BlackJack
Best Blackjack Games 2023
Blackjack is one of the most recognizable casino table games in the world. It is played pretty much everywhere you go and there are many different variations of the game. When you want to play online blackjack, we recommend finding a good casino with a solid reputation and quality customer service.
Casinos such as Party Casino and Bovada Casino fit into this category and come highly recommended.
In its truest form, blackjack is simply the game where you try to get as close to 21 as you can, without going over. If your hand beats the dealer’s hand, you win. Seems easy, right?
Well, it is of course much more complicated than that. It is truly a game of mathematics. This point was made famous recently by the movie, “21”. The movie is actually based on the true events of the MIT “blackjack team”, which took millions from Las Vegas casinos using math to play near perfect blackjack and count cards.
Online BlackJack Games 2023
Played online, blackjack offers fewer edges, as there is no option to count cards. Actually, most virtual casinos use an endless shoe (continuous shuffle), making card counting pointless anyway.
That does not mean that the game cannot be beaten however. There are ways to play well enough that the house’s advantage is minimal. This is why many online casinos either do not pay bonuses for blackjack play, or have special rules when it comes to clearing a bonus with blackjack. Their advantage just does not warrant giving away free money.
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How To Play Blackjack – BlackJack Rules
First, just make sure you understand the basic rules of the game. The whole point of the game is to have a higher value hand than the dealer, without going over 21. Therefore, the best hand possible is 21. Blackjack is made with an Ace and any other face card, and pays out a little more than a normal win, 1.5 to 1.
Making 21 does not equal blackjack, and does not even guarantee you win the hand (if you make Blackjack you automatically win in most cases). You can also push if the dealer also makes 21. Push just means that you have the same hand and no one wins.
Before you are dealt cards, you must place a bet. This is another advantage of playing blackjack on the internet. In land based casinos, minimum bets can be quite high, and never below $5 per bet. On the net however, you can wager less than $1 at a time. This gives you a great opportunity to really learn the game and have fun, while not making a huge investment.
Two cards are dealt to each player face up, while the dealer receives one face up and one face down. Each player then has a decision to make. They may stand or hit. If you stand, that just means you are happy with your hand and do not want any more cards.
If you have less than 21, you may hit and the dealer with deal one more card. Then you may stand or hit again. The strategy is involved in knowing when to hit and when to stand, based on the one card that the dealer is showing. If you go over 21, you “bust” and lose the hand automatically.
At most online casinos and in most blackjack games, there are a few more options available once the cards are dealt. One option is to surrender your hand. This is like folding, except that you only lose half your original bet. Another is to split your cards.
If you are dealt a pair you have this option, which essentially turns your hand into two hands, each starting with one of your paired cards. You must also place another bet equal to the original when you do this.
Players can also double down on their original bet. On certain hands they may want to double their bet, which they can do. However, they can then only receive one more card. The most obvious hand on which to double down is 11, since any 10 gives you 21.
Many casinos also offer insurance, which you can purchase if the dealer shows an Ace face up. Insurance generally costs half of your original bet and pays out 2x if the dealer makes a blackjack. If he does not have blackjack you lose your insurance money.
The dealer must play by a specific set of rules. This is where you can take advantage and gain yourself a little edge over what the typical player has. As said previously, the dealer is dealt one card face down and one card face up.
After all other players play their hand, the dealer turns over his card. If he has blackjack, everyone loses. The dealer must hit on 16 or less and must stand on 17 or more. In some cases, the dealer can hit on a soft 17 (17 with an Ace). This is generally bad for the players overall so online casinos where this rule exist should be avoided.
The whole key is to figure out what hand the dealer is most likely to make based on his face-up card and to play your hand accordingly. That is why it is sometimes proper to hit on 15 but other times you should stand on 12. Practice makes perfect.
That, along with memorizing a quality blackjack chart and not letting your emotions get in the way of playing blackjack by the book. If you can do this, you stand a good chance of seeing long term profits playing blackjack online.