Online Blackjack Rules
First of all, the objective of the game of Blackjack is to get as close to 21 without exceeding 21. If you hit over 21 you are busted, which means you can not win. To beat the house you need to hit under 21 – but higher than the dealer.
First of all, the objective of the game of Blackjack is to get as close to 21 without exceeding 21.
The setup is the following. Before the dealer starts handing out the cards you will have to place your chosen bet. Each game of Blackjack has its minimum and maximum bet and it is up to you place your wager within these limits. After placing the bet the dealer will deal two cards with the face up to each player and two cards to the house – one face up and one face down.
Knight, Queen, and King, the suits, all have a value of 10. Ace is counted as 11 or 1. The numbered cards from 2 to 9 have the same value as the card number value.
So for instance, if your two first cards, luckily, is an ace and a card with the value of 10, it is called Blackjack since the total value is 21. This means you will win half of your stake unless the dealer also gets Blackjack – then the bet will have no action.
If taking one step back again to look at the options you have after the cards are dealt. The number of alternatives is four. Either you hit, stand, double down or split.
To hit means that you are given one more card and then you will have to consider the four options. The second alternative is to stand and that means that you stop and will not be given any further cards during the current round. The third alternative is to double down. If so, you will double your amount from the original bet at the same time as you will be given exactly one more card and the hand value is then final. Your fourth option is to split. A split can be done when you have two cards with similar values. To split means that you will play each card as a new hand, each with an exact match of your original bet.
These are the basic rules and restrictions for you as a Blackjack player. But to fully understand the game and to make the most possible strategic decisions you also need to know about the house or the dealer and how they must proceed on their hands. Because Blackjack is all about beating the dealer.
The dealer has one card face up and your decision on which of the above actions to take will be in consideration to the value of the dealer’s card. The dealer also has the restriction stating that the dealer must hit until the hand has a value of at least 17. Any value between 17 to 21 will be final and if the dealer reaches any value above 21 the dealer has also busted.
Best Blackjack Online Strategy
Blackjack is a straight forward card-game with rather simple rules that are easy to learn. But it is also a game where you can be strategic and where experience matters. With a consistent strategy your chances of winning in this game are better than most other games of gambling and, all in all, this is probably why it is such a popular game.
When being strategic in Blackjack you must always pay attention to the value of the dealer’s face-up card, because that value is what decides what your next action will be. To apply a strategy that is based on likelihood instead of gut feelings is simple and it will increase your chances of winning.
In this list below you can see the percentage of the time the dealer busts given their face-up card:
| Dealer’s Face Up Card | Chance of Going Bust |
| 2 | 35.30% |
| 3 | 37.56% |
| 4 | 40.28% |
| 5 | 42.89% |
| 6 | 42.08% |
| 7 | 25.99% |
| 8 | 23.86% |
| 9 | 23.34% |
| 10 | 21.43% |
| A | 11.65% |
These numbers are facts that are fundamental for the strategic online Blackjack player. It also shows that this game is about all about numbers, likely hood and, in a sense, mathematics. When applying this every value that the dealer’s face-up card is showing is telling you another number in percentage.
Although, this information does not complete a successful strategy. You must also be aware of the likelihood of going bust yourself. Since there is no risk of busting on a value of 11 or less – you will always hit if having a hand with a value of 11or less.
This fact also makes the risk of going bust if hitting calculation quite simple. This is what it looks like starting from the value of 13 up to 20:
| Player’s Hand | Risk of Player Going Bust if Hitting |
| 12 | 31% |
| 13 | 39% |
| 14 | 56% |
| 15 | 58% |
| 16 | 62% |
| 17 | 69% |
| 18 | 77% |
| 19 | 85% |
| 20 | 92% |
As you can see the risk of busting on a value of 19 is 85% and on a value of 20, it is 92%. This means that you should apply a basic rule of never hitting on these values.
Left are the range of 12 to 18 and the fact that an ace can be either 11 or 1. In general, you should never hit on 18 if it is not a soft 18, where soft means that the value includes an ace being used at 11.
Thus, we are down to the range of 12 to 17 where the more difficult decisions shall be made. In order to define the strategy and how to act on these values, we will present the concept of soft hands versus hard hands, doubling down and splitting in the next part of this guide.
Soft Hands and Hard Hands in Blackjack Online
A soft hand means that you have a hand that includes an ace that is currently counted as a value of 11. The concept of the soft hand is important learning when aiming to master the game of Blackjack. Consequently, a hard hand is a hand that does not contain an ace.
The rules to apply when holding a hand within the range of 12 to 17 is more strict if it is a hard hand compared to a soft hand. The general logic is to stay over 17 and to hit under 17 if it is a hard hand. The soft hand is more favorable but also more complex in terms of which action to take. In general, you should hit if having a soft 15 or less and to hit if having a soft hand of 19 or more. The best action for the remaining soft hands of 16, 17 or 18 will be determined by the dealer’s face-up card.
When to Double Down in Blackjack Online
There are variations to this but the simple rule is to double down if having a hand of 10 or 11. To double down means that you are doubling your original bet and gets exactly one more card which makes the final hand.
If the dealer’s face-up card is of value with a high risk of going bust, such as 4, 5, and 6, you may also decide to double down on a lower hand than 10.
When to Split in Blackjack Online
A split can be done when you have two cards with similar values. To split means that you will play each card as a new hand, each with an exact match of your original bet. A general rule is that aces and eights are the perfect cards for using the split option. Aces, since any 10 count card will bring you a Blackjack and eights since 16 is a count you want to avoid. There are also hands you should never split and those are 10 count cards, fives, and fours.
Blackjack Online Terms and Expressions
| Anchorman | The anchorman or just anchor is the last player to act as this player is seated next to the dealer’s right side. |
| Blackjack | Blackjack is the name of the game and also the term for having a starting hand of an ace and a 10 count card. |
| Dealer | In Blackjack online, the dealer is not a physical person but an algorithm that is dealing the cards and keeps track of winning and losing bets. |
| Bust | To bust is when you hit over 21. |
| Double Down | To double down is to double your amount from the original bet at the same time as you will be given exactly one more card and the hand value is then final. |
| Hard Hand | Hard or hard hand means you have a hand without an ace. |
| Hit | To hit is the choice of taking another card to increase the hand count. |
| Hole Card | The hole card is another word for the dealer’s face-down card. |
| House | The house in online Blackjack is the betting platform. |
| Push | A push is a hand that is equal to the hand of the dealer. |
| Split | A split can be done when you have two cards with similar value. To split means that you will play each card as a new hand, each with an exact match of your original bet. |
| Stand Pat | To stand pat or just stand means that you stop and will not be given any further cards during the current round. |
| Surrender | To surrender is an option that means that you are getting half of your stake back |
| Upcard | The upcard is another word for the dealer’s face-up card. |
| Unit | A unit is the standard bet sizes that can vary from game to game. |
Blackjack Terms
