Blackjack is a card game that puts the player against the house. Meaning, the player plays against the dealer, not other players. Many people think the goal is to have your cards add up to as close to 21 as possible. While this is partly true, getting close to 21 isn’t exactly how you win. The goal of blackjack is to get closer to 21 than the deal without going over 21. Meaning, all you have to do is have a higher number than the dealer. It’s even possible to win with 12. Let’s take a look at the rules and how that’s possible.
Start of the game
To begin playing, you’ll need a 52-card deck of standard playing cards. The points of each card are as follows:
- Numbers 2-9 are worth the face value. Meaning, a 5 of clubs is worth “5 points” Note: card suits don’t mean anything in blackjack. You can ignore them.
- Number 10 and face cards (Jack, Queen, and King) all have a value of 10 points.
- Aces are either worth 1 or 11 points. More on that in a bit.
To start each game, known as a hand, the player is dealt 2 cards, both face up. The dealer also receives 2 cards. However, one of the dealer's cards is face up while the other is face down. You then have the option to receive another card (hit) or do not receive another card (stand).
You can hit on any number, even 20. Though, it’s a very bad idea to do so. The dealer, however, has special rules. They must hit until they reach 17. Anything over 17, they must stand.
At the completion of the hand. When all players have elected to stand and the dealer has also received 17 or more, the hand is over.
There are two more advanced options:
- Split: if both cards are the same value, you can turn 1 hand into two hands and play them separately. Of course, you’ll need to bet the same amount of money on the second hand as you did for the initial hand.
- Double up: you double the initial bet and receive 1 additional card and then are forced to stand.
Outcome
There are 3 possible outcomes to the round:
- The dealer is closer to 21 without going over than you are. In that case, you lose.
- You are closer to 21 without going over than the dealer is. In that case, you win.
- Either you or the dealer goes over 21. In that case, it is called a bust, and the person who didn’t go over 21 automatically wins, no matter what total their cards add up to.
Strategies
There are a few basic strategies to keep in mind.
- If you are dealt two aces, it’s best to always split and hope for 2 blackjacks.
- If you have an ace and a 4, it’s either a 5 or 15. In this case, it’s best to hit. If you get a card that is 6 or lower, you improve your hand. If you get something higher than a 6, the ace turns to a 1 and you don’t lose.
- Remember that you are trying to beat the dealer. So, if the dealer has 16, they have to take another card. If you have 13, it's best to stand and the odds are, the dealer will go over 21 and you will win.
There are a couple of important rules to remember:
- The ace can be a 1 or 11. So, if you are dealt an ace with a 10, jack, king, or queen, you automatically win. This is called a blackjack and pays you 1.5x the initial bet.
- If both you and the dealer end with the same total value of cards, it’s called a push. In this case, nobody wins or loses and you keep your initial bet.
- When a dealer face-up card is an ace, you can buy insurance. Which basically means, you give half of your initial bet to the dealer. If the dealer has blackjack, you get your money back and lose nothing for the hand. However, if the dealer doesn’t have blackjack, which is most often the case, you lose half of your initial bet and the hand continues.