It is true that blackjack is one of the easiest card games to get to grips with, and it is one of the most popular card games for this very reason. In fact, blackjack is the only casino card game which is against the house that can be consistently beaten by professional players legally.
Blackjack is loved by so many because it is a fun game to play, and the bonus is that you can actually play blackjack for real money! However, if you want to maximize your blackjack experience then you really need to learn how to play blackjack before you sit at a table and before you spend some real money on this.
What Is The Aim Of The Game?
So, it is true that blackjack is a contest between the dealer and the player. This means that the player’s objective is to achieve a much better hand than the dealer without coming to a total of above 21 points. In order to be able to get a blackjack then an ace needs to be combined with a 10, or a jack, or a queen or a king on those first two cards that have been dealt.
This means that a hand that has an ace and a king would be a blackjack, whereas a hand that has a queen, 8 and 3 would just be a score of 21. It is also important to mention that blackjack can sometimes be called ‘natural’ – and in nearly all receiving a natural will pay instantly and at 1.5 times the wager (this is true as long as the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack too.)
What if you don’t have a blackjack in your hand? Well, the next most wanted outcome would be to have the ‘best hand’ or to have the highest total that does not go above 21. By winning the best hand you can actually pay out at 1 times the initial wager – so a player who bets $10 would keep his bet and ultimately they would have $10 for the win.
What if you don’t have blackjack or the best hand? Well, then you are either going to be left with push or bust. So, a push is a tie between the dealer and the player, and you will be pleased to know money is not lost at this stage. However, money can’t be won at this stage either. Busts are the hands that exceed 21 and they are losers which will result in the player having to forfeit all wagers.
As a player, you will be really disappointed if you bust, but, if a dealer busts then you will all be pretty happy as in this case the players win.
The Value Of The Cards
In the game of blackjack, there are some scoring rules which are important to remember. The cards’ values are similar to the majority of other table games, but there is the exception of the ace. The suits do not matter in this game.
So, when they are combined the individual cards will be totaled so that the player will be able to earn a current score. The cards from 2 to 9 are scored as they read, so 2 scores 2, 3 scores 3 and so on. The jack, the queen and the king are valued at 10 points. The ace can either be valued at 1 or 11.
Hard And Soft Hands In Blackjack
So, every single card combination in the game will fall into two categories: they will either be a hard hand or a soft hand. This is all based on their potential point total. Here’s the thing, being able to identify when a hand is hard or when a hand is soft is absolutely essential to be able to understand the strategy behind the game.
Hard hand combinations will be when a player’s cards can only sum to the total of one value. For instance, if a player has a hand that has a 4 and then an 8 they would be considered to have a hard 12. In addition to this, there are also some combinations which can only sum to a certain number, for instance an 8 and a 4 and an ace will only be able to total 13, or if the ace is used as an 11 this would be to bust. This would result in an automatic loss which would not be ideal decision making.
Soft hand combinations are pretty much the complete opposite to a hard hand combination. This is because they can have multiple totals. For instance, if a player has a hand which includes a 2, and a 3 and also an ace then they will have a soft hand because the ace can be worth one or eleven points. So, the hand could be worth six or sixteen! Here’s the thing, because the ace is the only card in blackjack that can have multiple values, then a hand will need to include an ace so to be considered soft.
What is the benefit of having a soft hand combination opposed to a hard hand combination? Well, you can’t go bust with a soft hand. In fact, we can even go so far as to say that this is impossible.
In Conclusion
Blackjack is a fun and lively card game that is loved by a lot of people. Ultimately, the aim of the game is to do anything other than bust – and there can be some additional perks along the way. For instance, if the dealer goes bust then the players will win the wager of the dealer which is a pretty great result… For the players that is!
The rules might seem a little intense and challenging to get to grips with at first, but it is especially important that you familiarize yourself with the rules before you take a seat at the table. You want to go into this at an advantage, sitting at a table and not knowing the rules would ultimately put you at a disadvantage which is less than ideal.
