The Rules of Blackjack

The Blackjack game originated in France approximately 300 years ago and has since then become the most popular casino game worldwide. A player can master the basic rules quickly and fairly easily. The objective in blackjack is to have a hand which totals 21, or beats the dealer's hand by coming as close to 21 as possible without going over, or 'busting'. If your first two cards are an ace and a ten (or picture card), that's blackjack or 'a natural' 21. Blackjack always beats a hand that totals 21 by adding the values of more than the first two cards.

A picture card is counted as 10, a card from 2-10 is counted at its face value, and an ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. A 'hard hand' is a hand that does not contain an ace or contains an ace that can only be counted as 1 so as not to bust.

In our Blackjack game you are competing either against a dealer (the house) as the Player or you can play the role of the Dealer and play against a Player. Our game is unique in that you choose to play against other live players as Player or as Dealer. In BeTheDealer Casino every game is naturally a Multi-player game since players play against each other. We feature private as well as public tables. On a public table there are up to two players simultaneously, one playing as the 'Player' and another playing as the 'Dealer'. In the private tables players play against an automated System dealer.

There are six decks and the rules are: Dealer hits soft 17, up to 3 splits allowed (when splitting Aces the player receives only one additional card for each hand, and if the additional card is a face card the hand is not considered as Blackjack), doubling down after split is not allowed, double down on any first two cards, no surrender option.

Our Blackjack game has a dealer and one player (as described above). The dealer deals from a shoe containing six decks of playing cards. Before the cards are dealt, the players place their bets by clicking on either the $1 chip, $5 chip, $25 chip or the $100 chip to reach the desired bet.

Once the cards are dealt the bets may not be changed. Buttons located on the lower right side of the screen will appear in order to facilitate betting. The minimum and maximum initial bets can be seen prior to entering the blackjack table.

Each player receives two cards face up and the dealer receives one card face up and one card face down (the 'hole card'). The player may request as many cards until he/she busts. If a player is dealt a Blackjack, which is a 10 or face card along with an Ace, he/she immediately gets paid 1.5 times the placed bet unless the dealer also has Blackjack in which case it is a 'push' (you neither win nor lose your bet).

After all the player's bets are completed, the dealer turns over his/her hole card and plays according to the rules of the game. If the dealer has sixteen or less, he/she must draw a card (hit), until he/she reaches seventeen or more. If the dealer's cards total exceeds 21 (bust), he/she must pay all players who are still in the game.

There are different playing and betting methods:

Hit
You receive another card. For example, if your 2 cards equal 10 you have nothing to lose by requesting another card, since your total could not exceed 21.

Stand
This means that you have decided that your hand is good enough and you don't want to be dealt another card.

Double Down
After you have received your first two cards you have the option to double the initial wager. Once you have chosen to do this, click on the 'Double' button and you will be dealt a third card and that's it. Your hand will only consist of these 3 cards.

Split
If you are dealt two cards of identical value you can then split them (i.e. 8, 8 or 10, J). You would now be playing two separate hands of one card each. You will be dealt a second card to one of the hands. After this hand is played out, the second hand will be dealt a second card and continued until that hand is played out (when splitting Aces the player receives only one additional card for each hand). You may split your hand twice and a new wager equal to the initial wager will be placed for each split hand.
A split hand resulting in Blackjack pays out at a ratio of 1-1 rather than the normal 3-2. If it is possible to split two cards the 'Split' button will be highlighted to allow the player to split the cards. Simply click on the 'Split' button to facilitate the splitting of the cards.

Insurance
If the dealer's first card is an Ace, there is a possibility of a Blackjack. If you believe the dealer has Blackjack you can buy insurance to protect yourself. If you choose to insure yourself, you have to pay an amount equal to half your wager. If the dealer gets Blackjack, the insurance will pay 2 to 1, which corresponds to your original stake. If you have insured yourself and the dealer does not obtain Blackjack then you lose your insurance but retain your original wager.
Insurance is considered a game of its own within Blackjack, and gives you a chance to protect yourself from the dealer's Blackjack

Push
A Push refers to when the sum of the dealer's hand is equal to the sum of the player's hand. In this event the play is a draw, and no one wins nor loses.

Examples:

Your beginning hand is: Ace, 6. This hand can be either 7 or 17. If you stop there, you'll have 17. Let's say that you decide to 'Hit' and receive a '3' .You now have: Ace, 6,3. Your total hand is now 20, counting the Ace as 11. Let's backtrack and assume that you had instead drawn a third card which was an '8'. Your hand is now: Ace, 6, 8, which totals 15. Notice that now the Ace must be counted as only 1 to avoid going over 21.

If you split a pair of Aces, and then draw a ten-valued card on one of the Aces, this is not a Blackjack, but rather a total of 21. The distinction is important, because a winning Blackjack pays the player odds of 3 to 2. A bet of $10 wins $15 if the player makes a Blackjack. A player's Blackjack beats any dealer total other than a dealer's Blackjack, including a dealer's regular 21. If both a player and the dealer make Blackjack, the hand is a tie or push.

A good example of Doubling Down is when you hold a total of 11 (a 5, 6 or a 9, 2) against a dealer's upcard of 6. In this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so you might as well increase your bet in this advantageous situation. You have to place an additional bet next to the original bet. The dealer will deal one additional card to your hand and you will not be able to take any more cards until the current round has ended.