At Casino Las Vegas we take pride in offering you a supreme blackjack experience. Our dazzling collection features many variations of this old casino classic and offers you fast play, superb graphics and excellent winning opportunities. You can choose from blackjack switch, multiplayer, blackjack surrender and even go live and see our professional croupiers deal in real time. Why travel all the way to the hottest casino locations when you can experience all the thrills from the comfort of your own home? Just seat back and get ready to put your skills to the test, beat the dealer and win great cash.
Learn Blackjack
Blackjack has a fairly simple set of rules, many of which are certainly easy enough for anyone to pick up, and you could learn to play like a pro in as little as a few sessions…well, almost. In any case, while actually playing blackjack like a pro would require a bit more time than that, you should be able to manage pretty well after a few weeks of playing.
Blackjack Basics
For anyone who is trying to learn to play blackjack, one of the first things to learn is that the natural hand–that is the 10, the Jack, the Queen and the King cards, coupled with an Ace–is the most powerful hand in the game. This hand will beat out any hand that the dealer can come up with, unless he or she has a natural as well, of course.
Easy enough, right? Another important aspect to get straight when you want to learn blackjack is value of all the cards used in the game. The numbered cards are easy enough to figure out, since they have the same value as indicated. The values of the face cards are also quite easy to remember, since they are all equivalent to 10.
As for the Ace, one of the first things you will find out when you learn blackjack is that this card can have a value of either 1 or 11. This allows players to use the Ace card in any way that he or she feels will be most beneficial. With a hand comprised of a 10 and an 8 for instance, assigning the Ace card a value of 11 would result in a bust. Use the Ace as a 1 however, and you have a pretty respectable hand with a fairly hard-to-beat value of 19.
That’s pretty much the most complicated thing to learn regarding the different hand values, and once you get that down, you have managed to learn blackjack as much as you need to play a few games.
Practice Blackjack Online
A good way to learn blackjack quickly is to join in on a few games in an online casino. This will give you experience with real world blackjack scenarios and common dealer practices such as how the cards are dealt and what your options are at that point. For instance, in most casinos, the dealer will deal out the cards face up (a notable exception is in Pontoon blackjack wherein the cards are dealt face down). The dealer then gets two cards as well, with one card facing down and one card with the face exposed.
It may also be helpful to learn blackjack in terms of what you can do with the hand that is dealt to you. When you first start to learn blackjack, you will probably want to "hit" or "stand" most often. Asking for a hit simply means asking for another card in order to get a hand total that is closer to 21…hopefully without going over. When you stand on the other hand, you indicate to the dealer that you are satisfied with your present hand and have no desire for any other cards.
Blackjack Rules
Blackjack rules are actually pretty simple, and any beginner who wants to learn blackjack should be able to get the basics down after a few games.
One of the first blackjack rules you will have to know is that a natural 21 hand beats out any other hand. This would be hand comprised of a face card and an Ace. The actual object of the game is to get a hand with a total that is higher than the dealer’s hand, without going over 21. You will of course want to get a hand that totals as close to 21 as possible without going over. Going over 21 would result in a "bust", which will mean that you are out of the game.
Blackjack Card Values
Some of the other important blackjack rules have to do with the value of the cards. The number cards–that is, the 2 up to the 10–all have the same value as numbered. The 2 always has a value of two for instance, and the 4 has a value of four and so forth.
All the face cards on the other hand have a value of 10. The Ace has a value of either 1 or 11, depending on what value would be more advantageous to the player. If a value of 11 would cause the player to bust for instance–as in the case of a double Ace–the player may opt to assign one Ace with a value of one. Coupled with a face card however–as in the winning Black Jack or "natural" hand–the player would obviously assign a value of 11 to the Ace card.
As mentioned previously, blackjack rules indicate that a "natural" hand wins out over all the other hands in the game. Unless the dealer has a natural as well, this hand would result in a sure win for the player holding it. If that is the case, the round is deemed tied or a "push", and all the players’ bets are returned.
Blackjack Betting
The game itself begins with each player making bets, which are subject to the table limits of the particular table. According to blackjack rules, each player gets two cards facing up in two rounds of dealing, with the dealer getting two cards as well, only with one face up and the other face down (hole card).
Players have various options at this point, including hitting, standing, doubling down or splitting. Hitting is asking for another card and another as often as the player wants or until busting, standing means the player stays with the dealt cards, which are then compared to the dealer’s. Doubling down involves asking for just one other card and doubling the initial wager. After this, the player will be allowed no other action except to stand. As for splitting, this involves splitting the hand into two and asking for two more cards, thereby increasing the bet.
One of the other blackjack rules worth mentioning is the "dealer stands on 17s" rule, which essentially means that the dealer will have to hit with a hand less than 16, and stand on hands 17 or higher.
Blackjack History
Blackjack history is a subject that has come up for contention countless times in the past, and disputes about the game’s exact origins are in fact just as much a part of its history as the games that birthed the modern form. One theory is that blackjack history begins in 17th century France, with the game called "Vingt-et-un". This phrase literally translates to "21", making a strong case for the veracity of this theory.
Nevertheless, an equally popular idea has been put forth, with its proponents claiming that blackjack history began with much earlier–in the 14th century more precisely–with the modest popularity of a game called "Thirty-one". Although the name may be a bit further off in comparison, this particular game has enough similarities with modern blackjack to warrant the validity of its lineage to the game as it is played today.
The object of Thirty-one was get a total of 31 with a hand comprised of three cards. It is interesting to note that it was during this time that the first printed playing cards were made, and this doubtless led to the popularity of numerous other card games, such as "Seven-and-a-Half".
Blackjack Began in France or Italy?
Another Italian invention, Seven-and-a-Half is another important game in blackjack history. While not exactly similar to blackjack as we now play it, the game did use only the 8's, 9's, 10's and face cards, which are of course some of the more valuable cards in modern-day blackjack. Similar to the blackjack rules, players of Seven-and-a-Half who got a total higher than 7.5 would bust out of the game.
The French game Vingt-et-un mentioned earlier actually was a lot more similar to modern-day blackjack in terms of rules and game play. Players of Vingt-et-un also had to get a hand as close to 21 as possible without busting out, and in a more significant step in blackjack history, the game introduced the practice of assigning either a 1 or an 11 value to the Ace card. For this last aspect alone, many people consider Vingt-et-un the most similar to the modern form of the game.
Blackjack’s More Recent Developments
Blackjack history underwent considerable transformation when it arrived in America, soon after the French Revolution. The game was then known as “21”–a name that is still in use in some parts of the world today–and it was a huge hit among the casino crowds, particularly after several gambling establishments began offering generous bonuses for hands comprised of a Jack and an Ace of Spades. This combination was and still is known as "Black Jack", and there you have the origins of the modern name of the game.
There have been many other significant developments in blackjack history in the years since, including the rise of Las Vegas and the subsequent hold of the game among the casino crowds, and the introduction of the online version of the game as played in the online casino. The game has remained virtually the same since it reached American shores however, and subsequently made it across the world, where it is now played by millions of people.
Blackjack Strategy
Blackjack is a simple game, which can also be deceptively complicated. However, there is a basic blackjack strategy which can be learnt relatively quickly. When put into practice this reduces by a large percentage the chances of losing. The strategy does not teach you how to win at blackjack, for there is no definite way of guaranteeing a win; rather it allows you to be safe in the knowledge that you have the optimum winning potential on any given hand. While there are all sorts of blackjack strategies, the basic one is essential to ensure you have fun when you play this classic game.
Before learning blackjack strategy, beginners must first get their heads round the regular rules of the game. Luckily, there aren’t too many rules so the basic game play can be summed up in a couple of sentences:
The players and the dealer both receive two cards – the players’ are both face up while the dealer has one card face up and one face down. The aim is to create a hand which is closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand without going “bust” (creating a hand worth more than 21). There are two chances to place a bet: before the cards are dealt and after the two cards are dealt to each player.
Blackjack Choices
After receiving the two cards, each player must choose one of four main options:
- Hit – take another card and hope you don’t go bust
- Double – double your bet and only receive one more card
- Stand – stay with what you have and hope it is enough to beat the dealer,
- Split – split the cards into two separate hands and try your luck twice (only if you have two cards of the same value).
With the split and hit options, the player can continue accepting more cards until he is bust or decides that he has gone far enough and decides to stand.
The basic blackjack strategy is therefore used to determine which of the four actions to take after you receive your first two cards. The strategy does not help you decide on a blackjack betting strategy, or whether you should hit or stand on your third or fourth turn.
Playing Smart
In blackjack the aim is to try to end up with a better hand than the dealer. So each time a blackjack player makes a decision, it is based on the one face up card held by the dealer. If the dealer’s card shows he has a good chance of ending up with 21 then the strategy allows you to take more risks in order to get as high a total hand as possible. However, there is no need to go over the top. So, for example, if you have 17 there is never any point taking another card according to the basic blackjack strategy as the odds dictate you are more likely to get a five or more and go bust than receive an ace, two, three or four.
While the rules are easy to remember, the easiest thing to do is to get a blackjack strategy card which lists what to do on all the possible permutations. Then just follow the card and you’ll never be in a more dangerous blackjack situation than necessary.
