Blackjack / How To Play Blackjack - Rules, Player Options

How To Play Blackjack - Rules, Player Options

Setup
Blackjack is played at a table with a single dealer and from one to seven players. The layout gives a few basic rules, such as the payoff for blackjack; for insurance; and whether the dealer hits on soft seventeen. There will usually be a small sign to one side of the dealer that gives the table stakes and any special rules, such as whether surrender is allowed. You must ask to discover the other unposted rules and regulations. You will need to know, for example, whether doubling down after splitting is allowed, whether a player may double down on any two cards, whether pairs may be split a second time, and whether aces may be resplit. Such rules determine whether the basic game is favorable or unfavorable.
Rules
The game itself is simple. You, the player, attempt to accumulate cards with a numerical total closer to (but not more than) twenty-one than those accumulated by the dealer. If you do so, you win. If the dealers' total is closer to twenty-one than yours, you lose. Winning hands are paid off at even odds. If you and the dealer both arrive at the same total, the hand is a "push," and nobody wins. All bets must be made before any cards are dealt, and no bet may be changed once the first card has been dealt.
Each player is initially dealt two cards; they may be face-down or face-up, depending on the rules of the casino. The dealer gets two cards, one face-up and one face-down. The value of the cards is given by their face value except that the ace (A) counts as either 1 or 11 and the 10, jack (J), queen (Q), and king (K) all count as 10.
The combination of an A and any 10 on the first two cards is a blackjack and is an automatic winner (unless both dealer and player have it, in which case it's a push). A player blackjack is paid at 3 to 2. When the house has a blackjack the player merely loses his bet and not one and a half times that bet. Any combination of cards that exceeds 21 is a bust and a loser. The player always goes first, so if the player's total exceeds 21 the hand is lost -- even if the dealer also busts later. If the dealer busts, all remaining players are winners. The dealer has no options; play is fixed by the rules.
After the first two cards are dealt, the player must decide whether or not to take additional cards based on two pieces of information: the cards held and the dealer's upcard. This is where the game begins to get interesting. A wide variety of options offer themselves, and unless the player understands the principles of the game there are numerous ways to go wrong. Let's review the options first; correct play will be discussed later.
Player Options
Standing
The player elects to "stand" with the current total and not to draw any additional cards. If you are in a game where the cards are dealt face-down, you slip your cards under your chips. The dealer will understand the message. If you are in a face-up game, wave your hand back and forth in a wiping motion just above your cards, which is the signal for standing. All casinos insist on some form of hand signal; verbal statements are not accepted. Casinos can get rather noisy, and it is easy for a dealer to mishear a player. Also, the cameras hidden in the casino's ceilings can be used to resolve disputes only if hand signals are used, since they do not have an audio component.
Hitting
The player elects to draw an additional card or cards. If you are in a face-down game, draw your cards toward you with a quick scratching motion against the felt once or twice. In a face-up game, make a similar motion with your fingertips or , preferably, point to your cards with your index finger.
Splitting
If your first two cards are of the same value, you may split them and play each as a separate hand. To indicate a desire to split your cards, place an additional wager equivalent to the original one to the side of it. If you are playing in a face-down game, you must expose your cards. After splitting a pair, various other options become available. You can re-split if a third like-valued card appears. Or you can double down on the split hands should an appropriate card be drawn. For example, if you have split 8's and catch a 3 on the first 8, you may now double down on this total of 11. Both re-splitting and doubling and doubling down after a split are to the player's advantage.
Doubling Down
The player may double the size of the original bet and elect to draw only one additional card. The typical doubling situation is where you have a hand that stands a chance of becoming a _very_ good hand with one additional card; for example, your first two cards total 10 or 11. To indicate a double down bet, slide a second wager to the side of the original bet. This wager may be as much as but no more than your original bet. If you are playing in a face-down game, you must expose your cards. Virtually all casinos permit doubling on 11 and 10; most on 11, 10, and 9, and many will allow it on any two cards. The latter rule is the most advantageous to the player.
Insurance
When the dealer shows an A, players are given the option of taking insurance against the dealers' having blackjack. Calling this "insurance" is a bit misleading. Actually, it is nothing other than a side bet that is paid at 2 to 1. If you wish to take insurance (which is only recommended in very specific circumstances recognizable by an expert card counter only), place a bet equal to half your original bet in the semicircle running just in front of the your betting spot. If the dealer has blackjack, you will lose your original bet but win the insurance wager and break even on the hand. If the dealer does not have blackjack, you will lose the insurance bet and the hand will be played out normally.
Surrender
If your hand looks particularly unpromising against the dealers' exposed card, you have the option of surrendering half of your bet and retiring from the hand. For example, should you have 9, 7 against a dealer 10 and your chances of winning the hand are slim -- less than .5 -- and it would be to your advantage to give up half your bet. There are to forms of surrender: "late" and "early." In the late form, the player may surrender after the first two cards provided that the dealer does not have blackjack. In early surrender, the player may surrender after the first two cards even when the dealer is later revealed to have blackjack. Both forms of surrender are to the players' advantage, with early surrender being most beneficial. Not all casinos permit late surrender, and those that do don't necessarily post it at the tables. Except for the occasional promotion, no casino offers early surrender any longer.
Surrender, by the way, is the only play at the table that requires a verbal response; there is no hand signal. If you wish to surrender you hand, just say "Surrender." The dealer will remove half your bet and return the other half.

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