Blackjack

The Basics:

Blackjack is played with cards against a dealer. The object of the game is simply to beat the dealer by getting a better hand than him, or to simply survive the game. As you play, you will get cards. The best hands to get are ones where the cards total 21 (i.e. an eight, a four, and a nine, or, even better, an ace and a king, which will get explained). Be wary though, if your cards end up totaling more than 21, you are “busted” and lose that hand. The dealer can bust as well, so, if your hand is low, you still may be able to win if he busts.

As far as the cards are concerned, each card is worth its face value, so twos are worth two, nines are worth nine, etc. Tens, jacks, queens, and kings are all worth ten. Aces are worth either one or eleven.

How to Play: So here’s how it goes. At the start you and the dealer (and any other players that are in the game) will get two cards each. Since the only person you are playing against is the dealer, the cards dealt to you will be up (if someone at the table has a better hand than you, fear not—the dealer is the only person you have to worry about). One, but not both, of the dealer’s cards will be up as well. This might seem unfair, but the dealer has to operate under very strict rules to balance this out.

The dealer must hit on any combo of cards that equals less than 16 and stay on any combo of cards equaling 17 or more. Hit, stay… what?

Yes, there is more to blackjack than getting two cards. The basic two things to do are hit (take another card) or stay (not take another card). There’s no limit to how many cards you can take, although you must remember if your cards end up totaling more than 21, you bust. Once you have decided to stop taking cards, the dealer will move onto the next person around the table (or, if you are the last person/only person playing, he will then move to himself). The dealer will take or stay depending on what he has, and then you will either win or lose depending on how your cards stack up to his (or win by default if he busts).

Now, if you and the dealer each have the same total in front of you (for instance your cards and his cards both equal 20) then it’s called a push. You don’t win any money, but you don’t lose. Some casinos will still call this a loss, but that’s not how the game is always played, and it’s certainly not how it’s played at a Jackpot Casino Events party.

If you win, by Jackpot Casino Events rules you win an amount equal to what you bet if you beat the dealer. Thus, with a “100” chip as your bet, you would get back your bet, plus another “100” chip, making you just a little richer in play money.

Blackjack: Of course, there are a few other things that can happen besides the basic hit or stay options. The first is if you get an ace and a ten-value card, thus totaling 21. This is called a Blackjack. As long as the dealer doesn’t have a Blackjack as well, you win (by Jackpot Casino Events rules a Blackjack pays out twice what you put in, thus a “100” will get you “200” in play chips).

A Blackjack can only, only occur on the first two cards you are dealt. If you are able to get 21 some other way besides with an ace and a ten-value card, it is not a blackjack. Also, if you and the dealer both have a Blackjack (which does happen sometimes) then it’s just a push. Sad, but true.

Double Down: In some instances, you can (and should) double your money on a bet. This is called a “double down.” Why would you want to do this? Well, if (and this is the best case) you have a total of eleven showing (a six and a five for example) you want to double down, effectively doubling your bet (if you had a “100” in, you would put a second “100” down). What you are betting on with an eleven is the chance of getting a ten-value card as your next card.

There is a risk. If you double down, you can only get one more card, and you have to take it, whatever it is. The likelihood of a ten-value card coming up is far greater than any other card (generally) as there are more ten-value cards in the deck than any other card.

You can double down on any combo of two cards (it can only be done at the start of a hand), although it’s advisable only in the case of elevens (some people like tens as well, since you’re likely to get a twenty, which is a respectable hand as well). There’s no point to doing it on a sixteen, for example, just because the likelihood of getting a card that doesn’t bust you and make you then lose your doubled bet is much, much slimmer.

Split: You can also split in some instances. A split can happen only in your first two cards, and only when you have the same card twice (as examples, two aces or two eights). What you do is split apart your doubles, making each its own hand. You then double your bet (covering each hand separately), and get dealt cards for each of those two new hands.

You can split twice in a hand, as in the case of splitting eights and getting a third eight on one of your new hands. You cannot split more than twice (i.e., you cannot have more than three “hands” going at a time).

There is a second complication, and that has to do with aces. Aces can be split, but you can only get one card on each (unless you get yet another ace, which can be split, and then each of your three aces can only get one more card each). If you split and don’t like your cards, you’re just stuck with what you got dealt. Additionally, if you do get a ten-value card on one of your aces, this does not count as blackjack, just a normal twenty-one. Remember, blackjack is only on the very first two cards of your hand.

Of course, there are times where it’s not advisable to split. Two very low cards aren’t wise to split, because you’re already in a bad spot to begin with. Why double your bet to make two potentially bad hands when you can just suffer through one and move on to the next round. It’s also not wise to split two similar ten-value cards (such as two queens), as, in this case, you’re already in a good spot to win. Why potentially screw that up?

Split and Double Down: And yes, you can double on split hands. If, for instance you split eights and then get dealt a three on one of your eights (making eleven), you can then double your bet on that “hand” and try for a ten to make 21.

That’s a lot of rules for one of the simplest gambling games around. As with any of the games featured at a Jackpot Casino events party, you can ask any of the dealers for a refresher on the rules of the game. The dealers are there to make sure you are comfortable playing any game you choose and are having a good time.

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