General Blackjack Rules

In reality, blackjack rules are variated from one casino to another, whether land-based or online, according to a few variables that the house itself will have set. But there are a few too basic constants to get out of the way so you can move on to the meat of the game.

Blackjack uses a standard deck of 52 cards. The suits of the cards are irrelevant, only their numerical values matter. The card values are as follows:

10, J, Q, K = 10

Ace = 1 or 11

Other cards = face value (example: 7 = 7, 8 = 8)

Splitting, doubling down, and getting a natural blackjack are all only possible with a two-card hand. To split, the two-card hand must be a pair.

The common payoff of a natural blackjack is 3:2, or 150% of the original bet. If both the player and the dealer get a blackjack at the same time, it is known as a push. In a push, the player neither wins nor loses, he simply wins back his original bet.

After splitting two Aces, one of the two hands being played may make a blackjack (if a second card just happens to be a 10). Often in these cases, the blackjack resulting from a split is not considered a natural blackjack. Thus, its payoff is 1:1, and not 3:2 as would be for a natural.

As earlier mentioned, the dealer follows his own separate set of blackjack rules. As a standard, if the dealer's hand totals 16 or lower, he must hit; if his hand is 17 or higher, he must stand. These rules are set, which means the dealer does not get to bend the rules in order to gain an advantage over a player.

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