Gambling Tips

Object of the Game - To win of course! How you win is to beat the house dealer by having a hand that is equal or less than the value of 21 so that your hand is higher than the dealers. The best hand to have is a blackjack, which is a face (10) card plus an ace. This normally pays 2-1.

Cards - Each card has the same value as its face except for the ace, which has a value of either 1 or 11, and the King, Queen, Jack, which all have a value of 10. The number of decks used in blackjack varies. Some games are single deck but most are multiple. When more than two decks of cards are used, a shoe holds the undealt cards until played on the table.

The Play - Each player at the table is dealt two cards in sequence, one at a time, first one is normally face down and the second is face up, sometimes they are all dealt face down, depending on the house rules, in a clockwise direction. The dealer also receives two cards, one face up and one face down. If it has not been determined that the dealer has a blackjack, the play continues. If the player wants another card, she can inform the dealer for a "hit". The player may take as many hits as he wants as long as he doesn't "bust", which means goes over a total of 21. If the player does not want anymore cards she should "stand".  

Double Down - A player may double the amount of her initial bet after looking at her first two cards. This is referred to as doubling down and once this is done the player receives one additional card only. The player then turn her first two cards over. The dealer would then deal one card to the and then move on to the next hand.

Split - If a player's initial two cards are identical in value, she may split them by betting an amount equal to his original bet on the second card. She then draws additional cards on each of the split pairs, playing each hand (from right to left) in turn.

Busting - If a player's hand ever exceeds a total of 21, she has busted and loses the bet re

gardless of the dealer's total. When a player busts, cards are immediately collected by the dealer.

Push - If a player and the dealer have the same no wager is won or lost. The only exception to this rule is that a blackjack always beats a hand value of 21.

Dealer's Play - Once all the players have acted on their hands, the dealer flips her unexposed (hole) card over and draws cards until she has a total of 17 or above, generally. Each Casino will have posted what the house rules are for dealers play.

Insurance - When the dealer's exposed card is an ace, the players are allowed to make an insurance bet equal to half of the amount of their initial bet. If the dealer has a blackjack, the players will be paid at 2-to-1 on their insurance bet. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, the insurance bet is lost.

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