Blackjack

From Atlantic City to Las Vegas, or from Enghien-les-bains to Monte-Carlo, Blackjack can be found all over the gambling world. It is also known as Twenty-One. One of the reasons for its popularity is the high redistribution rate offered to players, and there are also numerous techniques and methods to be learned in order to reduce the house’s advantage.

Winning at Black Jack

The aim of the game is to obtain a higher hand than that of the croupier or dealer. You must not go over 21 (also known as busting), else you risk losing. The dealer must play according to the rules predetermined by the casino, and he will collect the cards which do not reach a total of 17 or 18 depending on the rules of the table.

Reducing the value in hand

A hand holds the sum of the cards in it. The cards from 2-10 are of obvious value, the Ace is worth either 1 or 11, at the player’s discretion, and the picture cards (Jack, Queen, King) are all worth10 points.

Playing the game

A game is composed of players and a dealer. It begins by the putting down of the first bets. Next the cards are distributed from a box, also known as a shoe. The players must choose between a number of options:

• Surrender and taking back half of their bet.
• Hit (take another card).
• Stand (take no more cards). Double (the player doubles his bet and receives another card face down).
• Split (the player doubles his bet and then splits his cards to begin playing with two separate hands)
• Insurance (If the player believes that the dealer may have a Black Jack, he can play the insurance which then pays 2:1, if the dealer doesn’t have one , the insurance is lost and the game continues as normal).

Knowing the different variations

There are a number of different variations in the rules of Blackjack. For example, Spanish 21 or Pontoon which use 8 decks of cards, or Switch, which allows a player to play with two hands and switch cards between hands. In England, sometimes Crazy Eights can be referred to as Blackjack.

Increasing your chances of winning

Over the years, experts have worked out ways of increasing their chances of winning. Roger Baldwin introduced, for example, his Basic Strategy in a famous article: The optimum strategy in Blackjack. Equally Edward O. Thorp, invented Card Counting in a book still popular today: Beat the Dealer. There are numerous ways of counting cards, the most well known are: the KO Count, the Hi-Opt Count I and II and the HI-LO count. The latter having been used recently as the theme for a blockbuster, Vegas 21, with Kevin Spacy. The film tells the story of a famous Blackjack team who count cards and win significant amounts of money.