R is for risk. It’s the most important part of playing blackjack. Too much risk and you’ll lose money, and too little risk and you’ll never be successful.
The higher your risk, the more you can win. But don’t overdo it – if you’re playing with too much risk, you’ll quickly lose everything you’ve put in. .
The basic principle of blackjack is to try to beat the dealer by drawing cards to make as many better hands as possible. The best hand is five cards of the same rank, like ace, two, three, four, or five of a kind.
If you have that kind of hand, you can either stand (keep your bet) or draw (put more money into the pot). If the dealer has that kind of hand too, he can either stand or draw too.
If the dealer has a better hand than you – for example, four aces – he can either stand and make you bet again (re-raise), or he can take your bet (call). If he calls your bet, that means he’s going to keep whatever money you put in the pot.
If the dealer doesn’t have a better hand than you – for example, two sevens – he might give you back some of your own money (give back), or he might hit on his first two cards (push). If he pushes, that means he’s going to put more money into the pot and give you fewer cards than you asked for.
If he hits on his first two cards (gets a pair of sevens), that means he’s going to take all the money in the pot and give you three new cards.
The goal is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. When both players have 21 or better, the game is over and whoever has more chips (money) wins.
