Gambling Columnist

Tips to Play Blackjack Online

Blackjack is a simple casino game that any person can learn but to master it you will have to spend some time playing it. When you play blackjack online, your main objective is to gather cards and reach to the total of 21 points. In this game the Kings, Queens and Jacks are of 10 points, other cards are of their respective values and Aces are of either 11 or 1, as preferred.

In case there is a tie between House and the player, it is called as push and nobody wins. To win what you will have to do is reach as close to 21 as possible but if total for your cards exceeds 21 then you will lose.

Playing Blackjack

At the beginning you will have to place wager. You as the player will get face up 2 cards & dealer has 1 face up and the other one face down. You will have to take more cards to reach close to 21 or stay and not take cards any further as the situation is. If you do not bust then wait for dealer to show the card which was face down.

In case you are able to get to 21 from the very first 2 cards; a face plus Ace, then you will win. This is known as “Blackjack”. If you get blackjack you win 1 ½ times what you had bet at the start of the game. But in case the dealer gets blackjack too then it is called as Push and you will get back what you bet.

If you do not get a blackjack but have higher points than dealer then you will get back the amount you had bet but if points are lower than dealer’s, you will lose your money. In another situation when dealer busts, you will win.

Different Betting Options

Let us now look at different betting options that are available:

1. Insurance: You can do a side bet and the amount could be half of your starting bet. This bet will be against dealer getting a 21 & is only allowed when showing card from dealer is Ace. In case the dealer gets blackjack with ten face down then you have 2-1 odds payout on insurance.
2. Surrender: You can decide to give up and loss will be only up to half of the amount you had bet at the onset.
3. Double Down: Here you have the option to double what you had initially bet. But the condition is that you can only hit 1 card. Additionally you will have to take another card and you are not eligible to get more than 1 card.
4. Split Hand: You can split your initial hand and separately play them. This is however allowed only when initial 2 cards are equal value.

Common Rules in Online Blackjack

There are so common rules which are applicable in almost all online blackjack games such as:

1. There are multiple cards decks, normally six.
2. After completion of each hand there is re-shuffling of deck.
3. Soft 17 is hit by dealer.
4. You can only double on two cards.
5. You can only spilt as much as three hands.
6. You as a player is allowed to surrender from first two cards.
7. Split aces can get 1 card only.
8. You are not allowed to re-split aces.

Conclusion

Thus we can conclude by saying that it is quite easy to learn blackjack and is a game where you use your skills to your advantage and win more.