Blackjack Strategy

In the card game blackjack, the cards are valued as follows:

An Ace can count as either 1 or 11.
The cards from 2 through 9 are valued as indicated.
The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10.

You begin a hand of blackjack by placing a bet on the table. You will then receive two cards face up. The dealer will receive one card face up and one face down. Once you have been dealt your two cards and based on the nature of these cards you can do the following Stand, Hit, Split or Double.

To help you we have given you the table below showing you what you should do to maximise your chances of winning, but remember the final choice comes down to you.

The letters we use are as follows:-

HIT (H) - Requests another card. You can request a hit as many times as you like, but if your total goes over twenty-one, you will Bust and lose the hand.

STAND (S) - Requests that you receive no more cards. The hand as it currently stands will be judged against the dealers.

SPLIT (SP) - If you have two cards of the same denomination, a Split button will appear. You can split your cards into two hands and play each hand separately. Your original bet will be duplicated for the new hand, and each hand will be played out as usual. A pointing finger will appear over each hand indicating which hand is active. The split option can only be used once per hand -- you cannot split part of a split hand.

DOUBLE (D) - If you select this option, two things will happen: you will get exactly one more card, your turn will end, and your bet will be doubled. Players are allowed to double down for any amount up to the original bet amount, so you could double down "for less" if you wanted. Just remember that you do give up something for being allowed to increase your bet: the ability to draw more than one additional card. If the correct play is to double down, you should always double for the full amount if possible.

DOUBLE/HIT (D/H) - When you select the double option you take 1 hit also.

EVEN MONEY- If a player has a Blackjack and the dealer has an Ace up, the player may request even-money. You forfeit a chance at the 3 to 2 pay-off if the dealer does not have a Blackjack, but avoid a push if the dealer does have a Blackjack.

After each player has pressed either the Deal or Pass button, the Player and Banker are dealt two cards. All tens and picture cards are worth zero, aces are worth 1, and all other cards are worth their face value. If the value of cards exceeds 9, then the value is adjusted by subtracting 10 from the total.

If double after pair splitting is not permitted use these rules for pair splitting.