Blackjack is the world’s most popular casino game, and for good reason. With origins dating back hundreds of years there’s a long history of people playing blackjack for fun and for fortune, and nothing beats its simplicity. While games like poker can be very entertaining and rewarding, there’s a steep learning curve which often involves you with your head in your hands as you struggle to differentiate a royal flush from a full house. Blackjack is also known as twenty-one, which says something about how simple it is to pick up and play.
Wherever you are in the world you’ll find that the rules of blackjack stay the same, so you can use this advice whether you’re with the high-rollers in Vegas or showing off to your buddies in China. When you play you’ll find yourself up against the dealer, as opposed to other players at the table. The most important thing to remember is that Aces can either be high or low, depending on what you choose and what you would prefer them to be as you’re dealt them, which means the value is either one or eleven.
The value of the cards is the same as the number printed on them, while the Face cards (King, Queen, Jack) are all worth ten. The aim of the game is to reach a value of as close to 21 as you can without exceeding it. This means that if you are lucky enough to be dealt a Face and an Ace then you reach the magic total of 21 without even trying. However if you get dealt a 4 and an Ace (making 15), and then a 7, then you won’t go bust as the Ace is then turned into the lower value card.
Whether you decide to stick or twist also depends on whether you have a ‘soft’ or a ‘hard’ hand. A soft hand is when your Ace can either be counted as a one or eleven without going over the total of 21. When you can only use the Ace as the lower value number then you will find yourself with a hard hand. When it comes to asking for another card a lot of players believe that 16 is the tricky number, and a lot depends on whether you have a soft or a hard 16.
If you hit on a soft 16 then things are much less risky, as you won’t be able to go bust. Alternatively a hard 16 will make you go bust if you hit anything larger than a 5, and there’s quite a high chance of this happening. If you’re at the table for a while then you can start trying to keep track of the number of 10-value cards that you’ve seen. Having a better idea of this will help you to win, as you can better calculate the odds of going bust or winning.
Blackjack is one of the greatest casino games on Earth, and with a little bit of practice you’ll be able to show off your skills at the nearest casino. After getting to grips with the blackjack card values then you’ll be able to test your skills at the table, and hopefully you’ll come away smiling after raking in a big win.
