BlackJack Tips For Beginners: What You Need To Know

BlackJack Tips For Beginners: What You Need To Know

BlackJack is a world-renowned card game wherein you play against the one distributing the cards a.k.a the “dealer”.  The main objective of the game is for your card/s to get a total value equal to or less than twenty-one (21), exceeding what the dealer has. If you get over 21, it’s a bust, and you lose.

Henry Tambur, a well-known author of BlackJack: Take the Money and Run, provides two main pieces of advice– do the math and count the cards. That’s simple enough. What’s complicated is the rules. The game may look difficult for a newbie, so read through this BlackJack guide to get started.

  1. Know the basics.

Cards have their designated values. Picture cards are counted as 10, the ace can be 11 or 1, and the rest are counted on their face value. In this case, if you get a 10 of hearts and an ace, that means you have the value of 21. The suits have no meaning.

A hand has no ace, and if there is, ace counts as one. For example, if you get 8-7, it’s a 15. On the other hand, 8-A-4-5 is an 18. If you have the ace that counts as 11, you’ll get 28, which is a bust. A soft hand like 10-A is a perfect 21.

  1. Familiarize the rules.

“Hit” is when you want the dealer to give another card to your hand. “Stand” is when you’re satisfied with you hand,  and the dealer can move to the next player. Pair splitting is when you get the same card, and you can split them and play them separately. Double down is to double the first bet in exchange for a draw card.

Surrender is at times permitted. This allows you to forfeit your hand, and you lose half of your original bet. Insurance is a side bet offered by the dealer if her up-card is an ace and players are allowed to wager that the down-card is a ten-value card. Thus, you need to bet a value less than or equal to half of your first bet.

Even money is another wager offered by the dealer if her up-card is an ace, and the player has a BlackJack already. Before the dealer checks the down-card, she will offer to payoff 1 to 1.

  1. Follow the protocol.

To play the game in a usual casino setting, you need to have your cash converted to chip.  Place the money on the table and never hand it directly to the dealer. With safe online banking methods, however, you can just convert your money into chips online. Check online-casino.ie for payment options.

  1. Find your place online.

As suggested by the self-help site Dummies.com, Preparing to Play BlackJack, you need to think of “where to play” as a strategy. Although by going personally to casino establishments is common, there’s a rising trend with online casinos today. Online casinos are convenient as payment options can be done thru secured sites.

  1. Do it for fun.

Psychology has studied the power of intrinsic motivation to fuel learning. Though BlackJack as a game offers the extrinsic or external motivation of “money”, there is the downplay of losing. But if you are internally motivated to enjoy the game, win or lose, you will be satisfied with playing it.

 Conclusion

These are the basic tips for beginners in the BlackJack card game. You play the game as often as you like to get the hang of it, and you’ll find yourself entertained.