Blackjack Rules And Terms Explained Part 1
Hit : To request another card, a player can hit as many times as he wishes to try to improve his hand but if he busts (his cards total greater than 21) then that particular blackjack hand is lost.
Stand : To stop adding cards to a blackjack hand and to see what the dealer is holding, the player stands. He does this when he is happy with the value of his cards against the dealer’s up card.
Double Down : Generally, you can double down after receiving your first two cards and they have the value of 9, 10 or 11. This card value rule alters slightly between casinos and between blackjack variants but it is 9, 10 or 11 in the majority of cases.
On clicking the double down button, you have agreed to “buy” one extra card. Your original bet for that hand is doubled, you are dealt the extra card you bought and your hand automatically stands. Your hand is now played and you must wait to see what the dealer ends up with.
Double down is used as a way of getting more chips on the table when your hand is very strong against the dealer’s up card. For example, when you are holding a total of 11 against the dealer’s up card 4. Even if your extra card is a 3, 4, or a 5, you are still in with a good chance of beating the dealer but now with twice as many chips in play. Naturally, a 10 or face card would be preferable!
Split : As with doubling down, a player must double his original bet when he splits his cards. This is because he is dividing his current hand into two seperate hands, an appropriate bet needs to be made to cover the second hand he now holds.
A player can only split his first two cards when they are of equal value. Each card then becomes the first card in two new seperate blackjack hands. He plays each of these hands independently against the dealer in the normal fashion. If one hand busts or is beaten by the dealer’s hand, the other hand can still win.
Split cards illustration 1
In a game of 2-deck European Blackjack, we are dealt a pair of queens against the dealer’s up card 9. We would not normally split against a 9 but hey, we’d been playing for ages trying to get an illustrative screenshot for you! As you can see, our initial bet of £200 is doubled and we start to play Hand One in isolation. We stand on 16.
Split cards illustration 2
Hand Two receives a welcome Ace to give us Blackjack and the hand stands automatically. The dealer busts giving us two winning hands and £800, £400 initial bets and £400 winnings. Note that Blackjack on a split hand only pays 1:1 in this particular blackjack variant.
Splitting rules can vary considerably from casino to casino and also across the numerous blackjack variants available: european blackjack, double exposure blackjack, atlantic city blackjack etc.(see individual blackjack variant reviews). Some will allow two differing face cards to be split because their underlying value is the same whereas others will only allow identical faces to be split.
House rules also vary on how many times a hand can be split. Again, depending on the blackjack variant and online casino you are playing at, you may be able to continue splitting cards as long as the two cards are equal, often leaving you with multiple hands and a large stack of chips on the table!
Always check CSI for the individual blackjack variant rules. Feel free to print them off as a guide to help you clear up at the blackjack tables!
Posted by CSI Team
