How to play Blackjack for beginners

The history of blackjack has more than a hundred years. For all this time, this entertainment managed to spread around the world and capture the minds of fans of gambling entertainment, even in our country. Nevertheless, despite the simplicity and transparency of the rules, there are still players for whom the rules of playing blackjack in the casino remain a mystery. This article made for people who do not know anything about blackjack. The article includes both the basic and additional rules of the game.

Blackjack variations and their differences

There are two main variations of blackjack:

American, which is also known as basic. Its characteristic feature is the fact that the dealer gives himself two cards at once, however, he only reveals one. If an open card is an ace or a dozen, the second card is revealed. When a blackjack occurs, the game immediately stops, and all players’ bets lose;

European. In this variation, the dealer initially receives only one card and takes the second and subsequent ones only when the players have finished their part of the game.

Basic Rules

The goal of the game is to defeat the croupier. Some people mistakenly believe that the main thing is to collect 21 points, but this is not so. The first thing you should deal with is scoring. Each card has its own “weight”, knowledge of which will make it easier for you to navigate in the environment at the gaming table. Learning to count points is not difficult: cards from 2 to 10 bring the number of points corresponding to their face value, pictures - 10 points each. The situation with the ace is a little more complicated - depending on what is more profitable for the player, it can mean either 1 point or 11 points.

So, how does the game run? First, the player (or players) make bets. The size of bets is individual - if your neighbor bets $10, you can bet $1. After all, bets have been placed, the croupier deals two cards - for players and for himself. Cards are laid face.

Upon completion of the deal, each player can make one of the following decisions: take another card or stop. In the process of collecting cards, players have one task - to get as close as possible to 21 points, but not to score 22 or more.

When the players made their decisions, the dealer makes his move. The dealer must (according to casino rules) take cards until the total points on the dealer’s hand exceed 16 points, after which the game stops.

The final stage is scoring. Players with 22 or more points (Bust) lose their bets regardless of the outcome of the dealer. For the rest, it comes down to who is closer to the number 21 - the player or the dealer. If the player scored 19 points, while the croupier, for example, has 18, the player receives his bet in double. If the player scored 21 points (blackjack), he receives a payout of 3 to 2.

If the croupier scored 21 points, then all players, with the exception of those who also collected 21, are declared losers. The rest just stays at their bets.

Additional Rules

In Blackjack, the rules of the game for beginners which you have already read can also allow the application of additional rules, of which there are five different actions available to the player.

Split. This rule can be used if, when dealing, you come across two cards of the same face value (for example, 2 and 2, 9 and 9, a king and a king, etc.). Taking a split, you make another bet of the same face value, split a pair, and for each card, you get one more from the dealer. Thus, you simultaneously play two games at once. However, the rules of blackjack in the casino separately stipulate the case of a split with two aces - in this case, the player can no longer draw additional cards and proceeds from those that were dealt with him immediately after the split.

Doubling. If you think that you need only one card to win, you can double. In this case, another card will be issued to you, the bet will double, but you will not be able to take a third card.

Surrender. If after the distribution of cards, you are convinced that you will not be able to win, you can make a Surrender, having received half of your bet back for this, but having lost the right to continue the round.

Insurance. This blackjack rule can be applied in cases when the dealer has an ace with an open card. By paying Insurance, which is 50% of the bet rate, you can protect yourself from the fact that the dealer will collect a Blackjack. However, in all other cases, you will lose the amount of insurance. In fact, statistics show that there is no point in resorting to this rule.