Blackjack Rules
The object of the game is to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. The player competes against the dealer alone, not the other players at the table.
- Numbered cards are face value.
- Face cards hold a value of 10.
- Aces are flexible as holding a value of either 11 or 1 (see below).
Bets are made initially, before the cards are dealt, and cannot be altered – they are placed in the betting square. Cards are dealt one at a time, ultimately two to each player and the dealer, except that one of the dealer’s cards is dealt face down (the “down card”).
Game time. After the deal, each player takes their turn clockwise from the dealer’s left and then the dealer ultimately plays her hand. On their turn, the player chooses either to “hit” (ask for an additional card) or to “stay” (keep the given total value and pass the turn to the next player). If the player hits and the total value surpasses 21, this is called a bust – the player immediately loses her bet.
Including the bust, there are three ways to lose. The player loses immediately if their hand busts; a staying player also loses if the dealer’s hand results in a higher total than the player’s. There are three ways to win. The staying player wins if their hand value is higher than the dealer’s or if the dealer busts. A winning bet will be paid 1-1. See “Blackjack” below for the third way to win or lose.
If the dealer and player have equal value hands, it is a tie (called a “push“). When a push occurs the player neither wins nor loses the bet and may freely remove or change the original bet before the next round.
Aces default as 11; the player need not specify the amount. If the ace can either be an 11 or a 1, it is considered “soft” (flexible). In other words, if the Ace’s value can be 11, the hand is called soft; when the ace’s value must be a 1, the hand is called “hard”. This flexibility of the ace is always to the player’s advantage – it may readily convert from a “soft” 11 to a “hard” 1; if ever a player’s ace value of eleven makes the total value of her cards go over 21, the ace value would automatically convert to the value of 1 to prevent a bust. For example: if the player’s initial two cards are a seven and an ace for a total of 18 (7 + 11) and the player chooses to hit and receives a nine, the ace reverts to a value of one for a total of 17 (7+1+9). The hand started as a “soft 18”, then it became a “hard 17”.
The dealer’s turn – the dealer will ALWAYS conform to these three simple rules:
- the dealer must always hit any hand value up to and including 16,
- the dealer must always stay on 17 or above, with the single exception of a soft 17, and
- the dealer must always hit a soft 17.
Splits: the player has the option of splitting their two original cards of equal rank (i.e. 8 and 8, or even a 10 and a Jack) at the price of placing an additional bet equal to and next to their original bet. The dealer will then separate the two cards and play will begin with the first card – a new “second” card will be dealt to accompany it. When play ends on this new hand, the second original card will be played in the same manner. Additional splits are allowed – for example, if two 8s are split and then the first 8 receives another 8 to accompany it, the player may then split the new pair of 8s with an additional bet of equal value.
AA split exception: the player may opt to split aces in the same manner above, with the same bet increase, but with one special rule: each ace will receive one and only one additional card, then the turn ends immediately.
Double Down: instead of merely hitting the first two-card hand (or the new two-card hand derived from a split) the player may opt to double their bet and receive one and only one additional card. In effect, the player is betting that he/she can beat the dealer with one and only one additional card. Hint: a player should always consider a double down on a two-card hand totaling 11. The player will indicate her intent to double down by placing a bet amount equal to the original behind the original bet. The player’s turn for that hand then immediately ends on that double-down hit.
Blackjack: a blackjack is a hand value of 21 using the first two original cards. If the dealer has a show card of a ten value, the dealer will check to see if their hand is a blackjack before the round of turns begins (see below). If the dealer has a blackjack, play ends immediately and all players’ bets are lost with the exception of any pushes (should any players have blackjacks of their own). If, however, the dealer does not have a blackjack, any player with a blackjack will win a ratio of 3-2 (150% of their bet). Players with a blackjack are prohibited from hitting – their win and payoff is immediate upon their turn. This is the third way the player can win or lose.
Insurance: If the dealer’s show card is an ace, before the dealer checks to see if he has a blackjack (a down card of a ten value) players will be given the opportunity to bet the insurance line before the dealer’s blackjack check. The insurance line bet is the player’s way of protecting their original bet against the dealer’s possible blackjack and, therefore, the player’s possible impending loss. In effect, the player would be side-betting that the dealer HAS blackjack. An insurance line bet must equal half of the original bet and placed on the insurance line. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, the insurance bet is a loss and the dealer collects those bets. The round of turns would continue as normal. However, if the dealer does have a blackjack, all of the player’s original bets lose, with the exception of any blackjack pushes. Any insurance line bets would win; the pay is 2-1 (200%). Note, therefore, that this insurance bet covers the original bet – the player breaks even. For example, if the player has an original bet of $10 and then insures his bet with the obligatory 50% insurance bet of $5, a dealer blackjack would result in the player losing her original $10 bet but winning $10 on the insurance bet – a loss of $10 nullified by a win of $10, hence “insurance”.
HOUSE RULES
Players are not allowed to touch the cards.
Players are not allowed to touch their original bets once the deal begins and may not again until the round ends and a push occurs or the player wins.
Players may only play one hand at a time unless there are less than four players at the table.
Players must physically gesture their decision to hit by tapping their index finger to the table.
Players must physically gesture their decision to stay by waving their hand over the table.
- Min bet: $5
- Max bet: $500
- Min/max bet may be increased depending on the crowd.
Players may not leave the table for extended periods of time. Please note that breaks for the entire table are available while the dealer is shuffling.