Blackjack General Information and Odds:

Blackjack is the quintessential casino card game. Most popular for it's inherently low House Edge and propensity for strategy-based play, Blackjack blurs the line between games of chance and games of skill - in this case, the "skill" being a very sharp memory. Those bettors who take the time to memorize the Basic Blackjack Strategy, which in essence, is a decision-making roadmap, and take even more time to put said strategy into practice, are the bettors who will prosper the most playing Blackjack. By playing with perfect strategy, the House Edge can get down below 0.3%, depending on the particular Blackjack game and rules.

Blackjack is the hallmark card game at both brick 'n mortar and online casinos. In fact, you are bound to find more blackjack games and blackjack hybrids (all referred to as "21 Games") at a single online casino than you can count on both hands. The most popular Blackjack variations found online are Vegas Strip Blackjack, Vegas Downtown, Atlantic City Blackjack and European Blackjack. The most common Blackjack hybrid games are Perfect Pairs, Double Exposure, Blackjack Switch, Pontoon and Spanish Blackjack.

The differences between all these games of 21 is almost as tricky as memorizing the Basic Blackjack Strategy. The main thing to remember is that the House Edge will vary, although kept in check with Basic Strategy. Therefore, while the Basic Blackjack strategy works great at European Blackjack (around 0.6% House Edge), certain points of the strategy will need to be moderated in order to have an equal impact lowering the House Edge at say, Spanish Blackjack (around a 0.8% Edge).

In terms of game setup and dealt cards, here's a breakdown of differences: For straight Blackjack (including Vegas Strip, Atlantic City and Vegas Downtown), the player is dealt two face-up cards and the Dealer is dealt one face-up and one facedown card. For Perfect Pairs, it's the same exact setup as Blackjack but with the addition of a side bet that your first two cards will be the same value. In European Blackjack the player is dealt two cards face up and Dealer is dealt just one card face up. Double Exposure sees both the Player and Dealer being dealt two face up cards. For Pontoon, the player is dealt two face up cards, while the dealer is dealt two facedown. A more extreme change in rules goes for Spanish Blackjack, where all non-face, ten cards are taken out of the deck, while special bonuses and more liberal doubling down rules are applied. In Blackjack Switch, the player has the option of switching hands in mid-play.

The good news is that all online casinos (worth their salt) will have game rules breakdowns readily available to help you. Chiefly, the main differences affecting House Edge are in the number of decks, if there is a hole card (facedown card), when the dealer must stand, and various rules pertaining to doubling down, splitting and resplitting hands, taking insurance and late surrender. In the online gambling world, two exact games of Blackjack may also have slightly different rules depending on the software provider.

Common factors decreasing the House Edge: Lower decks, the dealer must Stand on Soft 17 (Ace counting as 11), resplitting of Aces, hitting on hands from resplit Aces, early surrender and doubling after splitting allowed.

For specific rule combinations and how they combine to raise or lower the House Edge, Michael Shackleford (the Wizard of Odds), has a very helpful Blackjack House Edge Calculator covering nearly 7,000 possible rule combinations.

Odds payout for a winning Blackjack hand is 1 to 1. Odds for a Blackjack "Natural 21" pay 3 to 2 (do not settle for 6 to 5 as this increases the edge by 1.5%). Odds on Insurance Bets pay 2 to 1.

Game Setup and Playing Mode:

The below still is the Blackjack playing screen at Real Time Gaming-powered Silver Oak Casino. Clicking on chips will "load" the bet, and clicking on the bet circle will reset the wager. Simply click on the "DEAL" (the highlighted button below the chip stacks), to begin play. Depending on the outcome of the initial dealt cards, various buttons will highlight, giving the player the opportunity to select said option. If the dealer has a faceup Ace, the option to take Insurance will show. Click Yes or not and resume play. The hit and stand button will generally always be highlighted, whereas the Split and Double Down buttons will only become highlighted when the proper cards have been dealt.

After the first (and all subsequent hands) is finished, a REBET button will appear, streamlining the process the second time around.

Game Objective and Rules:

The objective of Blackjack is to shape a card hand value as close to 21 without going over, aka, busting. The dealer's objective is to do the same, however, the dealer does not act until the player is finished taking further actions on their hand. Numbered cards are worth their pip value (their corresponding number), while face cards are worth 10 points and Ace's are worth either 1 point (hard hand) or 11 points (soft hand). Soft hands are those which contain an Ace counting as 11 points without making the hand bust, whereas hard hands are former soft hands in which the Ace value was changed to 1 (be default) so as to not make the hand bust.

After the player is dealt two face up cards - depending on the value of the cards - the player will have the option of splitting (splitting two equal value cards into two hands), doubling down (doubling one's wager), hitting (being dealt another card), Standing or taking an Insurance side bet. The Insurance bet is worth half the original stake and is only offered when the dealer's face up card is an Ace - in effect, offering a chance at earning back one's initial bet if the Dealer has a Natural 21, which can't be beat.

When STAND is selected, the player cannot act further on the hand, and the dealer will then proceed to reveal the hole card and will draw until forced to stand or the hand busts. The dealer will keep drawing until reaching a hand value of at least 17. Some casinos make the dealer hit with a Soft 17, which in effect, raises the House Edge a bit.

In the case of Doubling Down, the player is only allowed to receive one more card, which is precisely why Doubling Down shouldn't be done randomly, but rather, based on what the player's hand value is in relation to the dealer's up card value. Doubling down is generally not allowed on split hands (which lowers the House Edge), but can be found sometimes as part of a special Blackjack tournament or promotion. Depending on the Blackjack game, the option to Surrender might be available, thus giving the player the opportunity to forfeit half of the initial wager (before or after the dealer checks for Blackjack).

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