Blackjack

1. Place your bet.
2. The dealer deals you two cards face up and takes one card, also face up. If your two cards total 21, it’s known as Blackjack. Wait to see what the dealer gets for his second card to find out if you won or whether it’s a push (a tie).
3. If you didn’t get Blackjack, you either hit (take additional cards) or stand (stay with what you’ve got) to create a hand you think will beat the dealer’s. If your cards total more than 21, that’s a bust and you lose your wager.
4. After all players have played, the dealer deals themself more cards to get as close to 21 as possible without busting.
5. Compare your cards to the dealer’s:
   • If the dealer’s hand exceeds 21, all players with 21 or less win.
   • If your hand is higher than the dealer’s, without exceeding 21, you win.
   • If you have the same total as the dealer, it’s a push—even if you got blackjack.
   • A Blackjack will beat 21.

Card Values: 

• Numbered cards are worth their face value
• Kings, Queens or Jacks = 10
• Aces = 1 or 11

Payouts
If you get Blackjack, you’re paid 1.5 to 1 on your bet. If you bet $10, you’re paid $15. If the dealer also has Blackjack, it’s a push. For all pushes, you keep your original bet. No gain, no loss. All other winning hands pay even money. If you bet $10, you win $10.

Side bets
There are various optional side bets that pay bonuses in certain situations. In Alberta, the minimum bet for these types of bets is $1 and the maximum is $500. Casinos may vary what they allow but the minimums and maximums for all side bets on Blackjack must be within this range. Popular side bets include Perfect Pairs, Blazing 7’s and Lucky Lucky. In each case, it’s generally a good idea to learn the fundamentals of the regular game before diving into variations and side bets. It’s important to understand the requirements of each side bet before choosing to play.

Blackjack has among the best odds of any form of gambling. The house advantage, if you know the ideal move in every scenario, is around 0.5 percent, meaning the return to player can be up to 99.5 percent. By comparison, the house advantage for roulette is between 5 to 6 percent and for the lottery it’s around 50 percent. In order to play with such a favourable return to player, you must use an approach known as “basic strategy”. Basic strategy involves understanding the ideal move in every scenario – based on the number of decks used, your cards, and what the dealer is showing – to have the highest probability of winning. Many casinos distribute basic strategy cards that you can use while you are playing. If you don’t know blackjack basic strategy, your expected return to player is much lower.

Double For Less
The casino may provide an option in the house rules to double down a wager for less than the original bet. Players place a wager equal to the table minimum up to their wager and are committed to stand after taking one more card.

Hole Card Blackjack
Played with the same rules as regular blackjack, except the dealer takes two cards on the initial deal. The dealer’s first card is face up and placed on top of the hole card, which is face down.

Blackjack: When the first two cards you’re dealt total 21.
Hit: To request another card.
Stand: To stick with the cards in your hand and not receive any more.
Bust: When your cards exceed 21
Soft hand: A hand with an ace that can be valued at either 11 or one. With a soft hand, it’s impossible to bust on your next turn.
Hard hand: A hand with no aces, or a hand in which the ace must have a value of one, otherwise you’d be over 21.
Double down: To double your original bet and commit to standing after taking one more card.
Split: If your first two cards are of equal value, you can split them into two separate hands. You must place an additional bet, equal to your original wager, for your second hand. If you split
Surrender: If you don’t like your first two cards, you can surrender. The dealer takes half of your original bet and your hand is discarded. You can surrender on any original two-card hand, except when the dealer has blackjack
Insurance: If the dealer’s first card is an ace, you can insure your bet against the dealer getting Blackjack. You can wager a sum equal to one-half of your original bet. If the dealer draws blackjack, the insurance bet pays 2 to 1. If the dealer does not get blackjack, you lose your insurance bet.