Nov 12, 2019 If the player is dealt a BlackJack, he will stand. If the dealer does not get a BlackJack, the player is paid at 3:2; If the dealer is dealt a BlackJack, all the hands which do not also have Blackjack lose. There is no offer made to take even money when the dealer has Ace showing and the player already has BlackJack. Blackjack Rules for Dealers. The dealer will continue drawing cards from the deck until the house hand has at least 17 points, or until it goes bust by going over 21. If the dealer has 17 points off the deal without an Ace, most blackjack rules say the dealer will stand, even if a 21 player has a higher total. Most players stand with an A-7 (soft 18) against a dealer’s 9 upcard, reasoning that an 18 is good enough to beat the dealer. But did you know if you play an entire lifetime of blackjack and are dealt a pat 18 on every single hand, you’d die a small loser!
How to Play Classic BlackJack
Short Description:
In the Classic Blackjack game you are competing against the dealer (the house).
The player and the dealer are each dealt two cards, with the goal of reaching 21, without going over. The player may draw as many cards as he wishes, until reaching 21. If the player draws a card that puts him over 21 (which is called a “Bust”), he loses the hand. A winning hand adds up to more than the dealer’s hand, without “Busting”.
Classic Blackjack Rules
Our Classic Blackjack game has a dealer and a player. The dealer deals from 6 decks of playing cards which are shuffled after every round. Before the cards are dealt, the player should first choose his position and then place his bets by clicking on either the 1 chip, 5 chip, 25 chip or the 100 chip, to reach the desired bet. After deciding on the desired bet, the player must click the “Deal” button in order to proceed with the hand. The round begins after the player has bet and clicked “Deal”.
A player may play multiple hands at one time.
Once the deal begins the bets may not be changed. During the course of the hand, the player may add to his bets through the options of Double Downs, Splits, and Insurance. After the cards are dealt, the player may choose the option that will yield him more opportunities. Buttons, located on the lower center of the screen, will appear in order to facilitate the player’s decision. For example, if it is possible to split two cards, a button will appear to allow the player to split the cards. The player will then simply need to click on the “Split” button.
The player receives two cards face up, and the dealer receives one card, face up. If the dealer’s up card is an ace, the player has the option of making an “Insurance Bet” after which the dealer checks the other card for Blackjack. If the dealer has a Blackjack, the hand is over. If a player also has blackjack the result is a push. In all other cases, the game continues, and the player may request as many additional cards as desired, until he chooses to “Stand” or “Bust”. If a player gets a Blackjack, which is a 10 or a face card along with an Ace, he is immediately paid 1.5 times the placed bet, unless the dealer also has Blackjack, in which case it is a “Push” (the player’s bet is left on the table).
Only a 10 or a face card along with an Ace is considered a Blackjack and overcomes a 21 hand.
After all of the player’s bets have been completed, the dealer completes his hand. If the dealer has sixteen or less, he must draw a card (Hit), until he reaches at least seventeen. If the dealer’s card total exceeds 21 (Bust), he must pay all remaining hands in the game.
An Ace can be valued as either a 1 or an 11. Face cards such as the King, Queen and Jack are valued at 10. All other cards are valued at their face value.
A “Hard Hand” is a hand with no ace, or a hand with an ace valued as 1. A hand comprised of an Ace, 7, and 9 is called a “Hard 17″.
A “Soft Hand” is a hand with an ace valued as 11. A hand comprised of an Ace and a 6 is called a “Soft 17″. The dealer will stand on a soft 17.
“Double Down”: A player may select the “Double” option after being dealt two cards. The Double option automatically doubles the player’s bet and deals one additional card, face up. The player cannot draw any additional cards. The player may double down on any first two cards dealt or after splitting a pair.
“Split”: If the player is dealt any pair of cards, on the first two cards (i.e., two Fives, two Jacks, etc.), he may split the cards into two separate hands. A split may occur on hands where the first two cards have the same value as well as on identical cards. The split option automatically places an additional bet, equal to the original wager. Each hand is then played independently, and the player may request as many Hits as desired on each hand (with the exception of Aces, which receive only one additional card per hand). In the case of split Aces or Tens, a player’s Blackjack is not possible and is considered as a regular 21. In this case, a dealer’s Blackjack wins, and a dealer’s 21 becomes a “Push”. If the dealer’s first card is a 10 or face card, and the concealed card is an Ace, the dealer’s Blackjack wins and the player loses their initial and secondary bets.
There is no possibility to re-split hands in this game.
“Insurance”: If the dealer has an Ace, the player has the option of making an “Insurance Bet”. The Insurance equals half the original bet, and ensures that the player will not lose their wager should the dealer be concealing a 10 or face card under their Ace. If, in fact, the dealer’s down card is equal to 10, the player wins double the Insurance Bet. If, instead, the dealer’s down card has a value of less than 10, the player loses the Insurance Bet and continues normally with the hand.
“Even Money”: If the dealer has an Ace, and the player has a Blackjack, the player has the option of “Even Money”. By choosing this option, the player will receive the same amount (1 to 1) of his Blackjack, without the Dealers face-down card even being exposed, thus protecting himself from a possible Dealer’s Blackjack. The player may also choose to continue playing without using the “Even Money” option. If the Dealer does not have a blackjack, the player will be paid at a normal relation of 3 to 2 on his Blackjack.
“Push”: A Push refers to when the dealer and the player have the same numerical count in their hands. In this case, the play is a draw, and the players’ bets remain on the table.
Payoff
Result | Payoff |
| Winning Hand | 1 to 1 |
| BlackJack | 3 to 2 |
| Insurance | 2 to 1 |
NOTE: Malfunction voids all pays and plays.
Minimum and Maximum betting limits
Minimum bet: 1 USD
Maximum bet: 300 USD
Premium Classic Blackjack
The premium version of this game has the same rules and functions.
The table color is black and the betting limits are higher:
Minimum bet: 5 USD
Maximum bet: 2000 USD
The theoretical expected return to player for this game is 99.52%
[Let's assume 6/8 decks, standard rules, no surrender]
For hard 16 vs a 10, we're given a Weird rule: 'Hit a two card hard 16, but Stand a three card hard 16.'
Hmmm, Ok, so we're supposed to Hit a hard 16 into 10 when our hand's made up of only two cards (10-6 or 9-7 only; 8-8's a split), but Stand a hard 16 into 10 when our hand's made up of 3 or more cards (say, 7-6-3, or whatever).
Since the difference between the two plays is so razor thin, in real life you're fine either way you play it, but if you're like me and sort of dig figuring out which option's better, I have a Rule proposal that needs peer review.
First, here's how crazy close the two options are (standard loss per dollar bet):
Stand 9-7 vs 10 = - .537 per $1 bet. Ouch.
Hit 9-7 vs 10 = - .535 per $1 bet. Basically the same Ouch, but ever so slightly less.
Those outcomes are so close that having just one 'safe' card (an A thru 5) inside your hard 16 (the '3' in the 7-6-3 example), and therefore unavailable to you if you Hit, is enough to flip the correct percentage play from Hit to Stand.
But here's the thing: there's more info available to you than just the cards making up your hard 16 when it comes time to make the Hit or Stand decision: namely, an entire table full of other players' cards and hits.
Since those other players' cards are also no longer available for your Hit, they matter exactly as much as the cards making up your hard 16 and they should be included in the Hit or Stand calculation.
[I'll be lucky if even 1 person on earth reads this far down, so if anybody has, you rock!]
So, now my proposed Rule:
1. For all players' hands and hits, total up how many safe cards (A thru 5) and how many unsafe cards (6 thru K) you see on the table (include your own hand, but not the dealer's 10).
2. Subtract 2 from the unsafe cards total (this represents a 2 card hard 16, which has to be out of the shoe before the decision becomes so razor sharp).
3. Calculate the percentage of safe cards on the table. The equation's: safe cards total / (safe cards total + unsafe cards total after step 2)
4. If that percentage is greater than 38.5%, Stand. If it's less than 38.5%, Hit.
Clear as mud? OK, the 38.5% is 5 divided by 13, the 5 types of safe cards divided by the 13 total types of cards in a deck.
What we're doing is finding out whether the concentration of safe cards on the table -- no longer in the shoe -- is greater or less than the 38.5% concentration that 'should' be on the table. If the concentration of safe cards on the table's higher than it 'should' be, then more safe cards are out of the shoe than should be, meaning fewer safe cards are left in the shoe. Fewer safe cards and more bust cards left in the shoe than the shoe's composition upon which the Stand = - .537 vs Hit = - .535 was calculated means you can be sure that tiny advantage for Hit has been flipped by the cards revealed on the table in front of you. You should therefore Stand.
Conversely, if the concentration of safe cards on the table is lower than the 38.5% that 'should' be there, then more safe cards remain in the shoe than the shoe's composition when the Stand - .537 vs Hit - .535 was calculated, so the advantage remains with Hit, and is even larger than the .002 advantage calculated on a regular composition.
Example: You get a 9-7 into a 10, no Surrender available. Hit or Stand?
1. Add up the total of safe cards (A thru 5) on the table, including your hand. Let's say there's 5. Add up the total of unsafe cards, including your hand. Let's say there's 8.
2. Now subtract 2 from the unsafe card total, leaving 6.
3. The percentage of safe cards on table is now 5/11, or 45.5%
4. Since the concentration of safe cards on the table, 45.5%, is greater than the concentration of safe cards in the entire shoe, 38.5%, it means there's 'too many' safe cards on the table, and therefore 'too few' safe cards left in the shoe, so we should Stand, even though our Example's only a 2 card hard 16, which the original rule told us to Hit (although it's quicker just to say 45.5% is greater than 38.5%, so that means Hit).
Of course, I'm not positive of this stuff, so on the outside chance anybody's still reading this, I'd def appreciate your input.
I figured the O/U for replies on this thread was: 0.5, UN - 150, so you're a hero to the OV's.
Cool example. Splitting those 10's vs 10 and getting two BJ's would certainly get you some unwanted attention from the eye in the sky, at least until the dealer pushed you.
PS: Hey, your tagline's better than mine.
DRich, thanks very much for replying.
I figured the O/U for replies on this thread was: 0.5, UN - 150, so you're a hero to the OV's.
Cool example. Splitting those 10's vs 10 and getting two BJ's would certainly get you some unwanted attention from the eye in the sky, at least until the dealer pushed you.
PS: Hey, your tagline's better than mine.
Blackjack Hit Or Stand
Ha ha. If you want attention try doubling after getting an ace on a split 10. It's nice to have you on the forum, hmmm23. Make use of this site's search feature. There is a lot of discussion on 16 vs 10 as well as other interesting tidbits.
If it's a 9/7, I surrender against a dealer face.
Blackjack Hit Or Stay
What to do with the worst position in Blackjack?
[Let's assume 6/8 decks, standard rules, no surrender]
For hard 16 vs a 10, we're given a Weird rule: 'Hit a two card hard 16, but Stand a three card hard 16.'
Hmmm, Ok, so we're supposed to Hit a hard 16 into 10 when our hand's made up of only two cards (10-6 or 9-7 only; 8-8's a split), but Stand a hard 16 into 10 when our hand's made up of 3 or more cards (say, 7-6-3, or whatever).
I don't think that is the correct rule for 6/8 decks. I think you should always hit.
There is exceptions to basic strategy for a double deck game
You can't reason the close calls out in your head. You have to do the calculations and see which is the best EV. So any rule proposed without math is essentially meaningless.
Blackjack Hit Chart
I don't think that is the correct rule for 6/8 decks. I think you should always hit.
There is exceptions to basic strategy for a double deck game
Blackjack Dealer Has To Hit Until Lyrics
My basic strategy calls for stand if it's a one-deck or two-deck game (or you are confident there are 100 or fewer cards left in the deck of a larger game), and hit if it's three or more decks.
Blackjack Dealer Has To Hit Until 2017
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