Playing Blackjack

The object of the game is to get a higher score from the sum of your cards than the dealer, while never exceeding twenty-one. If you go over twenty-one you 'bust'. The player is dealt two cards and the dealer one card (called the upcard). Cards count as their face values, excepting 'picture cards' (jack, queen and king -- or J, Q & K) which all count for ten, and aces (A) which count for either one or eleven. (As far as Blackjack goes, the 10 is classified as a picture because it has the same value as the J, Q & K, even though, strictly, it hasn't a picture on it!)

A typical first hand could be 5 & J, which would sum 15; an Ace and 9 would be either 10 or twenty, as the player decided. If the player had an A & Q to start, this totals twenty-one and happens to form a special hand called 'Blackjack' (no relation whatsoever to there being a black jack present at all). Blackjack, incidentally, pays 3:2 (one and a half times your original bet), so is a good hand to get!

The dealer asks each player in turn to either 'stand', 'double' or 'hit'. He then deals the cards to the players, taking their cards and money if they bust. Standing is when the player is happy with their cards and requires no more; doubling is an optional

After completing each players hands, the dealer then plays his own hand. The dealer started off with one card and so he will automatically take another to start with. The dealer keeps taking cards until he busts or gets a seventeen total or higher.

If the dealer busts all the players remaining will be paid out. If the dealer is standing, he will pay out anyone with a higher total. If the dealer and player both have the same total, then neither party wins and the hand is called a 'standoff'.

 

Basic Strategy Tables for Australian Casinos...