Beginner’s guide to Blackjack Strategy
Before blackjack, there was "21," a game whose origin is unknown. You can find the first printed reference in the book "Rinconete y Cortadillo", by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, who also wrote "Don Quixote". It seems Cervantes himself seems to have been a player, so it is easy to understand why some fraudsters working in Seville turn out to be the protagonists of this story. According to this short story, written between 1601 and 1602, implies that twenty one (veintiuna in Spanish) was played in Castile at least at the beginning of the 17th century.
Once twenty-one got to the United States, the gambling houses put up bonus payouts to attract players, one of these was a 10-to-1 payout for each hand with the ace of Spades plus another black jack, Jack of Spades or Jack of clubs). Naturally, this hand became known as "Blackjack," and soon the name was associated with the game, even after the original 10-to-1 bonus was phased out. In the contemporary game, Blackjack now refers to each hand with an Ace plus a Ten or a face card of any suit or suit.
The Journal of the American Statistical Association published "The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack" in September 1956, the first attempt to develop an optimal blackjack strategy using mathematics. Ed Thorp's famous book "Beat the Dealer" in 1963 was also inspired by this publication.
Nowadays, online blackjack, along with poker, is one of the most popular casino games available on the Internet.
Online Blackjack
As a beginner, you will need to know that players compete against each other in order to compare cards with dealer. In this other post, you can review the most common errors in online blackjack.
The object of the game is to beat the dealer with one of these methods:
- Earn 21 points for the first two cards of the player, known as "Blackjack" or "Natural," but without the player scoring a Blackjack.
- Achieving a final result that exceeds but does not exceed 21 dealer; or
- Allow the dealer to draw more cards until their hand exceeds 21.
Each player receives two cards, which are shown up or down according to the casino and the table you choose. In the United States, the dealer is also dealt two cards - usually one face up and the other face down. In European online blackjack, however, the dealer is dealt only one card face up and therefore does not draw until the player's hand is complete.
The values of two to ten cards are their traditional numerical values of 2 to 10. Of the "face cards," Jack, Queen and King are worth ten each, and an Ace can be valued at either one or eleven. So what a hand is worth is the sum of the face cards. Players can draw additional cards to upgrade their hand to 21.
How many versions of online blackjack are there?
The most common blackjack variants are:
- Blackjack Switch - Players play two combinations of two cards at once, and here a player can choose whether to exchange his second card between the two hands. If the value of dealer reaches 22, the player receives his wager back, meaning that the player does not win, which would be the case in a standard game of blackjack, and this effectively becomes a pure game. In addition, the player pays for blackjack at a ratio of 1: 1 and not 3: 2, as would be the case in a standard game of blackjack.
- Vegas Strip - A variant of blackjack played with four decks of cards. A player can split two Aces once, but can still double to any two cards. As soon as a player deals cards, the insurance lapses. After a split, the player may only double the bet if those cards are two Aces. A 21 after a split does not count as blackjack. If players split two Aces, they are dealt only one additional card. There is no way to get another card.
- Double Exposure Blackjack - This is where the dealer cards are revealed, which increases the player's advantage. Therefore, different rules are adjusted to compensate for this: Players lose their bets when tied to dealer, and Blackjack pays only 1: 1. A player is only allowed to split the cards once.
- Perfect Pairs: This is standard blackjack plus the option to make a side bet on obtaining a "perfect pair." To win this, the first two cards of the player must form a pair, e.g. two sixes, two tens, etc. The winning sum increases if the pairs are of the same suit and is maximized if the cards are of an identical suit.
What is a "soft" hand and a "hard" hand?
Any hand in which the Ace scores 11 points is called "soft," which means that when taking another card, the hand does not burst because the value of the Ace can become an Ace, so that the hand does not exceed 21. Otherwise, the hand is described as "hard," in which case there is always the risk that another card will exceed the 21 maximum.
Visit our online blackjack glossary to learn more about the specific terms used to play this exciting card game.
What does hitting and standing mean?
- To hit it, ask the dealer for another card.
- Standing means "sticking" or not taking any more cards
- The Soft 17 Rule
Each game needs a rule on whether the dealer must hit Soft 17 or stand on Soft 17. This is usually shown on the table itself. Where the dealer must hit Soft 17, the abbreviated code is "H17." And where the stand-on Soft 17 variant is used, the abbreviated code is "S17." Switching from an "H17" rule to "S17" benefits the player, otherwise the house benefits.
What is Double and Split in Online Blackjack?
- Double down: Here you decide to double your original bet and take only one more card, regardless of its value. Some casinos may limit the doubling to a hand where the sum of your first two cards is 10 or 11. Double your bet by taking chips equal to the value of your original bet and placing them next to your bet.
- Splitting: If your first two cards are of the same value, you can choose to place a second bet equal to the first and then split the pair to use each card as the first card of a separate hand, giving you the chance to play two separate hands in succession. Humble players are advised not to split.