Online Blackjack Guide

Blackjack Basics

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is a card game played between player and dealer, rather than between two players. The dealer and player are each drawn two cards, which are added together to give an initial score. The aim of the game is to be as close to 21 as possible, without going over (going ‘bust’).

The closest score wins, so the player needs to be closer than the dealer. Players can ask for more cards (or ‘hit’) to get closer to the target, or they can ‘stand’ and hope that their current total is sufficient. The difficulty of the game lies in knowing which risk to take.

Blackjack can be played at many online casinos, but some do carry different styles, depending on the provider of the software. This will also affect the number of variations of the game. Scroll to the top of this page to see our recommended online casinos for blackjack in your location.

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How to Play Blackjack Like an Expert

Stick to these 4 simple principles and you will be playing blackjack like a pro in no time:

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“Don’t just race for 21, remember that you can win by letting the dealer bust.”

“If you have an Ace, you have a lot more leeway to hit.”

“Don’t be afraid to stand on a good score, around 12-16, if the dealer is on a low score like 2-6.”

Blackjack Strategy

Use our handy chart below to help you decide what to do in each scenario. Simply match up the dealers card (top) with your hand (left) to reveal your next move.

• S=Stand
• H=Hit
• DD=Double Down
• P=Split
• H/P=Split if allowed to double afterwards, otherwise hit
• H/R=Surrender if allowed, otherwise hit

How to Improve Your Chances of Winning

The ultimate key to blackjack is knowing when to stand or hit. There’s a reason why the dealer is not made to hit after reaching 17; at this point, the next card out needs to be 4 or less to not go bust, but of course it could be 1-10 or a face card. The odds of success are rapidly diminishing.

Watching the dealer’s card will help you to make this choice, knowing that you’re trying to beat the dealer or make them go bust, not necessarily trying to hit 21. You can also make decisions based on the composition of your hand. The individual cards in play do have an effect on probability. For example, if you have a 10 in your hand then the odds of drawing another 10 are naturally lowered, ever so slightly. This process can help a little, but mainly in a single-deck game.

Blackjack Rules

The Using a standard 52 card deck, the dealer will draw two random cards for both themselves and the player (only one of the dealer’s cards are shown). The numerical values are added together, so a 5 of Club and a 6 of Diamonds makes a starting score of 11. All face cards (King, Queen, Jack) are counted as 10, while an Ace can be 1 or 11. The objective is to have a score as close to 21 as possible, but not over.

The trick of blackjack is the choice that comes next; if nobody has already hit 21 from their opening cards (called a ‘natural’ or simply ‘blackjack’) then the player has the option of asking for a ‘hit’ and getting another card. The new card is drawn and added to the current total. If the new total goes over 21, the player has ‘gone bust’ and loses. Each player at the table is given this option in turn. The dealer must keep hitting until they have 17 or higher, or go bust. The player is hoping to ‘stand’ and stop accepting more cards, as close as they dare to 21.

The finer rules of blackjack will vary from casino to casino. Some casinos allow ‘back betting’ which means that several players can put a bet on the ‘betting box’ of a position at the table. This means that others are betting on the outcome of one player’s game, even if they are not playing themselves. Some casinos will not allow doubling or splitting except in specific circumstances. Many will allow splitting but not always re-splitting, where a new split deck draws cards of the same value again. Doubling may not be allowed after a split, as disallowing this increases the house edge.

A dealer typically has to keep hitting until their score is 17, but this can change in the case of a soft 17 where an Ace is involved. Casinos may or may not require the dealer to hit on a soft 17. Games where the dealer stands on a soft 17 benefits the player, reducing the house edge by about 0.2%. Casinos are also at liberty to choose how many decks they use, with more decks increasing the house edge slightly each time.

Some games also offer the option to ‘surrender’ and forfeit a hand immediately, if the player feels they have a poor chance to win. This is often directly after the dealer checks for a starting blackjack, a ‘late surrender’, but some casinos give players the chance before this, which is much more favourable.

History of Blackjack

The game of blackjack grew from another called twenty-one, which itself has an unknown origin. The earliest known reference to the game is in a word by the author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes. In the tale “Rinconete y Cortadillo”, a pair of gamblers are referenced as cheating at ‘ventiuna’ or twenty-one. The rules of an ace being worth 1 or 11 and the limit of hitting 21 are both referenced.

When this game hit the US, casinos offered bonuses to gather interest. One such bonus was a ten-to-one pay out if the player’s hand contained the ace of spaces and a black jack, referring to the jack of clubs or spades. This hand was called a ‘blackjack’ and that name seemed to stick.

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Types of Blackjack

The game of blackjack grew from another called twenty-one, which itself has an unknown origin. The earliest known reference to the game is in a word by the author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes. In the tale “Rinconete y Cortadillo”, a pair of gamblers are referenced as cheating at ‘ventiuna’ or twenty-one. The rules of an ace being worth 1 or 11 and the limit of hitting 21 are both referenced.

When this game hit the US, casinos offered bonuses to gather interest. One such bonus was a ten-to-one pay out if the player’s hand contained the ace of spaces and a black jack, referring to the jack of clubs or spades. This hand was called a ‘blackjack’ and that name seemed to stick.

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