If you’ve ever walked through a casino or even just watched a movie set in a casino, then chances are you’ve heard the thrilling cry of ‘Blackjack!’ The good news for players stuck at home is that the online version of this increasingly popular casino classic has captured all the excitement of the live game. Thanks to online casinos, you can now play this thrilling game 24/7. Simply sidle up to your favorite virtual table and place your bet. You can play alone or with other online players and can even opt for a live dealer.
We know you’ve heard of this timeless game, but if you’ve never had the pleasure of actually playing it, don’t let that stop you! Casino Agent has all the Blackjack information you need to sit at the table and play like a pro. As mentioned above, all you need to do is complete your member registration and then choose a table. Of course if you want to play for cash you’ll have to make a deposit, but fun-only players can play entertainment-only versions of blackjack almost immediately at dozens of top notch online casinos. Before you hit the tables, let’s go over the rules’
Recent surveys have shown that blackjack is THE most popular international casino game. It’s so easy to learn you’ll wonder why YOU haven’t tried it before. First and foremost, it is a card game and pulls from the traditional 52-card deck, but to prevent card counting most casinos now draw their blackjack hands from a shoe which is a collective pile of as many as six to eight decks.
The dealer is the casino employee that distributes the cards. All other people participating in the game are players. Unlike poker, you compete only against the dealer’s hand; your fellow players’ hands are irrelevant to your own. The game begins with the dealer giving each player and themself two cards. The player cards are dealt face up, and the dealer gets one card face up and one card face down. Players may then choose to hit or stand depending on the total of their current hand.
The objective of Blackjack is beyond simple; to get a hand with a value of 21 or closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand without going bust. Remember that the deck is divided into four suits and that each suit is comprised of 13 cards: nine numerical cards, three face cards, and an Ace. The suit does not affect value, but each number card is worth value shown and each face card is worth ten. The Ace may be used as either a one or an eleven. A hand where the Ace is used as a one is called a soft hand, whereas a hand where the Ace is used as an eleven is called a hard hand.
The game gets its name from its original winning combination: a black Jack and an Ace. The modern version of blackjack allows for any combination of cards as long as they total 21 or less. A ‘natural’ is when a player is dealt an Ace and a ten or any face card for an automatic blackjack. As a general rule, most players will hit on any hand of a value of 15 or less and will stand on a hand of 16 or more, but this changes depending on when the dealer hits (some casinos dictate that the dealer hit on 16) and depending on the value of the dealer’s visible cards.
A common strategy in blackjack is to assume that the dealer’s face down card is a ten and to play your own hand against the dealer’s hypothetical hand. For example, if the dealer has a six of diamonds displayed, you will assume that they have a hand with a value of 16 and will hit until your own hand is 16 or more unless the dealer hits on 17, in which case you should hit until your hand totals 17 or more.
While learning the basic rules of blackjack is imminently simple, there are more complex and advanced strategies available to the amateur or professional player so that with diligence and practice you can continue to improve your game indefinitely.
