Blackjack is quite a simple game to play. The interesting thing is that if you follow the strategic recommendations for blackjack with the aid of the blackjack chart or blackjack software formulated for the blackjack variant you are playing, you can enjoy better odds.
The aim of the game is to make a hand total of 21. The player plays against the house represented by the dealer hand. The player should make a hand total that is greater than the dealer but not more than 21 to win the game.
The Hand Values In Blackjack
- Ace can be either 1 or 11.
- K,J,Q and Ten are valued 10
- Numbers 2 to 9 have points similar to their face value
Hard Hands
Hard hands are where the hand has a chance of going bust in the next draw for higher values in such cases Ace is valued 1. For soft hands, where there is not really a risk of busting even with a high draw in those hands Ace is valued 11.
The flow of the blackjack game summarized:
- Following the wager, the dealer gets one face down and one face up card. The player gets two face down cards.
- If either the dealer or the player makes 21 in the first two cards, the game gets over, for it is a natural win.
- If none of them has made a blackjack hand, the drawing round follows.
Once a draw becomes necessary, the player can decide to either:
- Hit – Take a card
- Stand – Stop playing and give up forfeiting the bets made until then
- Double down – Double down the initial bet and take a third card and complete the play.
- Split – split the two cards in hand and play each card as separate hand. It is important to complete playing one hand first before drawing for the next.
- Insurance – Insure your hand stating the dealer will win. However, if the dealer loses, the player loses the insurance money
Hands with total equal to the dealer is tie, mostly declared a win for the dealer!