Blackjack is a game of skill and chance. It’s also a game that has been played since the early 1700s. The rules of blackjack are simple enough that anyone can learn how to play it. However, there are a few things that you should keep in mind if you want to play online blackjack safely.
If you’re looking to play online blackjack, then you’ve probably heard of the term “blackjack” before. It’s a card game where players try to beat the dealer at their own game.
The Goal of Blackjack
There are two main types of blackjack games: standard and video. Standard blackjack is played with a deck of cards. Video blackjack is played with an electronic device that displays a virtual deck of cards.
The goal of both versions of blackjack is the same – win as much money from your opponents as possible by beating them on points or getting closer than they do to 21. To be successful, you need to know which hand wins more often than not. This will help you make decisions about whether to hit or stand when playing blackjack.
Standard Blackjack Rules
In standard blackjack, each player gets 2 hands. Each hand consists of 17 cards. When dealing out the cards, one face-up card is dealt for every 10 cards. After all the cards have been dealt, the first round begins. A round ends after either player reaches 20 points. If neither player hits 21 during this round, another round starts. Players continue until someone beats the dealer. At that time, whoever won becomes the winner.
When playing standard blackjack, you’ll usually find yourself facing three different situations. They include:
Hit vs Stand Situation
You may decide to take a risk and bet against the house instead of taking a sure thing. You could use this decision-making process to determine what type of strategy works best for you.
To begin, look over the table below. Notice that the following numbers represent the odds of hitting versus standing. For example, 1/1 means that you have a 50% chance of winning when you choose to hit. On the other hand, 3/2 represents a 33% chance of losing when you choose to stand.
The key here is to understand how these percentages work in relation to each other. If you’re able to do so, then it will be easier to make an informed choice about whether or not to play your cards.
If you notice that there are two columns with equal probabilities, then you should probably try out both strategies before making any decisions. In fact, if you see four such cases, then you might want to consider switching back and forth between them until you get a feel for which one feels more comfortable.
This is just another way to help you gain confidence as you learn new skills. The next time you sit down at a casino’s craps table, you won’t even need to think twice about trying something new. After all, if you’ve already mastered basic math concepts like fractions and decimals, then you can easily figure out how to calculate the chances of various outcomes on the dice.
Stand vs Hit Situations
As mentioned above, you also have the option of deciding to keep your chips while betting against the dealer. This is known as “standing.” When you do so, you essentially place a wager on the outcome of the game without actually placing anything into the pot.
To win money from this situation, you must beat the dealer by getting 21 points. However, if you lose, then you don’t pay off your original stake. Instead, you only receive whatever amount was left in your bankroll after paying out earlier bets.
In most casinos, the minimum required to bet per round is $5. Therefore, if you were to put up $10, then you would end up having 10 times the initial investment. Of course, you’d still have to cover the cost of purchasing additional chips but you wouldn’t owe anyone else anything.
However, you shouldn’t expect to always come away victorious. Sometimes, you simply cannot beat the dealer no matter how hard you try. Even though you may have placed a large bet, you may still lose because the dealer has better luck than you.
For instance, let’s say that the dealer gets 20 points while you get 18. Now, since you didn’t go bust, you should have enough money remaining in your account to cover your losses. However, if the dealer had gotten 17 points, then you would have lost everything.
It’s important to remember that some games offer special rules that affect the probability of certain events occurring. These types of variations tend to favor either the player or the dealer depending upon who wins the majority of rounds played. It pays to know exactly what kind of conditions exist within the game being played. Otherwise, you run the risk of ending up broke!