48-422: Blackjack is a popular casino-gambling card game. Black Jack or Blackjack may also refer to: Blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or vingt-un ) is a casino banking game . It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ". This family of card games also includes
96-402: A blackjack, under the condition that they still get paid if the dealer also has a blackjack. Insurance bets lose money in the long run. The dealer has a blackjack less than one-third of the time. In some games, players can also take insurance when a 10-valued card shows, but the dealer has an ace in the hole less than one-tenth of the time. The insurance bet is susceptible to advantage play. It
144-429: A card), "stand" (end their turn and stop without taking a card), "double" (double their wager, take a single card, and stand), "split" (if the two cards have the same value, separate them to make two hands), or "surrender" (give up half of their bet and retire from the game). Number cards count as their number, the jack, queen, and king ("face cards" or "pictures") count as 10, and aces count as either 1 or 11 according to
192-453: A certain number of hands, such as four hands (for example, "resplit to 4"). After splitting aces, the common rule is that only one card will be dealt to each ace; the player cannot split, double, or take another hit on either hand. Rule variants include allowing resplitting aces or allowing the player to hit split aces. Games allowing aces to be resplit are not uncommon, but those allowing the player to hit split aces are extremely rare. Allowing
240-417: A dealer blackjack will result in the loss of the split and double bets; the only exception is with a pair of aces against a dealer 10, where it is still correct to split. In all other cases, a stand, hit, or surrender is called for. For instance, when holding 11 against a dealer 10, the correct strategy is to double in a hole card game (where the player knows the dealer's second card is not an ace), but to hit in
288-414: A no-hole card game. The no-hole-card rule adds approximately 0.11% to the house edge. The "original bets only" rule variation appearing in certain no hole card games states that if the player's hand loses to a dealer blackjack, only the mandatory initial bet ("original") is forfeited, and all optional bets, meaning doubles and splits, are pushed. "Original bets only" is also known by the acronym OBO; it has
336-491: A shoe (Scarne's invention). While no such ruling was ever passed, most Nevada casinos now deal from a multi-deck shoe. As gaming advisor to the Havana Hilton , Scarne also introduced the shoe to Puerto Rico and Cuba . The device is so named because the earliest versions of it resembled a woman's high-heel shoe, and were often painted red or black in color. Dealing shoes come in many colors and sizes, depending on
384-426: A single card to the dealer, followed by an additional card to each of the positions in play. The players' initial cards may be dealt face-up or face-down (more common in single-deck games). The object of the game is to win money by creating card totals higher than those of the dealer's hand but not exceeding 21, or by stopping at a total in the hope that the dealer will bust. On their turn, players choose to "hit" (take
432-421: A small mirror or electronic sensor used to peek securely at the hole card. In European casinos, "no hole card" games are prevalent; the dealer's second card is not drawn until the players have played their hands. Dealers deal the cards from one or two handheld decks, from a dealer's shoe or from a shuffling machine . Single cards are dealt to each wagered-on position clockwise from the dealer's left, followed by
480-661: A special bonus for having the combination of an ace and a black jack. In September 1956, Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel, and James McDermott published a paper titled "The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack" in the Journal of the American Statistical Association , the first mathematically sound optimal blackjack strategy. This paper became the foundation of future efforts to beat blackjack. Ed Thorp used Baldwin's hand calculations to verify
528-444: A table. The dealer deals from their left ("first base") to their far right ("third base"). Each box gets an initial hand of two cards visible to the people playing on it. The dealer's hand gets its first card face-up and, in "hole card" games, immediately gets a second card face-down (the hole card), which the dealer peeks at but only reveals when it makes the dealer's hand a blackjack. Hole card games are sometimes played on tables with
SECTION 10
#1732780813996576-404: Is abbreviated "H17" in blackjack literature, with "S17" used for the stand-on-soft-17 variation. Substituting an "H17" rule with an "S17" rule in a game benefits the player, decreasing the house edge by about 0.2%. All things being equal, using fewer decks decreases the house edge. This mainly reflects an increased likelihood of player blackjack, since if the player draws a ten on their first card,
624-412: Is advantageous to make an insurance bet whenever the hole card has more than a one in three chance of being a ten. Card counting techniques can identify such situations. Note: Where changes in the house edge due to changes in the rules are stated in percentage terms, the difference is usually stated here in percentage points , not the percentage change. For example, if an edge of 10% is reduced to 9%, it
672-424: Is allowed. Insurance is a side bet that the dealer has a blackjack. The dealer asks for insurance bets before the first player plays. Insurance bets of up to half the player's current bet are placed on the "insurance bar" above the player's cards. If the dealer has a blackjack, insurance pays 2 to 1. In most casinos, the dealer looks at the down card and pays off or takes the insurance bet immediately. In other casinos,
720-429: Is at the front of the betting box controls the position, and the dealer consults the controlling player for playing decisions; the other bettors "play behind". A player can usually control or bet in as many boxes as desired at a single table, but an individual cannot play on more than one table at a time or place multiple bets within a single box. In many U.S. casinos, players are limited to playing one to three positions at
768-496: Is based on a player's point total and the dealer's visible card. Players can sometimes improve on this decision by considering the composition of their hand, not just the point total. For example, players should ordinarily stand when holding 12 against a dealer 4. But in a single deck game, players should hit if their 12 consists of a 10 and a 2. The presence of a 10 in the player's hand has two consequences: Even when basic and composition-dependent strategies lead to different actions,
816-418: Is consequently known as "late" surrender. The alternative, "early" surrender, gives the player the option to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack, or in a no hole card game. Early surrender is much more favorable to the player than late surrender. For late surrender, however, while it is tempting to opt for surrender on any hand which will probably lose, the correct strategy is to only surrender on
864-450: Is not a blackjack, even one with a value of 21. Wins are paid out at even money, except for player blackjacks, which are traditionally paid out at 3 to 2 odds. Many casinos today pay blackjacks at less than 3:2. This is common in single-deck blackjack games. Blackjack games usually offer a side bet called insurance , which may be placed when the dealer's face-up card is an ace. Additional side bets, such as "Dealer Match" which pays when
912-479: Is reduced by one percentage point, not reduced by ten percent. Blackjack rules are generally set by regulations that establish permissible rule variations at the casino's discretion. Blackjack comes with a "house edge"; the casino's statistical advantage is built into the game. Most of the house's edge comes from the fact that the player loses when both the player and dealer bust. Blackjack players using basic strategy lose on average less than 1% of their action over
960-434: Is sometimes seen in "blackjack-like" games, such as in some charity casinos. Each blackjack game has a basic strategy, the optimal method of playing any hand. When using basic strategy, the long-term house advantage (the expected loss of the player) is minimized. An example of a basic strategy is shown in the table below, which applies to a game with the following specifications: Key: Most basic strategy decisions are
1008-467: The Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99) gave the name blackjack to the game of American vingt-un , the bonus being the usual ace and any 10-point card. Since blackjack also refers to the mineral zincblende , which was often associated with gold or silver deposits, he suggests that the mineral name was transferred by prospectors to the top bonus hand. He could not find any historical evidence for
SECTION 20
#17327808139961056-450: The " Reno rule", doubling down is only permitted on hard totals of 9, 10, or 11 (under a similar European rule, only 10 or 11). The basic strategy would otherwise call for some doubling down with hard 9 and soft 13–18, and advanced players can identify situations where doubling on soft 19–20 and hard 8, 7, and even 6 is advantageous. The Reno rule prevents the player from taking advantage of double-down in these situations and thereby increases
1104-650: The European games vingt-et-un and pontoon , and the Russian game Ochko [ ru ] . The game is a comparing card game where players compete against the dealer, rather than each other. Blackjack's immediate precursor was the English version of twenty-one called vingt-un , a game of unknown provenance. The first written reference is found in a book by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes . Cervantes
1152-532: The United States in the early 1800s. The first American rules were an 1825 reprint of the 1800 English rules. English vingt-un later developed into an American variant in its own right which was renamed blackjack around 1899. According to popular myth, when vingt-un ('twenty-one') was introduced into the United States (in the early 1800s, during the First World War, or in the 1930s, depending on
1200-484: The basic strategy and later published (in 1963) Beat the Dealer . At a blackjack table, the dealer faces five to nine playing positions from behind a semicircular table. Between one and eight standard 52-card decks are shuffled together. To start each round, players place bets in the "betting box" at each position. In jurisdictions allowing back betting, up to three players can be at each position. The player whose bet
1248-401: The casino against dealers who steal chips or players who cheat. Recordings can also identify advantage players . When a player's hand signal disagrees with their words, the hand signal takes precedence. A hand can "hit" as often as desired until the total is 21 or more. Players must stand on a total of 21. After a bust or a stand, play proceeds to the next hand clockwise around the table. After
1296-453: The dealer busts, all remaining player hands win. If the dealer does not bust, each remaining bet wins if its hand is higher than the dealer's and loses if it is lower. A player total of 21 on the first two cards is a "natural" or "blackjack", and the player wins immediately unless the dealer also has one, in which case the hand ties. In the case of a tie ("push" or "standoff"), bets are returned without adjustment. A blackjack beats any hand that
1344-466: The difference in expected reward is small, and it becomes smaller with more decks. Using a composition-dependent strategy rather than a basic strategy in a single-deck game reduces the house edge by 4 in 10,000, which falls to 3 in 100,000 for a six-deck game. Shoe (cards) A dealing shoe or dealer's shoe is a gaming device, mainly used in casinos, to hold multiple decks of playing cards . The shoe allows for more games to be played by reducing
1392-408: The last hand is played, the dealer reveals the hole card and stands or draws according to the game's rules. When the outcome of the dealer's hand is established, any hands with bets remaining on the table are resolved (usually in counterclockwise order); bets on losing hands are forfeited, the bet on a push is left on the table, and winners are paid out. If the dealer shows an ace, an "insurance" bet
1440-408: The long run, giving blackjack one of the lowest edges in the casino. The house edge for games where blackjack pays 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2 increases by about 1.4%. Player deviations from basic strategy also increase the house edge. Each game has a rule about whether the dealer must hit or stand on soft 17, which is generally printed on the table surface. The variation where the dealer must hit soft 17
1488-436: The most damaging to the player, causing the greatest increase in house edge. Since blackjack occurs in approximately 4.8% of hands, the 1:1 game increases the house edge by 2.3%, while the 6:5 game adds 1.4% to the house edge. Video blackjack machines generally pay a 1:1 payout for a blackjack. The rule that bets on tied hands are lost rather than pushed is catastrophic to the player. Though rarely used in standard blackjack, it
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1536-403: The number of decks is most dramatic when comparing the single-deck game to the two-deck game, and becomes progressively smaller as more decks are added. Surrender, for those games that allow it, is usually not permitted against a dealer blackjack; if the dealer's first card is an ace or ten, the hole card is checked to make sure there is no blackjack before surrender is offered. This rule protocol
1584-431: The number of decks they are capable of holding (2, 4, 6, or 8 decks). When the cards are placed in the shoe, the dealer will insert a brightly colored blank plastic card, after using the same card to perform a cut . When this card is drawn it indicates that the current game is the last one before a new shuffle. This helps mitigate player advantage via card counting, as a significant portion (usually about 25 percent) of
1632-405: The payoff waits until the end of the play. In face-down games, if a player has more than one hand, they can look at all their hands before deciding. This is the only condition where a player can look at multiple hands. Players with blackjack can also take insurance. When this happens, it is called 'even money,' as the player is giving up their 3:2 payout for a 1:1 payout when taking insurance with
1680-481: The player less than 3:2 for a winning blackjack. The following table illustrates the mathematical effect on the house edge of the number of decks, by considering games with various deck counts under the following ruleset: double after split allowed, resplit to four hands allowed, no hitting split aces, no surrendering, double on any two cards, original bets only lost on dealer blackjack, dealer hits soft 17, and cut-card used. The increase in house edge per unit increase in
1728-432: The player to hit hands resulting from split aces reduces the house edge by about 0.13%; allowing resplitting of aces reduces the house edge by about 0.03%. Note that a ten-value card dealt on a split ace (or vice versa) will not be counted as a blackjack but as a soft 21. After a split, most games allow doubling down on the new two-card hands. Disallowing doubling after a split increases the house edge by about 0.12%. Under
1776-409: The player's cards match the dealer's up card, are also sometimes available. After the initial two cards, the player has up to five options: "hit", "stand", "double down", "split", or "surrender". Each option has a corresponding hand signal. Hand signals help the " eye in the sky " make a video recording of the table, which resolves disputes and identifies dealer mistakes. It is also used to protect
1824-444: The player's choice. If the total exceeds 21 points, it busts, and all bets on it immediately lose. After the boxes have finished playing, the dealer's hand is resolved by drawing cards until the hand achieves a total of 17 or higher. If the dealer has a total of 17 including an ace valued as 11 (a "soft 17"), some games require the dealer to stand while other games require another draw. The dealer never doubles, splits, or surrenders. If
1872-421: The player's expected loss. The Reno rule increases the house edge by around 0.1%, and its European version by around 0.2%. In most non-U.S. casinos, a "no hole card" game is played, meaning that the dealer does not draw nor consult their second card until after all players have finished making decisions. With no hole card, it is rarely the correct basic strategy to double or split against a dealer ten or ace, since
1920-422: The same effect on basic strategy and the house edge as reverting to a hole card game. In many casinos, a blackjack pays only 6:5 or even 1:1 instead of the usual 3:2. This is most common at tables with lower table minimums . Although this payoff was originally limited to single-deck games, it has spread to double-deck and shoe games. Among common rule variations in the U.S., these altered payouts for blackjack are
1968-435: The same for all blackjack games. Rule variations call for changes in only a few situations. For example, to use the table above on a game with the stand-on-soft-17 rule (which favors the player, and is typically found only at higher-limit tables today) only 6 cells would need to be changed: hit on 11 vs. A, hit on 15 vs. A, stand on 17 vs. A, stand on A,7 vs. 2, stand on A,8 vs. 6, and split on 8,8 vs. A. Regardless of
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2016-441: The source), gambling houses offered bonus payouts to stimulate players' interest. One such bonus was a ten-to-one payout if the player's hand consisted of the ace of spades and a black jack (either the jack of clubs or the jack of spades). This hand was called a "blackjack", and the name stuck even after the ten-to-one bonus was withdrawn. French card historian Thierry Depaulis debunks this story, showing that prospectors during
2064-591: The specific rule variations, taking insurance or "even money" is never the correct play under a basic strategy. Estimates of the house edge for blackjack games quoted by casinos and gaming regulators are based on the assumption that the players follow basic strategy. Most blackjack games have a house edge of between 0.5% and 1%, placing blackjack among the cheapest casino table games for the player. Casino promotions such as complimentary matchplay vouchers or 2:1 blackjack payouts allow players to acquire an advantage without deviating from basic strategy. The basic strategy
2112-495: The subsequent probability of drawing an ace is higher with fewer decks. It also reflects the decreased likelihood of a blackjack–blackjack push in a game with fewer decks. Casinos generally compensate by tightening other rules in games with fewer decks, to preserve the house edge or discourage play altogether. When offering single-deck blackjack games, casinos are more likely to disallow doubling on soft hands or after splitting, restrict resplitting, require higher minimum bets, and pay
2160-554: The time between shuffles and less chance of dealer cheating. In some games, such as blackjack (where card counting is a possibility), using multiple decks of cards can increase the house edge . Prior to 1961 in Las Vegas casinos, all blackjack was dealt from a single deck. John Scarne proposed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board that a state ruling be enacted such that Blackjack must be dealt from
2208-477: The very worst hands, because having even a one-in-four chance of winning the full bet is better than losing half the bet and pushing the other half, as entailed by surrendering. If the cards of a post-split hand have the same value, most games allow the player to split again, or "resplit". The player places a further wager, and the dealer separates the new pair dealing a further card to each as before. Some games allow unlimited resplitting, while others may limit it to
2256-453: Was a gambler , and the protagonists of his " Rinconete y Cortadillo ", from Novelas Ejemplares , are card cheats in Seville . They are proficient at cheating at veintiuno (Spanish for "twenty-one") and state that the object of the game is to reach 21 points without going over and that the ace values 1 or 11. The game is played with the Spanish baraja deck. "Rinconete y Cortadillo"
2304-595: Was written between 1601 and 1602, implying that ventiuno was played in Castile since the beginning of the 17th century or earlier. Later references to this game are found in France and Spain. The first record of the game in France occurs in 1888 and in Britain during the 1770s and 1780s, but the first rules appeared in Britain in 1800 under the name of vingt-un . Twenty-One, still known then as vingt-un , appeared in
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