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<h1>Blackjac Rules
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<h2 align="right">Single-Deck Casino Blackjack</h2>
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<TD> <P><EM>Blackjack</EM> is a French game that was at first called 21.
When it was introduced into casinos they tried to attract customers
by offering higher payoffs for players who would be lucky enough to
catch a black jack (spades or clubs) paired up with the ace of spades.
Since the high payoffs became centered around the black jacks they began
to call the game <EM>blackjack</EM>. Note that <EM>blackjack</EM> should
not be confused with <EM>black jack</EM>, which is an entirely different
game.
<P>Rules of casino blackjack will vary from casino to casino. In addition,
some rules may be imposed upon the game by regulations enforced by the
local gaming control board. In general, blackjack is dealt face down
in single-deck and double deck variants, but multiple deck games are
dealt face up and the players are not allowed to touch the cards. However
there are some casinos that deal single-deck games face up as well.
<P>
<P><STRONG>• Requirements</STRONG>
<UL>
<LI>1 to 7 players, and a banker</LI>
<LI>52-card pack</LI>
<LI>a bankroll</LI>
</UL>
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The Pack</STRONG>
<P>The original game is played with a standard 52-card pack, however casinos
have devised versions of this game that is played with 2, 4, 6, or 8
packs shuffled together and dealt from a dealing shoe.
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The Value of the Cards</STRONG>
<P>All the number cards count at face value, all court cards count as
10, and aces may be counted as 1 or as 11. Suits have no values.
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The object of the game</STRONG>
<P>To win money against the banker (dealer) by drawing cards to a total
of 21, or to a total as close to 21 but over the dealer's total, and
without going over 21.
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The deal</STRONG>
<P>The player(s) put(s) money or chips into the betting circle on the
layout. The dealer shuffles the deck and offers it to the player (or
one of the players) for a cut. The player cuts the deck, the dealer
completes the cut, and burns the first cards.
<P>The dealer deals clockwise one card face down to each player, one card
face up to him(her)self <EM>(this is the dealer's up-card)</EM>, then
deals another card face down to each player, and deal a card face down
under the up-card <EM>(this is the dealer's hole-card)</EM>.
<P>Each player now looks at his(her) two cards and mentally adds up the
total. If the first two cards already add up to 21, i.e. if it is a
10 and an ace, this is called a <A HREF="#naturals">natural</A>, in
this case the player exposes both cards and collects a payoff, unless
the dealer also happened to catch a natural, in which case it is a tie
and no one wins.
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The payoffs</STRONG>
<P>Most wagers a paid off at 1 to 1 odds. For a $10 bet a player will
receive $10. However, some situations pay at higher odds.
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><A NAME="naturals"></A>◊ naturals</STRONG> </P>
<P>If a player happens to catch a total of 21 with the first two cards
dealt, i.e. a 10 and an ace, this is called a natural. Most casinos
pay naturals at 3 to 2 odds; for a $10 bet the player will receive
$15. However, there are some casinos that will pay at 2 to 1 odds
to attract more customers, and there are also some casinos that will
pay at less favorable odds when playing single-deck blackjack. When
blackjack was first introduced casinos were trying to attract customers
by offering 10 to 1 payoffs to any player who happens to catch a natural
that consists of a black jack and the ace of spades. However, this
practice has long since been abandoned.</P>
<P><STRONG>◊ insurance bets</STRONG></P>
<P>Whenever the dealer's up-card is an ace the payers have the option
to insure their bets. If the hole card proves to be a 10 the player
will lose the initial bet but be paid at 2 to 1 odds on the insurance
bet. </P>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The dealer's play (if an ace or a 10 is showing)</STRONG>
<P>The dealer is always last to act unless the up-card happens to be a
10 or an ace. If the dealer's up-card is a 10 or an ace, the dealer
must first secretly check the hole-card to see if he(she) caught a natural.
If so, the dealer must expose the hole card and collect all the bets,
unless one of the players also happened to catch a natural, in which
case it is a tie, and the player does not lose the wager.
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The player's play</STRONG>
<P>The player always acts first. If the player did not catch a natural
each player has the option to <A HREF="#hit">hit</A>, <A HREF="#stand">stand</A>,
<A HREF="#double">double down</A>; or, if applicable, <A HREF="#split">split
a pair</A>, <A HREF="#surrender">surrender</A>, or <A HREF="#insurance">insure
the bet</A>.
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><A NAME="hit" ID="hit"></A>◊ hitting</STRONG> </P>
<P>If the player's cards total less than 21 the player is allowed to
draw additional cards. This procedure is called <EM>hitting</EM>.
To request a hit, the player may call, "hit!" or scratch
the surface of the table with the two cards. If the new total is over
21 it is said that the player <EM>busted</EM>. If the player busts
the dealer will expose all the cards, add up the total, collect the
bet, and place those cards into the discard pile.</P>
<P><STRONG><A NAME="stand" ID="stand"></A>◊ standing</STRONG>
</P>
<P>If additional cards are not wanted, the player puts the two original
cards face-down under the stack of chips. </P>
<P><STRONG><A NAME="double" ID="double"></A>◊ doubling down</STRONG>
</P>
<P>A player may choose to double down on any two cards (except on a
natural), or the first two cards of any split pair. The player will
double down by adding an amount equal to the amount of the original
wager, and exposing the two cards by placing them face up on the layout.
The dealer will then deal only one hit card face-down in front of
the player. The hit card will be revealed only after the dealer has
played.</P>
<P><STRONG><A NAME="split" ID="split"></A>◊ splitting pairs</STRONG>
</P>
<P>Whenever the first two player's cards are of identical value the
player has the option to split them by betting an equal amount to
form a second hand. Some casinos allow a player to split a hand only
once, in effect if another identical card is dealt the player will
not be allowed to re-split, but these rules vary from casino to casino.
Furthermore, is aces are split the player will receive only one hit
card for each ace. </P>
<P><STRONG><A NAME="surrender" ID="surrender"></A>◊ surrender</STRONG>
</P>
<P>The player may elect to discontinue play for a particular round.
In this case the dealer will collect half of the wager and put the
cards into the discard pile.</P>
<P><STRONG><A NAME="insurance" ID="insurance"></A>◊ insurance</STRONG>
</P>
<P>Whenever the dealer's up card is an ace the players are allowed to
insure their bets against the possibility of the dealer having a natural.
To insure a bet a player must do so before the dealer checks the hole
card. If the dealer's hole cards turns out to be a 10-value card the
player loses the original bet but collects 2 to 1 on the insurance
bet. If, however, the dealer's hole card is not a 10, the player loses
the insurance bet. Usually a player is allowed to insure any amount
up to 1/2 of the total of the original wager. Most casinos also allow
a player to insure a bet and surrender the original bet; in this case
each wager will be settled separately and will have no bearing on
each other. </P>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<P><STRONG>• Soft hands vs. hard hands</STRONG>
<P>A hand that consists of an ace counted as 11 is called a soft hand.
In this case the player will always have the flexibility to hit a total
of 12 or higher without risking to bust on the first hit card. In the
event that a hit card brings a soft total over 21 the soft hand becomes
a hard hand and the ace, which was originally counted as 11, is now
counted as 1.
<P>
<P><STRONG>• The dealer's play (after the players)</STRONG>
<P>If there are no active players left the dealer must expose the hole-card,
and only then place both cards into the discard pile.
<P>If there is at least one active player remaining the dealer must now
expose the hole-card and play his(her) hand by following a set of rules.
These rules will vary slightly from casino to casino, but the basic
rule will be printed on the actual layout on the blackjack table.
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG>◊ </STRONG><EM>Dealer must hit all soft 17's</EM></P>
<P>In Downtown Las Vegas single-deck blackjack is played so that the
dealer must hit all soft 17's. This rule is somewhat less favorable
for the players because the dealer always has a second chance. However,
the dealer will not be allowed to hit any soft totals over 17.</P>
<P><STRONG>◊ </STRONG><EM>Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on
all 17's</EM></P>
<P>In multiple-deck shoe games the dealer usually must stand on all
17's, soft or hard. One may find single-deck games on the strip where
the dealer must stand on all 17's. Although a single-deck game where
the dealer must stand on all 17's may look attractive to a player
at first glance, it should be noted that those games do not pay 3
to 2 on naturals.</P>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><IMG SRC="images/line.gif" WIDTH="420" HEIGHT="15">
<P><STRONG>• Other variations</STRONG>
<P>As already stated above, casinos offer other variations of blackjack.
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG>◊ Multiple-deck games</STRONG></P>
<P>The usual casino variations are games in which the dealer uses 2,
4, 6, or 8 decks. These games will vary in rules, some will allow
doubling down after split, others won't; some will allow re-spitting,
others not; some will allow surrender, and again, some will not. It
would be unpractical to list all rule variations in this text. </P>
<P><STRONG>◊ Double exposure 21</STRONG></P>
<P>This is a variation where both dealer's cards are dealt face up.
As attractive as it may sound at first glance there other changes
that make this game unfavorable: the player will win all natural ties
and lose all other ties; all <A HREF="#naturals">naturals</A> are
paid at 1 to 1; surrender and insurance are not available; the player
may double down only on a point count of 9, 10, or 11; the player
may split only once.</P>
<P><STRONG>◊ Spanish 21</STRONG></P>
<P>This variant is called <EM>Spanish 21</EM> because it is played with
a <EM>"Spanish"</EM> deck. Not really a Spanish deck because
the cards are French-suited, however, the deck is stripped of all
10-pip cards, so it contains only the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, J, Q,
K, A. There are some exceptions to the traditional rules: player's
naturals beat dealer's naturals and are always paid at 3 to 2; a player's
21 will beat a dealer's 21, however, a player will lose if the 21
consists of more than 2 cards and the dealer has a natural, and certain
player 21's will result in additional pay outs; player may split any
pairs including aces up to 4 hands, hitting and doubling of all split
cards is allowed; <EM>double down rescue</EM> allows a player after
doubling, if not satisfied with the non-busted hand, the player may
rescue (take back) the doubled portion of the bet and forfeit the
original portion of the bet; surrender is permitted on the first 2
cards. </P>
<P><STRONG>◊ Player-Banker blackjack</STRONG></P>
<P>This is a game in which the deck is handed off to the next player
in rotation after every round. Although this is usually the format
for some private blackjack games, some card rooms have been known
to offer this format as well.</P>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
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