You can Hit – which is take another card.

The player is first to act and you have the following options after your first two cards are dealt: If your cards are dealt face down, you can only use ONE hand to lift your cards to see their values. In places like Las Vegas all of Fred’s cards are face up but there are some casinos in places like Reno where the player’s cards are face down. One of the dealer’s cards is face up and the other is face down. Two cards are dealt to Fred and the dealer gets two cards as well. Fred must place his bet down to start the action. The dealer then puts the cards in a shoe.

The dealer shuffles cards or uses an automatic shuffle machine. Suppose Fred sees an empty blackjack table and sits down. Using an example makes it easier to understand how to play blackjack. And if you can learn to count cards – which is not as difficult as it sounds – you can sway the odds to your favor! We discuss card counting in the more advanced strategy section. Overall, the casino dealer has an advantage in this game, however it is very slight if you play perfect blackjack strategy. Consulting our blackjack charts while playing blackjack will help you make the best moves possible in any situation. Even though he’s losing to everyone at the table, he is not allowed to take a hit, and thus the entire table wins.īecause the dealer must play his hand in this fashion, this is a benefit to the player and by applying perfect blackjack strategy, we can exploit this to the maximum potential. The dealer flips over his under card revealing a 10 for a total of 17. On the flip side, let’s say everyone at the table is dealt an 18 (and stays) and the dealer shows a 7.

The dealer hits his hand, has an excellent chance of busting, and the entire table wins. However, the dealer MUST hit his hand since it is a 16 or less. His hand is higher than everyone else’s at the table. The dealer flips over his other card revealing a 10. If the dealer has 17 or higher, he MUST STAND (a possible exception is if the dealer has a soft 17 which is an Ace and a 6).Īs an example, if everyone at a blackjack table has a hand totaling 13, and the dealer is showing a 6, the basic strategy is to stay. If the dealer has less than 16, he MUST HIT. The dealer must follow always follow a specific set of rules when playing his hand. The dealer may still bust afterwards, but the player has already lost his bet. This is an edge for the dealer because as soon as a player goes over 21 and busts, his bet is lost and he is now out of the hand. The casino dealer has the advantage in this game for the simple reason that the players have to go first.

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