1. the players' hands have been acted upon.
– If the player hits and his point total goes over 21,
then the hand busts. A busted hand loses
automatically.
– If the dealer's hand busts (too many) then all bets
will be paid irrespective of the point total.
– If the player & the dealer have the same total, it is a
push or “STAND OFF”.
– The dealer draws on 16 & stands on 17 or higher.
Blackjack Terms
Hit: Additional card/s drawn for the player's hand with a
hand signal similar to a tap or scratching motion on the
layout.
Stand: Player wishing to stay in the game with the
present card total, either with the initial two cards or
after hitting one or more cards (without busting), needs
to do a hand signal by moving his palm in a horizontal
direction.
Doubling Down: The Player has the option to “Double
down” on any two initial cards, except Blackjack & 21.
For doubling down, a bet equivalent to the initial wager
has to be placed & the hand will receive only one
additional card.
Splitting Pairs: The player has the option to split two
initial cards of the same value. An additional wager
equivalent to the initial wager has to be placed for
splitting. One card would be given to each of the split
hands. A player can split his or her hand up to 3 times to
create 4 separate hands. Split Aces will receive one card
only & Aces can be split only once. A player also has the
Blackjack is one of the most popular & exciting games option to hit, stand or “double down” on the first two
because it is easy to learn, fast-paced and fun to play. cards of each hand after the split.
Jack, Queen & King (also called picture cards) are
counted as 10. Ace is counted as 1 or 11. Other cards Surrender: The Player has the option to “Surrender” on
are counted as per their face value. the initial deal i.e. to forfeit the hand and half of his
An Ace & a Picture card or 10 achieved on an initial deal original bet, after the initial two cards are dealt.
is called “Blackjack”. Surrender is not allowed when the dealer's first card is
Each player plays against the dealer. The dealer gives an Ace.
two cards face up to every player with a bet & one card
face up for the dealer initially. The objective of the game Insurance: If the dealer's first card is an Ace, the
is to achieve a “Blackjack” or to achieve a good card player may opt for “Insurance”. This bet allows the
total close to 21 without going over. player to insure his original wager against the dealer
achieving a Blackjack. The player may place an
Payouts additional wager up to half his original bet on Insurance.
– Blackjack pays 3 to 2. Insurance bet wins if the dealer achieves a Blackjack,
– All other winning hands are paid 1 to 1. If the which is paid 2to1. If the dealer does not achieve
dealer's hand busts (too many) then all bets will be Blackjack then the Insurance wager loses.
paid irrespective of the point total.
Even money: If the Dealer's initial card is an Ace & the
– If the player's point total & the dealer's point total
player achieves a Blackjack, then the Dealer will offer
are same then it would be a “Stand off” or push
“Even money” to that hand. The player can opt for a
i.e. neither wins nor loses.
1to1 payment for the Blackjack or has to wait for the
dealer's hand to be completed. If the Dealer achieves a
These simple rules will help players play:
Blackjack, then it would be a push and if the dealer does
– Blackjack payouts are made immediately after the
not achieve Blackjack, then the player will win a
initial deal, except when the Dealer's first card is an
Blackjack payout of 3to2.
Ace or 10-value card. In this case, the Blackjack
hand will be acted upon only after completion of the
Too many: If the point total exceeds 21, it is called “Too
Dealer's hand. If the Dealer also achieves a
many” or bust.
Blackjack, then the hand will be a push (stand-off).
If not then player wins a Blackjack payout.
Soft and Hard total: In a hand total, when an Ace is
– The player acts first and the dealer will draw
counted as 11, it is called a soft total. All other point
additional cards for the Dealer's hand, once all
totals are called hard totals.