When you receive your first two cards and one of them is an ace, count the ace as 11. For example A-5 is a soft 16 A-2-5 is a soft 18 and 3-2-A-3 is a soft 19. Any hand that contains an ace that counts as 11 is known as a soft hand.

BLACKJACK RULES: HARD VS SOFT HANDĪ hard hand is any hand that either does not contain an ace, of if it does, counts the ace as 1.

(Sometimes the term “break” is used when the dealer’s hand exceeds 21.) So if a player was dealt a 10-6, drew one more card which was a 9, the player busted (i.e., because his hand totaled 25). When a player or dealer’s hand exceeds a total of 21, this is known as busting. It is always assumed that the ace counts as 11 unless so doing would make your hand total exceed 21, in which case the ace reverts to a value of 1.The total of any hand is the sum of the card values in the hand.Card suits have no meaning in blackjack.Picture cards count as 10 and the ace can count as either 1 or 11.All cards count their face value in blackjack.The history of blackjack, specifically its origins, how “21” became “blackjack” and who the pioneers were that developed the first basic playing strategy for blackjack. Why blackjack is “different” from other casino games and how we can exploit this difference and how the casino enjoys a built-in advantage over players and what we can do about itīefore you can begin to learn how to play blackjack, you’ve got to get the lay of the land (so to speak) on how the game is played - specifically the objective of the game, the value of the cards, betting rules, and player’s options for playing their hands. In this opening chapter, you’ll learn about: This is the basic to understand and to start the concept about how to play blackjack itself. If the player’s and dealer’s hands total the same (known as a tie or push), the player retains his bet. Players lose their bet when they bust, or when their hand totals less than the dealer’s hand. Players win when their hand totals higher than dealer’s hand, or they have 21 or less when the dealer busts (i.e., exceeds 21). The payoff is 1 to 1 (i.e., even money). The dealer acts last and must hit on 16 or less and stand on 17 through 21. Players must decide whether to stand, hit, surrender, double down, or split. The total of any hand is the sum of the card values in the hand Picture cards count as 10 and the ace can count as either 1 or 11. Blackjack starts with players making bets.ĭealer deals 2 cards to the players and two to himself (1 card face up, the other face down).īlackjack card values: All cards count their face value in blackjack.

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