Blackjack Game Guide

Online Casino Blackjack is a classic table game that’s available at most of the best casino sites. The game is legendary because of its reputation as the one game where you can beat the house.

The Aim of the Game

In a game of online casino blackjack, you play against the dealer – your hand against his. To win a game, you must draw a hand with a value of as close to 21 as possible without exceeding this number (going bust). In Blackjack, all cards are considered to have their face value, and all Royals are worth 10.

How to Play

When you play a hand of Blackjack, you’re required to wager before the hand begins. Usually you stand to win double your money, but odds of 3:2 aren’t uncommon for this game. The dealer will deal you two cards, face up, and two for himself. Only one of the dealer’s cards is revealed, however. But this card gives you an indicator of what the dealer could be holding.

You add up the value of your own cards, and then decide on a course of action. Your choices are:

Hit

Choosing to Hit means you ask the dealer for an additional card. You only want to do this if the value of your hand is very low. You can hit as many times as you like, but hitting when your hand is already valued over 15 carries an inherent risk of pushing the value over 21 – and busting you.

Split

If you split, you may opt to divide your hand into two separate hands – but you’ll also need to pay in the extra wager for the new hand. Each split card will be dealt an extra card to make it a full hand, and you then play them as normal against the dealer’s single hand.

Double

Doubling means you double your wager, and hit one more time. You cannot hit again. Generally speaking, it’s 100% safe to call a Double bet if your hand is worth 11, because the maximum value of a new card is 10. You do, however, run the risk of landing a low value card and being unable to hit again.

Stand

Standing means you want no more cards – you’re happy with your hand the way it is. Once you’ve decided to Stand, it’s the dealer’s turn to play. They begin by revealing their hidden card.

If they haven’t beat you, then the game rules require the dealer to Hit. The dealer must continue to hit until either they beat you or go bust. However, the dealer must stand on 17, which gives you a slight advantage. The only other condition whereby a game ends is if both your hand and the dealer’s hand have exactly the same value; this is known as a Push. When a Push occurs, your wager is returned.