Blackjack Rules | Where to Pay Attention To

Blackjack is one of the most popular card games in the world. But how do you actually play this classic game and what rules do you have to follow in the online casino? Find out here on Casinoble!

Blackjack has been known as a card game in Europe since the 18th century and used to be called “Vingt-et-un”, “17+4” or “21”. This suggests that this number has a special meaning in Blackjack. And so it is: the object of the game is to hit 21 with your cards. If you exceed 21 with your hand, you lose. The game is only played against the dealer.

Blackjack Table | Where is the Dealer?

Let's start with the game board, the blackjack table. This is usually in the shape of a semicircle, with the dealer on the even side. Opposite him sit the maximum of six players who want to take him on. 

The card shuffler usually holds 6 to 8 decks of 52 playing cards and brings randomness into the casino game. Now it's time to deal the cards. This is where the dealer comes in: He always starts with the player who is sitting on the left from his point of view and continues the deal in turn until all players have two cards face up in front of them. The dealer himself also plays with two cards but leaves at least one (in some cases both) face down. 

Blackjack Rules | Card Values

Before we finally get down to the nitty-gritty, a quick look at the card values in blackjack:

• Ace = 1 or 11 points (always to the player's advantage).
• Jack, Queen, King, 10 = 10 points.
• Remaining cards according to their face value, so 2 = 2, 3 = 3 and so on.

Blackjack Variants

For the sake of simplicity, we will focus on the classic version below. Once it's your turn, you have several options to react to your hand and the dealer's face up card. As a reminder, you need to get as close to 21 points as possible, but not overbought. You have the following options during the course of a game: 

• Stand: With this announcement, you stay with your hand. This makes sense if you have two very high cards and the risk of slipping over 21 with another card is high. 

• Hit: Now the dealer gives you another card. If you remain under 21, you can request another card or stay with “Stand”. In general, you can have as many cards as you want – provided you don't overbuy.

• Double: You can only make this call with your starting hand. You double your bet and may only accept one additional card. You cannot take back this decision – so decide wisely.

• Split: If you have two cards of the same value, you can make two from one hand. How? By splitting your hand, doubling your bet, and then playing two hands separately.

• Insurance: If the dealer's up card is an Ace, you can insure yourself against a blackjack from him. This will cost you half of your bet but will bring you double the amount if the dealer actually holds a blackjack. This means that you don't lose any money, even though you actually lost the round. 

• Surrender: In some casinos you can cancel the round prematurely for half of your bet. This is not recommended, but it can be an option if you have a bad hand.