Reading a blackjack sheet can be confusing, but with a little practice you’ll be able to decipher the different elements and make informed decisions about your next play.
The first thing to understand is that the sheet is divided into three parts: the front, the middle, and the back. The front of the sheet is where you see the rank and suit of the cards being dealt.
The middle is where you see totals for both hands, and the back is where you see any special details about the hand, such as surrender rules or bonus information.
At the top of the sheet are two columns: one for bet money and one for winnings. The bet money column shows how much money you are putting into the game, while the winnings column shows how much money you have won so far. To make a bet, put your bet money in the bet column and then pick a number from 1 to 18 in the payoff columns corresponding to your desired stake.
For example, if you want to bet $10 on a hand and win $18 if your hand wins, put $10 in the bet column and choose row 1 in payoff column 1. If your hand loses, your winnings will be reduced by whatever amount was in payoff column 1 (in this case $8).
Below each number in payoff column 1 is a symbol that indicates what type of payouts will happen if your hand meets certain criteria: Hit means that your hand matches one or more of the numbers in that row; Split means that there are two matching numbers; Double Down means that you put down two bets for one hand (e.g., if you have $20 in your pocket and want to double down on a five-card draw, you would put $40 in payoff column 2), Tied means that both hands end up with matching numbers; and Skip means that there are no matching numbers in that row or column.
To make a bet on a particular hand, put your bet money next to the symbol for that type of payout and choose which number from 1 to 18 in payoff column 2 corresponds to your stake. For example, if you want to bet $10 on a five-card draw and win $18 if your hand wins, place $10 next to hit in payoff column 2 and choose row 6.
If your hand loses, your winnings will be reduced by whatever amount was next to hit (in this case $8).
If there are multiple bets on a particular hand, place them all next to each other in one column next to hit. For example, if there are two bets placed next to hit (one for $5 and one for $10),place them all together at the bottom of payout column 2 so it looks like this: 5 10$.
To see what cards have been dealt so far, look at row 1 of front of sheet. This row shows which cards have been turned over so far (the Ace through Ten) as well as any face value bonuses (e.g., an A may be worth +2 points). After Row 1 has been looked at, turn over all remaining cards so that they are face down (this is usually done by either dealing them clockwise around the table or by flipping them over with two hands). The Ace through Five are shown on top while all other card symbols are shown on their backs (this is why it’s sometimes called “the UNDER”).
As soon as all cards have been turned over, start counting up from 2 (or any other number) towards 18 (or any other number) starting at Row 3 (so 3 would be counted as “3”, 4 would be counted as “4”, etc.), keeping track of which card symbols go with which numbers.
When counting towards 18 from 3 onward, any card with a black spot above or below it (“blackjack”) counts as even though it isn’t shown face up yet because it has already been counted as part of Row 1 (“2” would count as “2”, “3” would count as “6”, etc.). Once you reach 18 or any other number specified on the sheet, stop counting and all remaining cards will be shown face up simultaneously. To see what hands have already been played before yours begins (called “posting”), look at Row 2 of front of sheet – this row shows which hands have already been played before yours begins (Aces through Sixes only). You can also find this information by looking at Either Pay Table located at bottom left side of back part of sheet opposite Bet Columns). Hand rankings are always listed from highest ranking card first (“8” being played before Ace) through Lowest ranking card last (“5” being played after Six). Once you’ve seen both Row 1 and Row 2 for all hands currently being played at table before yours begins playing (which happens simultaneously when all players have finished posting), it’s.
