Blackjack, also known as “21,” is by far one of the most popular casino card games to date because it’s quite entertaining to learn and play. There’s no casino out there, online or land-based, that has no blackjack games available to play. A casino wouldn’t be a complete casino without it. Also, not only is blackjack a fun game, the strategies you can employ are also straightforward and easy to learn.

So how is it played? 

“In blackjack, the objective is to get as close to 21 as possible. At the start of the game, you will receive two cards. You can either hit or stand after glancing through your cards. If you believe your cards are too low, you can hit, but if you are satisfied with them, you can stand. You can choose to double down your bets if you’re feeling lucky and wish to hit,” says Mr. Ong, the CEO of WS88, a gambling site based in Singapore.

Also, if you’re hit with pairs, you can opt to split and put out another wager for two sets of cards. And lastly, you can opt to surrender and take back half of your bets. So those are the basics. Now, let’s talk about some other things you have to know about the game.

It Has a Low House Advantage

When you have some experience in playing in the casino, then you’ve probably heard of the saying that goes, “Vegas wasn’t built on winners.” If this didn’t make any sense to you, it just meant that even though a lot of people won big money in the short run, the casino will always have the advantage to win in the long run. 

The casino has a mathematical edge on every game to keep its income flow steady. Yes, it sucks but this is how they are and a casino would go bankrupt if they don’t employ their own advantage.

However, this doesn’t mean that there is no chance to win. The house advantage varies on every game that casino has and one of the games with a low house advantage is blackjack. This is why a lot of gamblers love playing blackjack online or land-based because not only is it easy to understand, it also has the best odds in overcoming the house advantage.

The house advantage can also be further lowered depending on your strategy. Some strategies can even reduce the house advantage down to 1%.

Blackjack Rules Variations

Mr. Ong reminds that not all blackjack games are created equally. This means that there are variations when it comes to its rules. In land-based casinos, you can usually see a placard that explains the rules so people can read them first before playing. 

“The rules are set by the casino and each has their own set of rules when it comes to playing blackjack online or land-based. These rules can affect the way the game is played but not too drastic that they can suck away the fun or your chances of winning.”

Here are some of them.

Number of Decks in Play: There are two types of blackjack games mainly: single-deck blackjack or multi-deck blackjack. The house edge is slightly higher in single deck blackjacks and even more so if you know how to do card counting. This is the reason why most establishments employ multi-deck games to discourage card counting.

Dealer’s Soft 17: As we all know, when someone hits on 17 with an ace (the ace is counted as 11), it’s considered a soft 17. When you have soft 17, you can either hit or stand based on the casino rules. 

However, some casinos don’t want their dealers to make the decision themselves so they either put a rule that says they can allow a hit or stand. Most casinos will force a stand in such a situation because the odds are slightly higher when you can hit on soft 17.

Card Counting

Lastly, something you need to know about is card counting. We recommend you look it up yourself as it can be lengthy and much more complicated, but in simpler terms, card counting is a system that tracks which cards are being dealt and left in the deck. However, the question here is if it’s legal. 

The strategy is highly effective and some casinos didn’t like it at the time. And as we all know, since it’s a business, they can refuse service to anyone.So it begs the question, is it legal to do card counting? Yes, it’s completely legal but you’ll most likely be thrown out of the casino if you do so.

Takeaway

It goes without saying that blackjack is one of the best games there is in a casino. Apart from being a favorite among casual and professional players, it’s also the subject of pursuits of many students and mathematicians. Thus, it’s not surprising that it has become a staple of every casino, both online and brick-and-mortar.