To master the game, we need to get familiar with basic strategy and card counting. For example, single deck blackjack gives the player a 0.48% edge compared to 8-deck blackjack.īlackjack is a game about probability, applying statistic knowledge, and performing data analysis of the game are helpful to understand blackjack better. Each of these variations has an effect on the house’s edge. There are several variations to the rules of blackjack exist including a number of decks, dealer soft 17, re-split Aces and blackjack pays 6 to 5. Dealers must hit until their score reaches 17 and they cannot double down, split or surrender. The player may wager up to half of his original bet and the wager pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has a blackjack.įor the dealers, they cannot make any decisions instead, they follow a standard set of rules. Insurance is a side bet in which the player can wager that the dealer has a blackjack. Insurance – If the dealer turns up an Ace, insurance is offered to the players.Surrender– Some casinos offer the player the ability to withdraw from the current round at the cost of half of their bet.Most casinos will allow a player to split up to 3 times. Split – If the player’s first two cards have the same value, the player can split the hand into 2 hands by matching the original bet.Like a hit, the player is dealt an additional card but the player cannot take further actions afterward. Double-Down – The player has the option of doubling his bet on the first 2 cards.Stand – The player does not request any additional cards and uses the value of the first 2 cards against the dealer’s total.If the hit results in the player having more the 21 points, the player busts and immediately loses the bet to the house. Hit – The player requests another card from the dealer.After receiving the first 2 cards, the player has several options to take further actions. An Ace is worth either 1 or 11 and it takes the value most helpful to the player, a hand without an 11-point Ace is called a hard hand and a hand with an 11-point Ace is called a soft hand.Īt the first of the game, both the player and the dealer are dealt a 2-card hand but the dealer only shows 1 card. The face cards Jack, Queen and King are worth 10. The dealer’s final points exceed 21 after drawing additional cards.Ĭards 2 to 10 are worth their respective face value.

Get the final points higher than the dealer’s points without exceeding 21.Get 21 points on the player’s first two cards (also called a blackjack) without a dealer blackjack.

Blackjack statistics table