Casino Games Online Blackjack

How to Play Online Blackjack

Blackjack is the most popular card game in casinos apart from poker and it is partly because the game is easy to learn and play.  The goal in online blackjack is to beat the dealer’s hand, coming as close to 21 as possible without going over.  A player drawing to over 21 is “busted,” and no longer has interest in the hand.

Each numbered card (two through ten) in blackjack is worth “face value.”  Jacks, Queens, and Kings – also known as face cards in blackjack – hold a value of ten, while the value of an Ace can vary at will – counting as either one or eleven.  For this reason, blackjack hands containing an Ace are known as “soft totals” in blackjack, because the value of the hand is not firm.

= 1	= 2	= 3	= 4	= 5
= 6	= 7	= 8	= 9	= 10
= 10	= 10	= 10	= 11

A hand containing an Ace and a Five is called a soft sixteen, as this blackjack hand can total either sixteen or six.  Should a player receive an Ace and a face card or a ten on the deal, the player has hit blackjack and is paid out three to two on his bet.  Should a blackjack dealer serve up blackjack to himself; the hand is over and the house wins.

The Online Blackjack Hand

Once you have placed your bet on the online blackjack table, the dealer will deal out the cards, which begins the blackjack hand.  Both of your cards will be face up and the blackjack dealer will have one face up card, as well as one card face down.  If there are multiple players on the table then the player to the left of the dealer is dealt the first card.  Play additionally moves from left to right, with each player acting individually in competition against the house.  Each blackjack player has the option to hit, stand, double down, or may split their hand if the hand is paired (contains two cards of same value such as a pair of eights).  The term “hit” means that you are asking for another card, the term “stand” means that you are asking to end your turn with the belief that your hand value will end up better than the dealer’s hand total.

If you wish to double down, you double your bet and receive only one card in belief that your sum will be sufficient to best the dealer.  Splitting your pairs in online blackjack results in two separately played hands from the paired hand.  Each of these split blackjack hands play for a single bet.  The split hands receive a separate face up card, and both hands play one at a time under the normal blackjack guidelines.

Once all players have acted on their blackjack hands, the dealer turns his cards over.  Unlike players at the blackjack table, the dealer is bound by specific rules governing his play.  The dealer is obligated to hit when his hand totals less than seventeen.  The blackjack dealer must stand or stick when his hand is 17 or higher in value.  Once the dealer reaches the point where he must stand, the hand shows down against each player.  Players are paid out on whether or not their blackjack hand beats the dealer’s blackjack hand.  A player who busts loses, even if the dealer busts as well.

Making Decisions in Online Blackjack

In order to make proper and profitable decisions at the blackjack table, it is imperative that one understands how to act in each situation at the blackjack table.  Not only is it important to know when to profitably hit or prudently stand, but blackjack players also must be aware of when it is most profitable to double down, or split paired hands.

While there is no crystal ball to predict the future, there is a widely accepted strategy – known as the blackjack basic strategy.  Basic Blackjack Strategy will help blackjack players make effective, prudent and profitable decisions at the blackjack table.  Basic strategy in online blackjack is designed to cut down the house edge in blackjack by playing the blackjack hand optimally.

Card Counting in Online Blackjack

Once a player has learned and mastered basic blackjack strategy, the online blackjack player will be well served in mastering the concept of card counting.  Card counting is merely the process of keeping score of the cards that have been exposed in a blackjack shoe.  The count begins at zero with the start of a new shoe, and adds one for cards ten or above in value, while subtracting one for cards lower than six.

The higher this count goes, the more rich the blackjack shoe is in high cards.  The lower the count, the better the opportunity to draw.  This means the player is wise to adjust his blackjack play to draw in marginal situations when the count is low, while standing when the count is high when faced with a marginal decision in online blackjack play.

By learning to play blackjack online using basic blackjack strategy and counting cards, you will not only improve your blackjack play, you will also cut back the house edge, which will allow you to dominate blackjack tables live and online.

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