Rules of Blackjack

If you like a fast-paced card game, blackjack may be for you. It’s the fastest table game at the casino, so maintaining your bankroll is the most important part of blackjack. It’s a game of streaks so you must learn how to take the bad with the good. That’s what gambling is all about.

The dealer is your opponent in blackjack. Others at the table play against the dealer as well. The goal is to get a hand totaling as close as possible up to 21 without going over. Cards 2 through 10 count as face value. Face cards count as 10. An Ace can count as 1 or 11. You want an Ace, because the value can change from 11 to 1 if you go over 21. Hands with an Ace are called soft hands, while hands without an Ace are called hard hands.

Casinos will use six to eight decks to keep players and card counters guessing. Online casinos use a random number generator (RNG), but your odds are still better online than on land. A tie in blackjack is known as a push and you get your original bet back. A hand totaling 21 pays out 3 to 2. Dealers are usually required to stand on a hard 17, where they can’t take any more cards.

Always hit or double down for a soft hand with an Ace and a 2 through a 6. Splitting hands is tricky. Basic blackjack strategy tells you to split 5s or 10s rather than 8s. Blackjack has a house advantage of 5%, but you can get that down to 0.5% with basic strategy. So, blackjack is a game that you can win with a lot of practice. Just be patient because even the professional players only turn a 1-2% profit over the long term.