Blackjack is the lesser complicated of table games both online and in land based casinos. There are several variations of blackjack; however the same rules are going to apply. We are going to look at potential hands that you could have and discuss what your moves should be. We will also look at a little lingo to help you understand. First there are two types of hands; you have the soft and the hard hands. The betting strategies on these hands are going to differ.
A soft hand is when you hold two cards and one is an ace. It also means you don't have a natural 21. For example a soft hand would be an Ace and 2. What you would do on this type of hand will differ than the hard hand which means you don't have an ace.
On a hard hand say you have been dealt a 10 and a 9. According to Blackjack tips you would double down on that hand. Doubling down is when you place a second wager expecting your hand to win over the dealers. With a 19 as a total your chances of winning are good, depending on the potential hand of the dealer. You don't want to double down if the dealer is showing a ten through face cards. The potential for them to have another ten or the ace hidden is very high. With online play the dealer will automatically show a natural blackjack so you don't have to worry about that as much.
For another example say you have two cards such as a 10 and a 6, and you took a hit and received another card with a value of 2. You would stand on this hard hand. You have a total of 18 and a chance to bust if you go further. The rule is with blackjack to never hit when you have 16 or higher on the cards. You also have to take a hit if you are at 15. As long as you know that you have a chance of winning when you play without going bust.
On soft hands the play is going to work a little differently. You have an ace that is either going to be a numeral of one or eleven. If you have an ace and a 9 you can stand or you can hit to see what else you might get. If you can draw the 2 you will be alright with 21 so stand, but if you get a 3 you are now at 13, so in this case you may want to take a hit. The tables tell you to stand, but sometimes the game won't let you because you don't have the requisite 16 or higher.
The best thing you can do when playing blackjack is to learn the different table options that you have for hands. This tells you what you can and shouldn't do. It will help you win against the house more often, which is what we all want. |