Rules of the Game
To be successful, it is essential for a blackjack player to have a complete and totally accurate knowledge of the rules of the game. This page, therefore, sets forth the rules most commonly used by the casino in Atlantic City and Nevada. Variations in these rules are discussed together with the effect of each rule variation on the percentage advantage to the player or to the house.
Basic Rules
The Object Of The Game. The player attempts to BEAT THE DEALER by obtaining a total of cards equal to or less than 21 so that his total is higher than the DEALER’S. Note that the emphasis is not on getting the closest one can to 21, without going over 21 (or busting), but on beating the dealer.
Number Of Players. The game generally has a dealer and from one to seven players. In Macao and other places, additional players are permitted to place bets on player’s hand.
Number Of Decks. In Atlantic City, six decks are generally used. In Las Vegas, casinos use single and double decks (dealt by hand) and four, five, six, and in rare cases, seven decks, dealt from a box-like apparatus called a “shoe”. Most casinos in Reno and Lake Tahoe use one standard deck, dealt by hand; Loews’ Monte Carlo and the Bahamas casinos employ four decks, as do the clubs in England and Korea. Six deck blackjack is prevalent throughout France.
Value Of Cards. Each card has the same value as its spots except for the ace and the picture cards. All 10’s and picture cards are counted as 10. The ace can be valued as either 1 or 11, at the option of the player. A hand containing an ace that can be counted as 11 (i.e, by counting the ace as 11, the hand does not exceeds 21) is called a “soft” hand. All other hands are referred to as “hard” hands.
Naturals Or “Blackjakcs.” If the first two cards dealt to a player are an ace and ten-valued card (king, queen, jack or 10), the player has a natural or a “blackjack” and generally receives one and-half time his original bet, which amounts to a win plus 50% bonus. On the other hand, if the dealer has blackjack and the player does not, the player loses the total of his original bet. If both the dealer and the player have blackjack, the hand is considered as standoff or “push”.
Hitting Or Standing. If the dealer draws a blackjack, the hand is settled immediately in Nevada. In all other cases, the Nevada player has the option of drawing additional cards, or “hitting”. (In Atlantic City, the player plays his hand before the dealer checks to see if he has a blackjack.) If the player wants an additional card, typically practice is for him to scratch the surface of the felt with his cards (where cards are dealt face-down) or to scratch the surface with his finger(s) (where cards are dealt face-up and not touched by the players).
A player may draw as many cards as he wants, as long as his total does not exceed 21. When the player elects to stand, that is, to draw no additional cards, he tucks his first two cards under his bet in the spot before him (face-down games) or waves his hand in a lateral motion (in face-up games).
Busting. If the player’s cards exceed a total of 21, he has “busted” and loses the hand regardless of the dealer’s total. Typically, in face-down games, when the player busts he throws his cards in, face-up, and the dealer merely gathers in the cards and the player's bet. If the dealer busts, all players who have not busted win the hand from the house.
The Deal. Each player is dealt two cards in sequence, one at a time, either face-up or face-down, depending on the rules of the house. The dealer also receives two cards, one face-down and one face-up. In some casinos, the dealer’s face-down card may not be taken until all players are finished playing their hands. The dealer’s card that is face-up is referred to as the “upcard”, and the value of this card is the key piece of information in determining playing strategy. The dealer’s face-down card is called the “hole card”. Additional cards dealt to the player are dealt face-up, one at a time.
Ties. If the player and the dealer have the same total, and this same total is 21 or under, the hand is a tie, or a “push.” No money settlement takes place and the dealer collects the player’s cards. To indicate a tie to the player, the dealer typically taps the table several times with his knuckles or with the cards that he has picked up.
Dealer's Play. The dealer must draw cards until he has a total of 17 or above. In most casinos in Las Vegas and in Atlantic City, he must also stand if he has a soft 17 (for example, an ace and a 6). In most downtown Vegas clubs and in Northern Nevada, the dealer must hit soft 17, which provides the house with a slight additional advantage.
Doubling-Down. In most Vegas casinos and in Atlantic City, a player may double the amount of his bet after looking at his first two cards. The player turns the cards over (face-up) or announces "double-down'' to the dealer and puts out an additional bet equal to his initial sum. He then receives one additional card only. The third card is dealt face-down in face-down games; face-up in other games. Most casinos in Northern Nevada allow doubling-down only on totals of 10 or 11, a restriction which is less favorable to both the Basic Strategy and skilled player.
Splitting Pairs. If the player's two cards are identical in value, the player may "split'' them by betting an amount equal to his original bet on the second card. He then draws additional cards on each of the split pairs, playing each hand (from his right to his left) in turn. If the Nevada player receives an additional card of the same denomination, he may continue to split. In Atlantic City, pairs may be split only once. Most Nevada clubs permit splitting pairs three times, for a total of four hands played. (The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas allows splitting indefinitely. In some Nevada clubs and in France generally, the 10's must be identical; that is, two jacks may be split, but a jack and a queen may not. This combination of non-identical 10's is sometimes referred to as a "mixed marriage," a term commonly used in pinochle.)
If aces are split, a player is normally permitted to draw only one additional card on each ace, usually dealt face-down. (The Las Vegas Horseshoe provides an exception to this rule and permits re-splitting of aces.) In all other cases of pair-splitting, the player may continue to draw as many additional cards as he wants, assuming he doesn't exceed a total of 21. If the player busts on any of his split hands, the dealer picks up the busted hand and collects the bet. (In Atlantic City, hands split or doubled against a 10 or ace are left on the table until it is determined if the dealer has a blackjack; if he does, only the amount of the original wager is lost.)
Insurance. If the dealer's upcard is an ace, the player may make a side bet, referred to as "insurance.'' The amount of the side bet may be equal to as much as one-half of the player's original bet. If the dealer has a blackjack, the casino will pay the player 2-to-1 on his insurance bet. The bet is referred to as insurance since, if the dealer has a blackjack and the player does not, the insurance bet effectively has "saved'' the player's original bet and there is no money settlement (the player has lost his original bet but has won an equal amount from his insurance bet).
Some Northern Nevada casinos do not allow the insurance bet.
English casinos allow insurance only when the player has a blackjack.
Burning A Card. It is traditional in most single deck, double deck or four and more deck games for the dealer to "burn" one card, the first card of the new deal (some casinos burn more than one card). The first card is placed in the discard rack, if there is one. If there is no discard rack (and often there is not for single deck games), the card is slid around the deck to the bottom of the deck, face up, so that it hides the face of the bottom card of the deck from the players at the table.
The experienced blackjack player should try to spot the value of this burn card and include it in his count. It is sometimes possible to see the bottom card as well. So, in a single deck game, if you can see both cards, you know the content of 1/26th of the deck before the deal has ever began!
Betting Limits. In most major Las Vegas clubs, the betting limits are either $500, $1,000 or $2,000. All three of these maximums usually prevail at Resorts in Atlantic City. Minimum bets usually range from $1 up to $100, although $2 is generally the minimum in most dubs.
Players are allowed to bet up to $3,000 per hand at Caesars Palace and at the Riviera. In some of the smaller dubs in Nevada, the limit is below $500. The maximum limit can be circumvented quite easily, however, merely by placing more than one bet.
Shuffling. In single deck dubs, shuffling is often left to the option of the dealer. In many single deck clubs, the practice is to shuffle after approximately two-thirds of the deck has been depleted; that is generally the practice as Harrah's in Tahoe and Reno and at most Vegas single deck clubs. However, some dubs, despite the proliferation of card-counters, deal surprisingly far down in the deck, especially in Reno.
In two deck games, shuffling can either be at the option of the dealer, or can be indicated by the dealer placing a ''joker'' or plain-colored card somewhere in the deck. When this card is reached, the dealer will either continue the hand that is in progress and then shuffle the deck, or shuffle immediately and then complete the round (as at the Riviera).
In four, five and six deck games, the joker is generally placed from one-to-two decks from the bottom. In some clubs, when the bosses suspect counters, the joker will be moved up even further.
New Decks. Periodically, the house will replace the cards and bring in a new deck or decks. This practice has become more prevalent at several clubs which were "stung" heavily through the marking of cards. Pitbosses will generally collect the cards and sort them out to ensure that all the cards are there. In addition, they often inspect the deck to ensure that the player has not crimped or otherwise marked the cards for his own purposes.
Four decks of cards are replaced less frequently, since each card gets less use in a given time span. According to Nevada gaming regulations, the clubs are required to bring in four new decks to ensure that all the cards are included. However, at some clubs that occasionally the cards have been replaced with other than brand new cards out of a fresh pack. This, of course, could be a questionable practice since the player has no way of knowing that four complete decks are being but into play. There is also the possibility that when new cards are brought into play, the house advantage can be increased through inadequate shuffling of the new deck, which results in the "clumping" of identical cards.
Rules Variations
The player who uses Basic Strategy, is almost exactly even with the house, playing single deck under typical Vegas Strip rules which are:
- Dealer must stand on soft 17.
- Player may double-down on any first two cards.
- Player may split any pair.
There are a surprising number of rules variations in Nevada (the rules are not specified by the Gaming Control Board), to say nothing of Atlantic City, the Bahamas and other countries. The primary ones are described below. The locations of places where these rules are available are subject to change without notice.
Player May double-down Only on Hard Totals Of 10 Or 11. This rulers nearly universal in Reno and in North and South Lake Tahoe (the MGM Reno is an exception). Computer analysis indicates that not allowing the player to double-down on a hard 9 costs the Basic Strategy player 0.14%, that not allowing the player to double-down on soft hands costs the player 0.14%, and that not allowing the player to double-down on other hard hands (8,7,6,5, etc.) costs the player virtually nothing. Thus, in total, the effect of this rule is to favor the house by approximately 0.28%, which is not insignificant.
Dealer Must Hit Soft 17. This rule, which favors the house by 0.2%, is also nearly universal in Northern Nevada and downtown Vegas. In Northern Nevada, therefore, the player can generally assume that he is playing at a 0.5 % greater disadvantage than in the Vegas Strip casinos (0.28 % less because of restrictions on doubling-down and 0.2% less because of the dealer's hitting soft 17).
Player May Double-Down On Split Pairs. This rule is best demonstrated by an example. Assume that you have been dealt two 9's against the dealer's 5 and decide to split the 9's. On the first 9 you are dealt a 2, for a hard total of 11. Some clubs will allow you to double-down on this hand. This variation is referred to as "doubling-down-on-split-pairs." This practice is permitted currently in Atlantic City and in Nevada by Caesars Palace, 4 Queens, MGM, El Cortez and the Las Vegas Club.
Computer analysis reveals that this option is worth 0.13% to the Basic Strategy player and even mere to the card-counter since the option is exercised more frequently in ''plus'' situations when the counter tends to have larger bets out.
Surrender. Another major rule variation is surrender. There are two variations, conventional and early surrender.
Conventional Surrender. This option, currently offered at Caesars Palace, Fremont, Riviera, Dunes, El Cortez and the Las Vegas Club, permits the player to throw in his hand and give up one-half of the amount that he has bet, retaining the other half. This may be done only on his first two cards and after it has been determined that the dealer do not have a blackjack.
The value of conventional surrender to the player depends to a large measure on whether the player is using the count to vary his surrender strategy and the size of his bets. For the non-counting Basic Strategy player, surrender is worth about 0.03%. Julian Braun has estimated that the surrender option benefits the card-counter by 0.25% if the player is using a 1-to-4 bet ratio and playing proper surrender strategy.
Surrender is an "ulcer-reducing" option because it tends to reduce fluctuations in the player's bankroll. There have been times when it seemed as if surrender has provided an unbelievable advantage to players.
Early Surrender. A more advantageous surrender option is permitted in Atlantic City. The player is allowed to surrender his hand before the dealer checks to see if he has a blackjack. The value of this option to the card-counter is greater than it is to the Basic Strategy player (and the value to the casino is even greater due to its misuse by the typical player).
In Macao, the player is permitted early surrender if the dealer has a 10 up-card. Further, the player may surrender with any number of cards (such as a three-card 16) even after pair-splitting and doubling-down; Macao also offers four "bonus" rules not available in United States casinos.
Double Exposure (Zweikartenspiel)
This game, introduced by Vegas World in Las Vegas, has become popular and has been adopted by other casinos in Las Vegas and Northern Nevada. The good news: the dealer exposes both his cards; the jack and ace of spades pays double; the player wins all blackjack ties and may double-down on any two cards. The bad news: the house wins all ties other than blackjack ties; blackjack pays even money; and the player may split pairs only once.
This game does offer an opportunity to win, but requires a unique Basic Strategy and a different approach in counting.
Bonus Options
Periodically, casinos introduce bonus-type options for the player in an attempt to attract business. They include:
Six-Card Automatic Winner. This option, offered at the Las Vegas Club in Las Vegas, gives the player an automatic win regardless of the outcome of the dealer’s hand.
Double-Down On Any Number of Cards. Also offered at the Las Vegas Club, the player is permitted to double-down on any number of cards. For example, if the player held 3,2 and drew a 6 for a three card total of 11, he could double-down on the 11.
Two-For-One For Blackjack. This option is generally offered around Christmastime at Benny Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas on bets of $5 or less. It increases by over 2% the expectation of the Basic Strategy player betting up to $5.
Joker’s Wild. In this bonus, a joker is inserted into the deck and when it is dealt to the player, it may be used as a wild card. The Fremont offered this bonus for several years. It lasted until two players extracted thousands from the casino.
Numerous other bonus options periodically appear, such as insuring for any amount regardless of the original bet, the first player reaching “22” can tie if the dealer also has “22,” and so on; they are usually quite temporary.
