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Blackjack Rules:
In blackjack, the players bet against the house dealer,
rather than against each other. The goal of each player is to
have a higher point total than the dealer without going over 21.
The values of the cards in any given person's hand are added
with 2 through 10 having face value, ace having value 1 or 11,
and king, jack, and queen cards having the value 10. If the
player and the dealer both have the same point value, this is
known as a push, and neither player wins the hand.
After initial bets are placed, the dealer deals out the cards
(either from a single hand-held deck of cards, or more commonly
from a shoe containing four or more decks): two cards to each
player, including himself. One of the dealer's two cards is
visible, the other hidden (the hidden card is known as the hole
card; in Atlantic City casinos, the hole card is not actually
dealt until the players all play their hands). The cards of the
players are dealt either face up or face down, depending on
local casino practice; face up is the most common.
At this point, if any player has a natural 21 (an ace with
any 10-count card), he is immediately paid 3:2 for his bet,
unless the dealer also has a natural, which is a push. If the
dealer has a natural, all players without a natural lose
immediately; they do not get a chance to further improve their
hands, a very slicky blackjack rule.
If the dealer does not have a natural, then one by one the
dealer gives each player the option of asking for more cards
(called taking a hit) or staying with his current total (called
standing or holding). The player may continue to ask for more
cards, one by one, until he has either gone over 21 (a bust), or
he is satisfied with the cards that he has. In addition,
depending on what cards the player holds, and depending on the
rules in effect at the table, the player may have the option of
performing certain special plays (described below).
If the player busts (takes a hit that put him over 21), the
blackjack rules indicate he immediately loses the bet.
Once all the players have finished making their decisions, the
dealer then reveals the hidden hole card and may or may not draw
additional cards.
The decision of whether to draw more cards is not up to the
dealer's discretion; it depends only on the point total that the
dealer holds. If the dealer has less than 17, he draws another
card, and continues to draw more cards until having a value
equal to or greater than 17.
If the dealer busts, then all remaining players win. Bets are
normally paid out at the odds of 1:1. Casino Blackjack rules
vary on whether the dealer takes a hit when holding a soft 17
(that is, a hand such as an Ace with a six, which can be counted
as either 7 or 17). Las Vegas casinos typically stand; Reno and
Atlantic City casinos typically hit.
If the first two cards form a total of 21, this is a special
case known as blackjack or natural. The player who gets
blackjack receives a better payout of 3:2. However, if the
dealer and the player both receive blackjack, then this is a
push.
Blackjack Special plays:
Casinos often offer variations on the rules which add to the
player's gambling opportunities during the course of play. The
most common of these are:
Pair splitting - blackjack special plays. If the
player has two identical cards, he/she may place an additional
bet of equal value and play two hands instead of one, using each
of the two cards as the start of a hand. Any two 10-count cards
are considered a pair, and so may be split. In most casinos, if
one splits a pair of Aces, one receives second card to each, but
can make no further plays on either hand. More on splitting
cards.
Another blackjack special plays is Blackjack Doubling down.
The player can double his bet and receive just one more card
(forfeiting the opportunity to hit further). Some casinos only
let players double down if their initial point total is 11 or 10
(or in some cases 9). Las Vegas casinos typically let a player
double down with any two cards. A few casinos allow
double-after-split, where a player who has split a pair into two
hand receives a second card to each may then choose to double
down on those two cards. More on doubling down.
Surrender. Some casinos allow a player who has a bad hand to
give up the hand and get half the bet back.
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