Online Blackjack for Real Money

How Does Blackjack Work?

While blackjack is pretty simple on the surface, it can get complex quickly. There is a lot of strategy to this game. Playing online blackjack is a great way to work on your strategy and practice. It’s easy to find blackjack strategy guides online that you can use while you play online blackjack.

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Blackjack games, whether online or in-person, are always played against the dealer directly and not against other players. Your goal is to get a hand of cards with a total closest to 21 without going over. The dealer is trying to do the same thing.

Whoever is closer to 21 without going over at the end of a blackjack round wins the hand. You can also win by being dealt a perfect “blackjack” which totals 21 exactly. Additionally, you can win by simply having a live hand when the dealer “busts” by going over 21.

A typical blackjack hand starts with betting – each player must place a bet before they are dealt any cards. Once bets are placed, the dealer deals out two cards face-up to each player. The dealer then deals themself one card face-up and a second card face-down.

Here’s one of the less well-known rules of blackjack – if the dealer’s “hole card” (the face-up card) is an ace, the dealer will offer players insurance against a dealer blackjack (perfect 21). The dealer will then peek at their other card if a blackjack is possible – if it comes up as 21, the hand ends.

If the dealer doesn’t get a perfect blackjack off the deal, then the first drawing round begins. Players will look at their cards are decide to either stand (do nothing), hit (take a card), double down (add another bet), or surrender (fold but only lose half your bet). This continues until everyone either busts (goes over 21) or stands.

Once all players are done drawing cards, the dealer reveals their face-down card. The dealer will then hit or stand based on the house rules for the specific casino. For example, at some casinos the dealer will stand on a hard 17 and hit on a soft 17.

Basic Blackjack Strategy Guide

Blackjack is a game of numbers. There are only so many card combinations that can come up and as a result, it’s possible to determine the best move to make in any situation. This is known as blackjack strategy.

Today, there are thousands of blackjack strategy guides available online for free. We strongly recommend that you use one of these guides while playing online blackjack in order to maximize your odds of winning.

Blackjack strategy guides will tell you when to hit, when to stand, when to double down, and when to surrender. These guides won’t guarantee that you’ll always win, but they can help you maintain the best odds in every possible situation.

For example, blackjack strategy says that you should hit anytime the dealer has a possible hand total between 17 and 21 and your hand total is 16 or lower. If the dealer shows a face card or an ace, you will usually hit as well. However, if the dealer shows a low number like a 3, 4, 5, or 6 then you should stand because the dealer is more likely to bust.

Blackjack FAQ

• What’s the difference between US and European Blackjack?

  American or US Blackjack is exactly what we described above in our explanation of how blackjack works. This is the most common type of blackjack in the majority of casinos. In European blackjack, the only difference is that to start the hand, the dealer only deals themself one card. That means players won’t know if the dealer is dealt a perfect blackjack until the end of the game. That means that European blackjack has a higher house edge than US blackjack.

• What is blackjack surrender?

  Surrender is an optional move in blackjack that isn’t found in every version of the game. When it’s available, you can use it to fold on a terrible hand. However, there is a price to surrender - you will need to forfeit half your bet. This is still a good move if you have a terrible hand because it will decrease your overall losses.

• What are blackjack card values?

  Most cards in blackjack take on their face value. For example, anything from 2 through 10 is valued at whatever number is shown on the card. Face cards like queen, jack, and kind are all valued at 10. The ace is the only card used in blackjack that can change its value. Depending on which other cards you hold in your hand, the ace could be either a value of 1 or 11. You can use this to your advantage if you know some basic blackjack strategy.

• What is a soft 17 in blackjack?

  A soft 17 occurs when the dealer has an ace and a 6. This is known as a “soft” 17 because the ace can change value depending on the other cards. For example, holding an ace an a 6 will total 17 because the ace takes on a value of 11. However, if the dealer hits and gets a 10, then the ace changes to a value of 1 and the new hand total is still 17. This specific case is actually called a hard 17 (10 value card + ace + 6). The rules for whether or not the dealer hits or stands in these situations varies by casino.