- Insurance:
If the dealer’s face
up card is an Ace, the player can take a
side bet of up to half the initial bet against
the dealer having a natural 21. If the face
down card is a 10, which is now a blackjack,
insurance pays at 2- 1 odds, but loses if
the dealer does not have a blackjack.
- Surrender: The player gives up the hand
dealt and loses only half of the bet.
- Early Surrender: Before the dealer checks
for a blackjack, you give up your hand.
- Late Surrender: The dealer first checks
the hand dealt. If it is a blackjack, surrender
is not permitted.
- Double Down: After having being dealt
the first two cards the player can double
the initial bet, but can hit one card only.
Only if the player is in a strong position
is this a good bet.
- Even Money:
If you are dealt a Blackjack and the dealer’s
face up card is an Ace , you can cash in
your bet immediately , at a payout ratio
of 1 to 1.
- Split hand: When the first two cards
dealt are of equal value, you can split them
and play them separately. You place a second
bet equal to the first on the second card.
- Hard Hand: This describes a hand that
does not have an Ace or a hand in which you
have valued the ace as 1.
- Soft Hand: This describes a hand that
has an ace which you have valued at 11.
House advantage: This can vary depending
on the rules of the house. Without basic
strategy it averages at approximately 7%.
With a basic strategy, at about .05% , or
less. Card counting can reverse these odds
with an advantage to the player of up to
one percent.
There are some variations to the game
of Blackjack that can be found in various
casinos that are worth noting:
- Different numbers of packs of cards
are used. The fewer the number of packs used
the better it is for the player.
- They may allow the dealer to hit a soft
17. This gives the dealer a better chance
to improve and so is a disadvantage to the
player.
- They allow
a “double down” after
splitting a pair. This can work to the advantage
of the player
- They allow the player to split Aces.
This is a definite advantage to the player.
The
dealer is not allowed a “Hole card”.
The dealer does not deal himself a second
card until all the players have played. They
can lose all the doubles and splits. This
rule is common on the Casinos on the Cruise
Ships.
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