In the world of blackjack, there is no such thing as a “sure thing.” No matter how skilled a player may be, the house always has the potential to beat them.
However, there are some basic strategies that can help someone come out on top more often than not.
The first step is to understand how blackjack works. The dealer deals each player two cards face down, then offers a bet. The player can either accept the offer or draw cards.
If the player accepts the offer, they place their bet and the dealer gives them another card. If the player drAWS cards, they can either keep the original two cards or discard one and draw another.
The goal of blackjack is to have as few cards as possible (called “under 21”). When this happens, the player gets to add their original bet plus the number of points on their new card to their total score. For example, if a player has an 18 and a 10 in their hand, they would score 14 points on their turn – 2+10 = 12 = 14 points. If they had an 8 and a 2 in their hand, they would score only 1 point – 8 + 2 = 9 = 1 point.
Cards that are higher than 21 count as 20 points (e.g., an Ace counts as 1 point), and any card that is lower than 21 counts as 0 points (e.g., a 2 counts as 0).
There are several different ways to win at blackjack:
1) Hit: In order to hit, a player must have an equal or higher total value than the dealer’s hand (including any wildcards). For example, if the dealer has a 10 and an 8 in their hand, a player would need at least a 13 (e.g.
, an Ace plus any other card worth at least 1 point) in order to hit. If the player doesn’t have anything close to what the dealer has, they will usually lose (unless they get lucky and draw another high-value card).
2) Split: In order to split, a player must have two different values that add up to 21 – for example, if you have an 18 and 10 in your hand, you could split by drawing another card and putting it in your 18-10=6 position, then putting your original 10 back into your hand (e.g., 6-10=4).
This would give you a total of 15 points for your turn (2+10=12). If you don’t have anything close enough to 21, you’ll usually lose (unless you get lucky and draw another high-value card).
3) Stand: In order to stand, a player must have at least one higher-valued than any card that is currently being played by either side (including wildcards). For example, if there are two cards being played with values of 5 and 3 respectively on the table (both being wildcards), then any 3 would be higher than both 5s so it would be correct for someone to stand – even if they only had an Ace left in their hand! However, if someone had only two cards left – say an Ace and 2 – then they would not be able to stand because there is no card higher than 2.
4) Double Down: In order to double down, a player must first hit or split; after doing one of those things, they can then double down by putting another wager into the pot (e.g., if somebody hits with an 18-10=6 total on their turn and wants to double down by putting another $20 into the pot), provided that both hands still meet all other criteria for standing/doubling/etc.
This allows for even more opportunities for players who are relatively good at blackjack – especially since doubling down doesn’t require having anything close enough tot he dealer’s total value!.
