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How to Learn, Play & Win BlackJack

Where to play Blackjack Online

Blackjack Playing Cards / Sets

What is BlackJack?

Blackjack, sometimes also known as twenty-one is one of the most widely played casino games in the world. Blackjack is a comparing card game played with one or more decks of 52 cards. The player draws cards to an initial two card hand with the object of bringing the total hand value as close as possible to 21 without exceeding it, so that the dealer, who plays after the player, will stop short of the player's total, or will lose by exceeding 21. Many rule variations of blackjack exist. Since the 1960s, blackjack has been a high profile target of advantage players, particularly card counters, who track the profile of cards yet to be dealt, and adapt their wager and playing strategy accordingly.

On this page we will show you how to learn to play Blackjack and some of the blackjack strategies you can use. I will also recommend some great books and DVDs so you can further explore how to play blackjack. I have also recommended some trusted websites where you can play blackjack online. Enjoy learning and playing Blackjack!

How to play BlackJack

Blackjack is actually a very simple game to play and a relatively easy way of getting money. When you play blackjak in a casino, you have some of the best odds of actually winning. Blackjack is mainly a game of luck and chance, but there are some strategies you can use to improve your chances of winning. Here's how to play.

Blackjack Video Tutorial - the basics.

1) Learn the value of the cards in Blackjack.

Number cards: The number is the value of the card.

Face Cards (Jack, Queen, King): The value of face cards is 10.

Ace: Either 1 or 11. It is counted as 11 unless it would put you over 21, in which case it counts as 1.

2) Learn your choices:

The casino's greatest advantage is that the player has to act first. If a player "busts" (goes over 21), the casino immediately takes the players money. If the casino then "busts" on the same hand, the player still loses. The dealer is the last one to play the hand. These are the choices in Blackjack:

Hit: Get another card.

Stand: Keep your current cards and do nothing.

Insurance: A bet to break even, only available when the dealer is showing an ace. If the dealer has a blackjack, the insurance bet pays off 2-1 (you break even).

Double Down: You double your bet, and get only one more card.

Split: Make two hands from one hand, if both cards are the same value. If both of your hands win, you get double the amount of money. If only one wins, you break even. If both hands lose, you lose double the money. Split the hands by separating the cards and placing a duplicate bet.
Splitting can make good hands out of bad hands and bad hands out of good hands. Before splitting, always consider what the effect of splitting will likely be.

Surrender: In many casinos, you can (before playing and after determining if the dealer has a blackjack) choose to give up half of your bet without playing. Surrender is usually desirable when the dealer is showing a face card, and the player has a hand likely to bust.

3) Understand the implications of insurance, splitting,double down and surrender.

Always remember that all of the extra actions favor the house:
When making an insurance bet, you are betting that the dealer's hole card is a 10, Jack, Queen or King. Their are 13 potential ranks of cards in the deck. You have less than a 1 and 3 chance of it paying. The best time to make an insurance bet is when you have a blackjack! If the dealer turns out to have a blackjack, you will have a "push" (tie) with the dealer; your insurance bet will pay 2-1 which would equal an average payout on a bet.

When doubling down, you only get one card. You may not like the hand you end up with. In fact, that is what the casino is counting on! Never double down if the dealer is showing a face card or an ace.

Splitting can turn an excellent hand into a terrible one, and vice versa. Here are some rules of thumb: Never split 5's (Your total is 10. You are likely to end strong. Always split 7's, 8's and Aces. Splitting 7's and 8's will change probable losers to probable winners. Splitting Aces is advantageous, but understand this: You are only allowed to split Aces once, and you can only take one card for each new hand. The casinos required this because Splitting Aces, without the restriction, is a great advantage.

Once you have "surrendered" your hand, the dealer's actions are unimportant (to you). If the dealer's hand goes sour, you have already given up.

Blackjack Strategy & Tips

Don't aim to get 21, just aim to beat the dealer. That's all you really have to do to win, but many people forget this.

When considering your choice, if the dealer's card that you can see is a number card, assume that the one you can't see is a 10 or a face card. There's a reasonable chance that it will be.

If the dealer is showing a face card or an ace (especially an ace); consider if you should surrender. If you are holding 13, 14, 15 or 16, the chances are you will bust. If the dealer is showing an ace, no matter how bad his first draw is (if he needs to), he will always be able to draw again. This is a tremendous advantage to the house.

A good place to stay would be around 17 or over. But, it doesn't mean you can't hit and get a low number.

A good place to double down is at 11.

A common misunderstanding of the rules is that, on a push (a tie), the dealer wins. This is only true in a party (informal) game. In informal blackjack games, the last player to have a blackjack is the dealer. This may seem unfair, but here's why: The dealer might lose to multiple player at one time. He is risking far more per play, and he has to stay within the boundaries of when he must hit and stand.

Recommended Blackjack Books

The World's Greatest Blackjack Book by Lance Hubmble & Carl Cooper. A revised edition of the blackjack player's bible, with complete information on the odds, betting strategies, and much more -- now updated to include the rules of play in Atlantic City as well as international playing rules. The book is a comprehensive account of Blackjack in a casino (or at home) and prepares the player for every pitfall a 'cheating' casino my put in your way. The book has been written with a heavy influence from the authors personal experiences and thus is not two dimensional and boring like some other texts (I enjoyed the author talk about Las Vegas mobsters and the underground world of organised crime). Humble makes sure that if he has mentioned an important point, the point is elaborated upon and explained thoroughly in following chapters.

Play Blackjack Like the Pros by Kevin Blackwood. An introduction to the modern game of blackjack, including high and low stakes casino, shoe games (several decks shuffled together), online, and tournaments. Blackwood begins with the basic rules of play and then moves on to teach his proven card-counting method, broken-down into three levels: novice, recreational, and professional. He also covers camouflaging techniques (it's perfectly legal to count cards, but if the house catches you they will kick you out), money management, and team play. Blackwood includes many stories of his and other professionals' triumphs at the tables and keeps the highly technical language that bogs down most gaming books to an absolute minimum. Play Blackjack Like the Pros is written in the style of Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker Like the Pros using easy-to-understand lessons that all levels of players can quickly benefit from.

Blackjack Secrets by Mr Jack. This book will teach you the single most important element of winning at blackjack... and how to exploit it for massive piles of cash! It also covers the three Basic Elements that MUST be mixed and matched if you want a shortcut obscene riches and to avoid the embarrassing blackjack beginner's mistakes. Blackjack secrets teaches you 45 terms and words that are used in the blackjack scene that you must know for you to get started. The book includes advice about the NUMBER ONE thing you must do before placing any bet on the table. (An astonishing secret well-used by rich players... but ignored by 95.7% of other players, the poor ones!). Blackjack secrets will help you understand why the blackjack "experts" you read about are just simply wrong in much of their advice on how to take ”insurance”. (The scientific money-grabber strategy that tells you when to take insurance and beat the casino's advantage.). You will also learn how to use the two versions of surrender (early and late surrender) in a way that you'll gain additional advantage. Order your copy today!

Where to play Blackjack Online

Play Blackjack online for FREE - practice blackjack, learn your blackjack strategy and play blackjack without costing you any money. Go to Blackjack.com

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