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Having been a blackjack dealer and gambling instructor, I have taught countless people how to playing the game of Blackjack. The game of Blackjack is a very simple one to learn and you can be on the table playing in just minutes from now. On my main website (WiseBettor.com), I go more in detail about gambling, but this quick start guide will give you everything you need to play a game of Blackjack. For the purpose of this article, we will focus on playing Blackjack online.

Before you can play a hand of Blackjack, you must place a bet on the table. The minimum bet amount required to play depends on the table you are at. All winning bets at the Blackjack table are paid even money, with the exception of a dealt Blackjack, which is paid three to two. If, for example, you have a $5 bet on the table and receive a Blackjack, you would be paid $7.50.

The game starts with you receiving two cards and the dealer receiving two cards. One card of the dealer is placed face up for you to see. This card is called the “up card” and gives you a little help in guessing what the dealer holds. Each card has a count that’s equivalent to it’s number. So, for example, a two is worth two. The Jack, Queen and King cards are worth ten. The Ace is worth one or eleven—you decide. At the conclusion of each hand the player closest to twenty-one wins. However, the object is not really to get as close to twenty-one as possible, rather to beat the dealer.

As the player, you go first. You can hit, stand, split, double down or surrender. Here’s a description of each action.
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Today, we’re going to take a look at a couple key components to the game of Blackjack in the casino-decks and player positions.

Decks

Blackjack can be played with any number of decks. As the number of decks increase, the game becomes better for the house (casino). In the old days, the game was single-deck Blackjack. Eventually, casinos figured out that they could improve their odds by adding one more deck.

Today, single-deck Blackjack in the real world can be hard to find-unless you want to play $25+ per hand. Usually, the lower limit tables (under $25 per hand) are multi-deck games. Most of those use 4,6 or 8 decks.

Don’t be fooled by online casinos. Yes, they may use a single deck, but the deck is shuffled after each hand (unless specified). This isn’t the same as a single-deck game in the real world, because those games aren’t shuffled after each hand. It makes a difference. Real world single deck games are better for you.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t play Blackjack online. Just be aware of the differences. For instance, since the online casinos shuffle after each hand, counting cards is of no use to you.

Player Positioning

If you’re playing Blackjack by yourself, this section won’t matter. But, if you’re playing with others, it pays to know the order of play.

The order of play starts with the player position to the left of the dealer. This position is known as first base. The order of play continues in a clockwise direction. The last player position to play is to the immediate right of the deal. This position is known as third base and it’s a coveted position to be in.
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Poker is hitting a huge boom all over the place from the best online casinos to the huge World Series of Poker, but when it comes right down to it Black Jack is still the biggest game and the most fun to play.

I think giving you the top 5 reasons why black jack is a better game than poker is sufficient evidence as to the superiority of the game of Black Jack.

Black jack is quick, you do not have to sit and wait for people to think. It is either hit me, or stay and that is all there is to it.

Black Jack is by far a much easier game to learn to play. Since the basis of the game is to beat the dealers hand with a 21, there is not really so much that you have to learn in comparison the poker.

You get to play against the dealer when playing black jack, which is not usually the case when playing poker. This is better because you do not have to worry what the other players are thinking. This is not an advantage but you do not have to worry about body language and the like.
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Black Jack Strategy explained in this article is just a piece of a detailed black jack strategy that anyone playing black jack, can find on my black jack strategy blog, the url below. Blackjack, unlike other games, has an element of player choice, where players can actually reduce the casino advantage to a small percentage by playing what is known as basic black jack strategy. This black jack strategy determines when to hit and when to stand, and also determines when doubling down or splitting is the correct action. Basic strategy is based on the player’s point total and the dealer’s visible card.

There are slight variations in basic black jack strategy depending on the exact house rules and the number of decks used. Under the most favorable conditions (single deck, downtown Las Vegas rules), the house advantage over a basic strategy player can be as low as 0.16%. Indeed, casinos offering special rules like surrender and double-after-split may actually be offering a positive expectation to basic strategy players; they are counting on players making mistakes to make money.

The following rules are beneficial to the player:

1. Doubles are permitted on any two-card hand except a blackjack.
2. Doubles are permitted after splitting.
3. Early surrender; the ability to forfeit half your wager against a face or ace before the dealer checks for blackjack.
4. Normal (aka “late”) surrender.
5. Resplitting Aces.
6. Drawing more than one card against a split Ace.
7. Five or more cards with the total still no more than 21 as an automatic win (a “Charlie”)

The following rules are detrimental to the player:

1. Less than 3:2 payout on blackjacks (as is the case with Las Vegas Strip single-deck blackjack, paying out 6:5)
2. Dealer hits on soft seventeen (ace, six)
3. Splitting a maximum of once (to two hands)
4. Double down restricted to certain totals, such as 9-11 or 10,11
5. Aces may not be resplit
6. No-Peek (European) blackjack—player loses splits and doubles to a dealer blackjack
7. Player losing ties

There is one thing hapenning in black jack game when a someone can win in blackjack by looking for warps. In the casino industry, is is called a “dealer tell,” meaning, a dealer who gives away information that the casino believes players shouldn’t possess. When a dealer checks the hole card under tens or aces, some inexperienced dealers will unknowingly bend those cards upwards and this will cause the tens and aces to have a different shape than the rest of the cards in the deck. With this information, the sharp-eyed player believes he knows the dealer’s hole card by its disfigured state-which is known as “playing the warps.”
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