Learn How to Play Blackjack: Rules, Moves, and Payouts

Being one of the most popular casino games worldwide, blackjack is very much player-friendly even for beginners. Notwithstanding its approach of strategy and skill, just about anyone can learn the basics quite easily.  While you’ll develop better skill as you play, getting familiar with the rules and essential moves is step one with blackjack. Over the next few paragraphs, we’ll break down the ‘starter pack’ that’ll get you familiar with basic rules of blackjack in no time. 

Know the objective, know the rules 

Standard blackjack is a 52-card game, where the numbered cards are of face value, face cards have a value of 10 and aces are worth 1 or 11. From this set-up, the goal is simple: beat the dealer’s hand without exceeding a total value of 21. In other words, your hand (set of cards) must be closer to 21 than the dealer’s without going over. You can also win if you are dealt a blackjack on your first two cards or if the dealer goes over 21 during play. 

At the beginning, each player gets two cards, which will all be face-down except the dealer’s face-up card. From there, it’s game on. Blackjack also comes in varieties but with little distinctions. Here’s a few of the most popular variants to explore; 

• Classic Blackjack
• Vegas Strip Blackjack
• Atlantic City Blackjack
• European Blackjack

Fun Fact: The longest continuous Blackjack session on record lasted 51 hours and 33 minutes, set by Stephen De Raffaele in 2001.

Basic moves in blackjack

Edward O. Thorp, Author of Beat the Dealer – “The beautiful thing about blackjack is that it’s the only game in the casino that gives you a choice.”

As the rules permit, there are only so many moves a player can make per turn. You’ll need to master the available moves and understand the strategic implications of each one.

Hit: Requesting an additional card to increase your hand’s total is termed hitting. It is usually ideal to hit when your hand is low (below 12-16) and the dealer has a strong upcard. 

Stand: Keeping your current hand to end your turn is called standing. As proportional to hitting, standing is ideal when you have a strong hand (17 or higher) and the dealer has a weak up card.

Split: When your first two cards are of the same value, they can be split into two separate hands. Now each of these hands can carry an additional bet that is equal to the original one. Especially for pairs of aces or 8s, splitting is usually recommended. 

Double Down: Doubling your initial bet in exchange for one more card is termed ‘’doubling down’. The double down option comes in handy when you’re starting with a strong hand.

Surrender: Just as it sounds, the surrender option lets you end your hand early by forfeiting half of your bet. Especially if you’re facing a strong dealer upcard with a weak hand, surrendering is always an option. 

The payouts angle 

Getting a hang of the payouts in blackjack is important for managing your money and gaming strategy. A straight-up win, where you beat the dealer, pays 1:1; as such, a $10 bet will yield a $10 win. Winnings via a natural blackjack (Ace + 10 value-card) typically pays 3:2, but some tables offer 6:5. Also, payouts can be higher when you double down or split, but these also require additional bets. 

Fun Fact: Contrary to popular belief, card counting isn’t illegal, it’s just frowned upon by casinos. 

Close 

In the end, learning to play blackjack can be very straightforward. Once you understand the objective and the ideal moves for every scenario, you’re all good. You may also want to adhere to a gaming strategy which is something you’ll tilt towards with some experience.