Before receiving any cards the player must place a wager. Once the wager is
made the player is dealt 2 cards face up. The dealer is also dealt two cards,
one face up and the other face down. The dealer's "hole" card remains face down
until the player's have completed their hands. At this point the dealer turns
over his hole card. If his hand totals a hard 17 through 21 he must stand. If
his hand is 16 or under the dealer must continue to take cards until either his
hand is over 16 or bust (which means over 21). The dealer must hit on a soft 16.
The player has many different betting and playing options...
Blackjack Player
Options
Bet
Click on the denomination of chips you wish to bet, if you need to remove
some chips right click on the chip in your chip tray that represents the amount
that you wisht to remove.
Hit
This deals the player another card. If your 2 cards were to equal 10 you have
nothing lose by requesting another card since your total could not exceed 21.
Stand
This means that the player is satisfied with his hand and does not want to
risk another hit.
Double Down
If your first two cards equal 10 or 11 you are given the option to double
your initial wager. Once you have chosen to do this you will be dealt a third
card and no more. Your hand will only consist of the 3 cards.
Splitting
If you are dealt two cards with identical value you can then split them (i.e.
8,8 or 10,Q). You would now be playing 2 separate hands, each starting with one
of the two split cards. You will now be dealt a second card to one of the hands.
After this hand is played out the second hand will be dealt a second card and
continued until that hand is played out. All regular rules apply to each hand
with the ability to double down. You may only split your hand once and a new
wager equal to the initial wager will be placed for each split hand. A split
hand blackjack pays out at 1-1 rather the normal 2-1. When splitting aces, the
player will only receive one card on each hand.
Insurance
When the dealer's exposed card is an ace, the player will be given the option
to place an insurance wager. This wager will equal one half of the original bet
and will be placed on the insurance line. If the dealer has blackjack the player
will get paid 2 to 1 on the insurance bet with the original bet being lost. This
evens out and acts similar to a push. If the dealer does not have blackjack the
insurance bet is lost immediately.
Payoffs
Players win their wager if their total hand is higher than the dealer's
without going over 21. If the player busts, then the dealer wins the hand before
turning over a card. All hands that total less than the dealer's hand lose.
Hands that are equal in value will be considered a tie, or a push. If the player
gets a blackjack the payout will be at 3:2 rather than 1:1.