Blackjack rules and instructions

Casino visitors do not play blackjack among themselves, but against the dealer. Both sides take turns taking a card from the deck trying to get 21 points, or a result higher than the opponent, but not more than 21. (If you are already familiar with the blackjack rules you can skip the next chapter and read the instructions to the virtual play mode only).

Blackjack Rules

Cards are dealt from the special box (shoe) that holds 6 shuffled decks divided into two packs at random. After all cards from the first pack have been dealt during the online gambling game, the 6 decks are being put together again and divided into two parts as well.

Points calculation. The suit of the cards does not matter.
• Ace - 11 or 1 point, depending on the situation. If Ace comes to the cards that give not more than 10 points in the sum, than it gives 11 points, otherwise (when bust is possible) it gives 1 point. For example, Ace comes to 6, giving 17 in total that is under 21, so Ace gives 11 points. If the next card is 7, Ace turns to 1 point giving 14 in the sum to avoid bust. If a player gets two Aces at once, one of them is counted as 1 point, the other - 11 points.
• Face cards (Kings, Queens, Jacks) are counted as 10 points each.
• Other cards (2, 3 � 9, 10) are counted at their face value.

To start playing you have to make a bet. You can also make several bets, and play against the dealer from several positions, as if other bounty hunters were sitting at the table next to you.

After the bets have been made, the dealer deals two cards to each player and two cards to himself. The players have their cards open; the dealer only opens one of his two cards.

Blackjack and insurance. If the open card is an ace, there is a high probability that the dealer already has blackjack (21 points as a sum of the first two cards - the highest achievement in this game). You can already think of yourself as unlucky. However, you can buy insurance against dealer's blackjack, paying 1 to 2 of your original bet.

If player gets blackjack, he wins with a 3/2 ratio (bet a dollar, get back 2 and a half together with the stake).

However if the dealer receives an Ace and you get blackjack you will be offered "even money": it means that you may take you winning at once but not in the ratio 3 to 2 but in the amount of the bet sum. If you agree to a "real bird in the hand" you leave the blackjack game till the end of the set. If you refuse you may lose your winning in case if the dealer gets blackjack.

After everyone who wanted to buy insurance has done it, dealer opens his other card.

If dealer has blackjack, the game stops. All players who bought insurance get their bets back, as well as their insurance sum, those who didn't - get nothing, and the lucky ones who did not insure but also had blackjack lose nothing and win nothing - just get their money back.

If dealer does not have blackjack, then the insurance sum (half of the original bet) goes to the casino, and the game proceeds. Players take turns drawing cards from the deck one at a time, trying to accumulate a sum of points as close to 21 as possible.

Surrender. Moreover if the dealer does not have blackjack and the player is not satisfied with their first two cards he may stop: surrender and forfeit half of his bet.

Split. If the player does not have blackjack, he still has plenty of opportunities to win. If you get two of the same cards (e.g. two 7's) you can split your hand, adding an amount equal to your original bet. Then you will play as if you were two players.

If you are splitting a hand of 2 aces, you only get to draw 1 card for each of them.

If after splitting and drawing additional cards you have an ace and a face card or a 10 in one of your hands, this will not be considered blackjack, but simply 21 points - a very high chance to win, although the dealer still has a shot at making a tie.

Double. After either the first deal or splitting two cards of the same value the player may double the bet, but in this case he is allowed to receive only one extra card.

Bust. A situation when either the player or the dealer has accumulated over 21 points is called a "bust". In this case the game ends and the other player wins.

After the players are through with drawing cards, the turn goes to the dealer, who has to abide by the following rules:
• If the sum of the dealer's points is under 17, he has to draw another card.
• If the sum of the dealer's points is over or equal to 17, he has to stop.

If the dealer gets over 21 points as a result, the bank goes to his opponents (those who have not busted). The payout in this case is 1 to 1 (bet a dollar, get 2).

If the dealer got 21 points or less, the player's points are compared to the dealer's.
• If the player has fewer points than the dealer - the player loses his bet;
• If the player and the dealer have an equal number of points, the bet is returned to the player (neither win nor lose);
• If the player has more points than the dealer - the player wins a sum twice his bet (bet a dollar - get 2).
  Bonus hands. The player could get even much money than for blackjack in case if the sum of his three cards is not just bigger then the dealer has but equals to 21 as the result of the hands given below:
  
  • Three 7's in the same suit (Super Triple 7; remember that there are six decks in the blackjack game and the combinations of the same cards are possible; payout is 5 to 1).
  • Three 7's (Triple 7; payout is 3 to 1);
  • 6-7-8 (Straight; the cards order doesn't matter; payout is 2 to 1 - bet a dollar, get three back).
    Bonus hands are paid only when the dealer has not a total of 21 and these hands could appear after the split.

After the winnings have been dispersed, a new round starts.

Blackjack Instructions

1. To begin the game, choose the value of the chips you wish to make bets with. To do that, click on the chip of appropriate value in the lower right corner of the screen.
2. Then click on one of the game fields on the table. Every click will increase your bet by the amount of the chip selected. You can also change the value of the chips you bet with as many times as you like. You can bet on 1, 2 or 3 fields. The dealer draws only one set of cards in a game round. However, this in no way increases your chances of winning. If for example the dealer has 19, and you have 3 hands - 18, 19, and 20 points you will receive winnings on the third one only, the second hand will be returned to you (tie) and you will lose your bet on the first hand. However, being able to play with 3 hands increases the dynamics of the process - the dealer checks his cards more rarely, and that saves you time.
3. If you wish to change the bets you placed, press Clear Bets. Or holding the space key click on the chips to remove them from the table one by one. After that place bets again.
4. After the bets have been made, start playing by pressing Deal.
5. After being dealt 2 cards, you can continue in one of the following ways.
   
   

   	If you somehow do not satisfied with your first two cards you can refuse to continue the round and lose half you bet.
   	If you are happy with this set of cards - do not draw any more cards, pressing Stand.
   	If you wish to try to get a better result by drawing an additional card, press Hit. You will be able to do that until the sum of the cards you hold exceeds 21.
   	Double your bet with the Double button. This is a risky decision to take, as you will only get one other (only one) card from the dealer. So, if you get 2 Jacks, there is no point in doubling - you are sure to lose. It is also not wise to double with for example two 2's - even if you get an Ace (11 points), you will be left with 15 points total only.
   	In case you get two of the same cards in the initial dealing round, you will be able to play twice in this round by splitting this pair of cards (Split button). By pressing Split you are making another bet and will be playing with two sets of cards in this round.

6. After the round end you may push the Rebet button to make the same bet as you made in the previous round.

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