now (Ace,
6, 8) which totals 15. Notice that now the Ace must be counted as
only 1 to avoid going over 21.
A hand that
contains an Ace is called a "soft" total if the Ace can
be counted as either 1 or 11 without the total going over 21. For
example (Ace, 6) is a soft 17. The description stems from the fact
that the player can always draw another card to a soft total with
no danger of "busting" by going over 21. The hand (Ace,6,10)
on the other hand is a "hard" 17, since now the Ace must
be counted as only 1, again because counting it as 11 would make
the hand go over 21.
A blackjack,
or natural, is a total of 21 in your first two cards. A blackjack
is therefore an Ace and any ten-valued card, with the additional
requirement that these be your first two cards. If you split a pair
of Aces for example, and then draw a ten-valued card on one of the
Aces, this is not a blackjack, but rather a total of 21. The distinction
is important, because a winning blackjack pays the player odds of
3 to 2. A bet of $10 wins $15 if the player makes a blackjack. A
player blackjack beats any dealer total other than a dealer's blackjack,
including a dealer's regular 21. If both a player and the dealer
make blackjack, the hand is a tie or push.
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The most common
decision a player must make during the game is whether to draw another
card to the hand ("hit"), or stop at the current total
("stand"). The method you use to indicate your decisions
to the dealer depend on which kind of game you are playing.
Double Down.
Among the more profitable player options available is the choice
to "double down". This can only be done with any two-card
hand, before another card has been drawn. Doubling down allows for
doubling your bet and receiving one, and only one, additional card
to the hand. A good example of a doubling opportunity is when you
hold a total of 11, say a (6, 5) against a dealer's upcard of 5.
In this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing
one additional card, so you might as well increase your bet in this
advantageous situation. Add an additional bet to the betting circle
by clicking the Double Down icon. The dealer will deal one additional
card to the hand. Players are allowed to double down for the amount
of the original bet only.
Splitting. When
you are dealt a matching pair of cards (remember, ignore the suits),
you have the ability to split the hand into two separate hands,
and play them independently. Let's say you are dealt a pair of eights
for a total of sixteen. Sixteen is the worst possible player hand,
since it is unlikely to win as is, but is very likely to bust if
you draw to it. The dealer will separate the two cards, and treat
them as two independent hands. Let's say you draw a 3 on the first
8, for a total of 11. The player can chose to then double down on
that hand total of 11 at this point. This is called "Double
after Split". Regardless, you can play the first hand to completion,
at which point the dealer will deal a second card to the second
hand, and you can begin making play decisions on it. Moreover, a
dealer Blackjack will win over a Blackjack that has been achieved
only after the splitting of aces. The result, however, will only
be a loss of your original bet amount.
If you get additional
pairs (in the first two cards of a hand), you may resplit, making
yet another hand. A player can split up to 3 times, making 4 separate
hands, with 4 separate bets. Double after split is allowed, you
could have up to 8 times your initial bet on the table if you chose!
The other complication for pair splits concerns splitting Aces.
You may only draw one additional card on each Ace. Also, if you
draw a ten-valued card on one of your split Aces, the hand is not
considered a Blackjack, but is instead treated as a normal 21, and
therefore does not collect 3:2 odds.
Insurance. If
the dealer turns an up-card of an Ace, Insurance will be an option
for the gambler. Insurance bets can be made by betting up to half
your original bet amount in the insurance betting stripe in front
of your bet. If the dealer does have Blackjack, your winning Insurance
bet will be paid at odds of 2:1. You'll lose your original bet of
course (unless you also have a Blackjack), so the net effect is
that you break even (assuming you bet the full half bet for insurance.)
This is why the bet is described as "insurance", since
it seems to protect your original bet against a dealer blackjack.
Of course, if the dealer does not have blackjack, you'll lose the
insurance bet, and still have to play the original bet out.
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