This is All You Need to Know about Blackjack Online
When you enter the world of blackjack online, you enter the world of the most popular card game you will find at an online casino, or a land-based one for that matter. Every casino out there that is serious about what they do will offer their players a variety of blackjack to enjoy. If you are new to blackjack, then keep reading as below you will be able to find some valuable information about this entertaining game as well as the best online blackjack sites out there at the moment.
What is Blackjack Online?
Blackjack is actually quite a unique casino game as it is one of those few games where your destiny is somewhat in your own hands and is decided by the decisions that you make, which is not the case when you are playing slot games. Slots, or pokies as us Kiwis like to call them, are games that are based on pure luck.
Blackjack is a really simple game to play, which is one of the main reasons why it is now such a popular game at casinos. The dealer will hand out two cards to each player at the table, and then he will give two cards to himself, with one of the cards being face-up. The aim of this game is to get as close to 21 as you can without going beyond it as this will mean that you have gone bust. If your hand does not go above 21 and is a higher value than the dealer's you will win. When the round is in motion you will be able to ask for more cards or split your hand into two, meaning that you have an extra chance of winning.
What Are the Best Online Blackjack Site Real Money?
This is How to Play Online Blackjack
When you sit down to play a blackjack online game, you should obviously make sure that you know all of the rules of the game so that you do not end up making a silly mistake that will cost you some money. Therefore, we are now going to discuss the basic rules of this game that will apply to whatever blackjack variant you are playing.
- When you take a seat at a blackjack table, the very first thing that you need to do is make a bet that is at least equal to the table limit - you can obviously go higher if you like
- You will then receive two cards, and the dealer will give himself two card too, with one card being left face-up so that all players at the table can see what it is
- You now have a decision to make in order to increase your odds of winning. For example, if you feel that your hand is not strong enough than you can ask for a "Hit", and the dealer will give you an extra card. If you think your hand is a good one then you can "Stand", and you will not be given any extra cards. There is also the "Double Down" option that allows you to double your original stake and get another card. In some variants you will also have the option to "Split" your hand so that you are playing with two
- Once all players have had their turn, it is dealer's turn to act. He will turn over his face-down card to show his full hand. If his hand does not value 17 or more, then he is obliged to take a hit. When he finally "Stands", his hand will be compared to all the remaining hands, and anyone that has a better hand will be a winner. If you hand is the same as the dealer's, then it is known as a push and you will receive your stake back
These are blackjack's basic rules and are relevant for virtual and live games. It is these simple rules alongside the online blackjack odds - blackjack has some of the most favourable odds around - that help to make blackjack really popular.
Different Blackjack Terminology
When you are playing a game of blackjack, you will come across plenty of terminology that you need to know the meaning of if you are going to have a fun blackjack playing experience. Therefore, now we are going to take a look at some of the main terms you will hear while you are sitting at a blackjack table.
Soft/Hard: In blackjack the Ace can have a value of 1 or 11. The Ace has the power to make a hand soft or hard. A hard hand occurs when the Ace can only be the value 1 because if you make it 11, you will go bust. On the other hand, a soft hand is where the Ace can be used as a 1 or 11 without the risk of you going bust.
Push: A push is when your hand has the same value as the dealer's hand. If this happens, you will receive your stake back.
Hit: If you decide to Hit the dealer will give you one extra card.
Stand: If you Stand, you will keep the cards that you already have in your hand.
Double Down: If you decide to Double Down, the dealer will provide you with an extra card, but you will be required to double your stake.
Insurance: If the dealer has an Ace as their face-up card, then you can place a bet that they have a natural blackjack.If you are right, then you will get a 2:1 payout, meaning that you will break even. It is not hard to see why it is called Insurance.
Split: If you go down the Split route then you can divide your original hand into two different hands, increasing your odds of hitting a blackjack. Different variants have different rules about when you can Split, but the general rule is that you can only Split when the cards in your hand are of the same value.
Surrender: If you believe that the dealer is going to have a better hand than what you have, you can hand over half of your stake and pull out that round.
Ante: When you sit at a blackjack table the first thing you need to do is place a bet - this is called an Ante bet and it needs to be at least equal to the minimum stake that has been set at the table. If you are feeling lucky, you can place a higher ante bet.
Card Counting Online Blackjack - Is It Possible?
There are many blackjack strategies that blackjack players use to try and gain an advantage over the casino and one such strategy is card counting. We are going to take a closer look at this strategy and answer the question, "Can you count cards in online blackjack?
Counting cards is not difficult to do, but it will certainly take you a considerable amount of time to master it. A lot of people believe that you need to have excellent memory to count cards, but if you happen to have a bad memory you will be happy to find out that memory is not used to count cards. So, how exactly do you count cards?
Well, to count cards properly you need to give each card a value. For the cards 2-6, you should give them a +1 value. For the cards 7-9 you should give them a 0 value, and you should give a -1 value to the cards 10-A. When the round is about to begin, the deck will be shuffled. When a card is handed out you will add 1 or subtract 1 depending on the value of the card. If your count is positive when the round has finished, it means that most the cards left in the deck are higher cards and you should consider increasing your stake. If your count is negative at the end of the round, it means that most the remaining cards in the deck are lower cards and you should think about decreasing your stake.
So, can you count cards when you are playing blackjack online? Yes, you can, but the majority of online casinos now make use of software that will shuffle the deck each round, which means that it is extremely difficult to do. It is also becoming harder to count cards at land-based casinos as dealers are being instructed to shuffle the decks more regularly in order to combat card counting. Although it is not cheating, casinos do not like anything that gives players an advantage.
An Important Tip for Blackjack Beginners
When you are playing blackjack with real money on the line it is always wise to make decisions based on what the dealer's face-up card is and not the two cards that you have. If the dealer's face-up card has a value between 2-6, then you can be certain that they will have a poor hand. If the face-up card that they have has a value of 7 0r 8, then you can tell that they will have a moderate hand. If their face card is 9 or above, then it is likely that they are going to have a strong hand. Keeping this information at the forefront of your mind when you are playing blackjack will help you to make wise decisions when it is your turn to make your move.
Why You Should Play Free Blackjack
When you are playing a game that you are not familiar with there is a chance that you will make a silly error that will see you lose money. You should only start playing for real money when you know the ins and outs of the game that you want to play. So, how can you learn a game without risking any of your hard-earn cash?
Well, nowadays, the majority of online casinos owners are more than aware of the fact that a lot of players like to play for free every now and then. Maybe someone has an urge to have a few rounds of blackjack to entertain themselves for a while, but they do not want to risk losing any money. Additionally, players often like to try out a game first before they commit any money to it. As a result, you will be hard pushed to find a casino online that does not give their players the chance to play for free should they so wish. All of the best online blackjack sites out there will offer blackjack online free to their players. In fact, if an online casino does not allow their players to enjoy their games for free, we recommend that you take your money elsewhere.
What about Live Blackjack Online?
Live gambling is considered by many online casino players to be the pinnacle of online gambling due to how immersive it is. With live gambling, a room has been set up to look exactly like a land-based casino with live dealers at the table and cameras have been set up around the room so that all the action can be streamed to you wherever you happen to be. If you are looking for an immersive blackjack experience from the comfort of your home - sometimes you just cannot be bothered to get spruced up to go to a land-based casino - then live blackjack online is exactly what you are looking for.
What is the difference between live blackjack and traditional online blackjack? Well, you will find that the rules are mostly the same, with the main difference being that with live blackjack you can speak to the live dealer and other players that are sitting at your table, which is something that you will never be able to do when you are playing traditional online blackjack. There are plenty of variants of live blackjack too, ensuring that boredom never comes into the equation.
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