Blackjack

01Discover the game

At Blackjack, each person plays against the donor, called dealer. The goal is to approach 21 without exceeding it. The table rules vary: here we fix a pedagogical table at a game, where the dealer stays on all 17, even with a counted Ace 11. The chips have no monetary value.

02Equipment

It takes 52 cards without joker, one place for the dealer's cards and chips. For our table of two to seven people in total, one person holds the bank and the others play. Give twenty chips to the players and keep two hundred chips at the bank. Place two chips per hand so that you can pay the Blackjack bonus without half a token. This reserve and fixed bet are practical choices of the book.

03The goal

Beat the dealer's hand: your total must be greater than yours without exceeding 21, or the dealer must exceed 21 while you are still at stake. You must not beat the other players. If you exceed 21, you lose immediately, even if the dealer also goes beyond.

04Prepare and distribute

The dealer mixes and cuts. Each player sets his bet before receiving cards. Gives each one a visible card, then a visible card to the dealer. Start again: players have two cards visible; the dealer's second card remains hidden.

The cards from 2 to 10 are worth their number; Valets, Ladies and Kings are worth 10. Each Ace is worth 1 or 11, depending on what arranges the hand without making it exceed 21. As-6 is worth 7 or 17: it's a 17 supple. As-6-10 is worth 17, because the Ace must now count 1.

An ace and a 10-value card in the initial two cards make a natural blackjack. A total of 21 with three cards or after splitting a pair is not a natural.

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05Play Hand and Options

Check the dealer's nature

In our convention, if his visible card is an Ace or is worth 10, the dealer discreetly checks if he has a natural before the players act. If he has one, the ordinary hands lose and the natural opponents equal. Otherwise, the game continues without revealing his hidden card. With another visible card, his natural card is impossible.

Choosing action

The first player to the left of the dealer acts, then the others, in the clockwise direction. In turn, you can pull : receive a visible card and decide again, until you exceed 21. remain : keep your total and no longer ask for a card. At 21, stay; above, your bet is taken immediately.

You can also double, only with your two initial cards: add a bet equal to the first, receive exactly one card and then necessarily stay. We do not allow double after separation; this limit is a table convention and is not universal.

If your two cards have the same rank, you can separate the pair: add the same bet, form two hands of a card and give each one a second card. Play them separately, from left to right. Here, only one separation is allowed, without further separation or double. If these are two Aces, each receives exactly one card and must stay. One Ace and one 10 obtained so are worth 21 ordinary, paid as a normal victory.

Insurance

If the dealer shows an Ace, he can offer the insurance before checking his natural. It is a separate bet, up to half of your start bet. It gains twice its profit value if the dealer has Blackjack; otherwise it is lost. With an initial bet of two tokens, an insurance of a token brings back two tokens of profit, plus the return of this token, in case of natural dealer. Your main hand is set separately. The insurance is optional and does not protect against a simple 21 in several cards.

The dealer's turn

After all the players, the dealer reveals his hidden card. He shoots until he reaches at least 17 and stays on 17 to 21, including As-6. He does not adapt this choice to your cards. If all the players have already jumped, he can cash without completing a hand that has become useless.

Between two datas, gather and mix all the cards. If an exceptional data exhausts the Stock, mix only the cards of the previous datas, never those of the current hands; with the mix after each given held here, then use a second 52-card backup set, announced before starting.

06An example to understand

You get A and 6: your total can be 17. You shoot a 9: 11 + 6 + 9 would be 26, but the Ace goes to 1 and your total becomes 16. You can still shoot or stay. If you shoot a 5, you get 21 with four cards, not a natural Blackjack.

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In another hand, you have 19 and the dealer finishes at 18: your bet of two chips wins two tokens of profit. Your neighbor, who has 17, loses his bet, even if you have won: each face the bank separately.

07Set the bets and finish the game

An ordinary win pays 1 to 1. You get your stake back plus the same amount in winnings. A natural blackjack pays 3 to 2. For two chips bet, you get your stake back plus three chips. A natural beats any 21 made with more cards. Two naturals tie.

If you and the dealer have the same unnatural priority total, it's a tie: get your bet, no profit. If the dealer exceeds 21, all the hands left in play win, but the hands that had already exceeded 21 remain losers. Separate hands and insurances settle individually.

For a family session, agree on ten points, then compare the players' tokens; this ranking is a session agreement, not the official goal of a hand. If a player can no longer bet, he stops or waits for a new session. The bank must be able to pay the winnings: if his reserve is insufficient, add fictitious tokens of the same value before a new deal.

08Frequent errors

Don't always set the Ace to 11. Don't ask for a second card after doubling. Don't pay a 21 after separating at the natural rate. Don't let the dealer choose to shoot 18 to beat a hand: he follows his obligations. Check the table rules before any other version: notably the separate Ace and the flexible 17th.

09Start well

First count the hand with all the Aces at 1, then add 10 if it stays under 22. Find the soft hands, which better support an additional card. Observe the visible card of the dealer, but accept that a good choice can lose. To learn, start by pulling and staying, then add double and separate once the totals are well understood.