Blackjack playing tips and strategies

Our blackjack playing tips and strategies are designed to assist those new to the game of blackjack.

Black jack is meant to be played around a semi circular table with four seats. Each player sits facing the dealer and plays against the dealer and not against each other. This way one or more players can be playing against the dealer at any one time. Each player normally plays a single hand but multiple hands can be played. If you are relatively new to this game stick with a single hand.

In the online casino, the game is played by clicking the appropriate labelled buttons. The game can be played with from one to 8 packs of cards being used. Normally a minimum of two and a maximum of six packs are used. These are placed in a box called a shoe and cards are dealt from this box.

There is a high level of skill involved in blackjack. Some players have an uncanny ability to recall cards that have been played. It is fairly easy to recall the high cards that have been played when you are playing with a single pack The difficulty increases with the number of packs used in the shoe. Casinos frown on the practice of counting cards. If you are slowing down the game or are obviously trying to count cards, you will be quickly shown the door. The Joker is not used. Picture cards are assigned a value of ten (jack ,king, queen), and aces count as either 1 or 11 depending on your election. If you have a picture card and an ace, you would have to be a born looser to want to count it as one when you can count it as 11 and have a perfect score, a black jack plus win one and a half times the amount wagered in most casinos! All other cards are counted as per their face value.

Remember that there are sixteen tens in the blackjack shoe for each deck of cards because of the way picture cards are counted.

You must place your bet at the beginning of each round on a circle on the table in front of you. If you don't place a bet, you can't play. The dealer deals all players and himself two cards in a rotating pattern from left to right around the table. Each player can look at his or her cards but only one of the dealer's cards are dealt face up. You have to assess your hand and choose to 'hit' (be dealt more cards) or 'stand' (sit on the cards you have been dealt). The aim of the game is to equal or get as close to 21 as possible without exceeding that number. To win your hand must be better than the dealers. If you exceed 21, you have gone 'bust' and the dealer wins the amount you wagered.

Most blackjack players consider the dealers face down card as having a value of ten. If his card facing up had a value of seven, we assessed his hand as seventeen, the number we have to beat. In reality, his face down card could be an ace or any other card as low as 2. If your hand adds up to nineteen, you will at least draw with the dealer. If the dealer's face up card is a low number, there is a fair chance that the dealer will hit to increase his or her chance of getting closer to 21. If the dealer goes bust all players win double their stake. A player can elect to 'double down' that is to buy another card but this requires you to double your original stake. The value of this card is added to the value of your existing cards. If you go bust, your total amount wagered is lost. Some casinos have rules as to when you can double, usually your hand has to total less than 11 and cannot contain an ace. If your initial two cards are of the same value, you can 'split' them into two separate hands and be dealt one more card for each hand. This is then the same as playing with two separate hands.If the dealer's hand contains an ace, (after the initial cards are dealt) some casinos have a thing called an 'insurance bet'. With this you are betting that the dealer has a black jack. If you are right, you get paid double your bet.

This is not a value for money bet as it is a fairly rare occurrence. In some casinos you can 'surrender.' In these circumstances you loose only half of your bet. After all players have their additional cards, the dealer will decide to hit or stand. The dealer will decide to stick on a total that is either equal to or under 21. If the dealer should go bust you get double your stake provided you have not gone bust. Normally when a player's cards total more than the dealer's cards, the player receives an amount equal to the amount wagered. When your cards equal the dealers cards, you 'push'. That means that your bet lies for the next round.The next round is ready to begin when all bets are settled for the current round

In the game of Blackjack, the casino only has a very small advantage over the player. Players who are prepared to develop a high level of skill in playing this game can effectively reverse this small advantage. The River Belle Casino has a very realistic free to play blackjack game that you can access from www.winnersrun.com/freegames.php .

Links to other Blackjack pages www.winnersrun.com/blackjack.php This site has a lot of material dealing with playing strategies, card counting and managing your bankroll.

www.blackjackrat.com is a site specialising in winning blackjack strategies and how to learn to play the game well.

Good Luck!