BlackJack
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How Do You Play Elimination
Blackjack Tournaments?
The basic premise of the game is that you want to have a hand
value that is closer to 21 than that of the dealer, without
going over 21. Other players at the table are of no concern.
Your hand is strictly played out against the hand of the dealer.
The rules of play for the dealer are strictly dictated, leaving
no decisions up to the dealer. Therefore, there is not a problem
with the dealer or any of the other players at the table seeing
the cards in your hand. Indeed, if you're playing at a shoe
game, the player cards are all dealt face up. In any event,
when you're just learning to play, don't hesitate to show the
dealer or other players your cards and ask questions.
In blackjack, the cards
are valued as follows:
An Ace can count as either 1 or 11, as demonstrated
below.
The cards from 2 through 9 are valued as indicated.
The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10. |
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The suits of the cards do not have any meaning in the game.
The value of a hand is simply the sum of the point counts of
each card in the hand. For example, a hand containing (5,7,9)
has the value of 21. The Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11.
You need not specify which value the Ace has. It's assumed to
always have the value that makes the best hand. An example will
illustrate: Suppose that you have the beginning hand (Ace, 6).
This hand can be either 7 or 17. If you stop there, it will
be 17. Let's assume that you draw another card to the hand and
now have (Ace, 6, 3). Your total hand is now 20, counting the
Ace as 11. Let's backtrack and assume that you had instead drawn
a third card which was an 8. The hand is now (Ace, 6, 8) which
totals 15. Notice that now the Ace must be counted as only 1
to avoid going over 21.
A hand that contains an Ace is called a "soft" total
if the Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11 without the total
going over 21. For example (Ace, 6) is a soft 17. The description
stems from the fact that the player can always draw another
card to a soft total with no danger of "busting" by
going over 21. The hand (Ace,6,10) on the other hand is a "hard"
17, since now the Ace must be counted as only 1, again because
counting it as 11 would make the hand go over 21.
Once all the bets are made, the dealer will deal the cards to
the players. He'll make two passes around the table starting
at his left (your right) so that the players and the dealer
have two cards each. The dealer will flip one of his cards over,
exposing its value. The players cards will be dealt face-up,
and the players are not allowed to touch the cards. Once the
cards are dealt, play proceeds around the table, starting at
the first seat to the dealer's left, also called first base.
Each player in turn indicates to the dealer how he wishes to
play the hand. The various player decisions are covered in their
own section below. After each player has finished his hand,
the dealer will complete his hand, and then pay or collect the
player bets.
"Dealer stands on all 17s": This is the
most common rule. In this case, the dealer must continue to
take cards ("hit") until his total is 17 or greater.
An Ace in the dealer's hand is always counted as 11 if possible
without the dealer going over 21. For example, (Ace,8) would
be 19 and the dealer would stop drawing cards ("stand").
Also, (Ace,6) is 17 and again the dealer will stand. (Ace,5)
is only 16, so the dealer would hit. He will continue to draw
cards until the hand's value is 17 or more. For example, (Ace,5,7)
is only 13 so he hits again. (Ace,5,7,5) makes 18 so he would
stop ("stand") at that point.
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Blackjack Bluebook II
Supersedes
the original 1997 edition of Blackjack Bluebook. This
2003 edition was expanded by 40% with several previously
undiscussed strategy concepts, many of which have scarcely
or never appeared in print, such as; the Magnificent 7
Hands. Interacting with Other Players' hands. Hi Card/Lo
Card. This may be perhaps the best blackjack book ever
written. "Blackjack Bluebook II" has things
that I have never seen in any other blackjack book. Did
you know that you can get an advantage in a six-deck game
by counting the number of ten cards? After two decks have
been dealt, you may have an advantage--and you will not
have to count anything for the rest of the shoe! Did you
know that if there is a hand with an inordinate number
of "babies" (low cards) compared to ten cards,
you also have an advantage for the remainder of the shoe?
Read it and reap. |
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Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution
If traditional card counting at blackjack
were easily learned from a book, the sales of blackjack
books (which number in the millions) would have created
hundreds of thousands of blackjack advantage players.
The fact that those blackjack books have only been able
to create such small numbers of expert blackjack players
is proof positive that advantage-play at blackjack is
quite difficult. Until now that is! Imagine
a new method that's so simple that average players can
learn it in a few hours and then play blackjack with the
advantage over the casino. Imagine if you could learn
this new method easily and apply it in the casino without
the months and years of practice you would need for traditional
card counting methods. Introducing the revolutionary SPEED
COUNT, the easiest advantage blackjack method ever developed
and now available in print for the general public! |
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Doubling Down
Among the more profitable player options available is
the choice to "double down". This can only
be done with a two card hand, before another card has
been drawn. Doubling down allows you to double your
bet and receive one, and only one, additional card to
the hand. A good example of a doubling opportunity is
when you hold a total of 11, say a (6,5) against a dealer's
upcard of 5. In this case, you have a good chance of
winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so
you might as well increase your bet in this advantageous
situation. If you are playing in a face-down game, just
toss the two cards face-up on the table in front of
your bet. In either type of game, add an additional
bet to the betting circle. Place the additional bet
adjacent to the original bet, not on top of it. The
dealer will deal one additional card to the hand. In
the face-down game, he'll probably tuck it face-down
under your bet, to be revealed later.
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.
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Splitting Pairs
When you are dealt a matching pair of cards (remember,
ignore the suits), you have the ability to split the
hand into two separate hands, and play them independently.
Let's say you are dealt a pair of eights for a total
of sixteen. Sixteen is the worst possible player hand,
since it is unlikely to win as is, but is very likely
to bust if you draw to it. Here's a great chance to
improve a bad situation.
If you are playing a hand-held game, toss the cards
face-up in front of your bet just like a double down.
Then, in either type of game, place a matching bet beside
the original bet in the circle. Note that you must bet
the same amount on a split, unlike a double-down, where
you are allowed to double for less. The dealer will
separate the two cards, and treat them as two independent
hands. Let's say you draw a 3 on the first 8, for a
total of 11. Many casinos will allow you to double down
on that hand total of 11 at this point. When this is
allowed, the rule is called "Double after Split",
predictably enough. Regardless, you can play the first
hand to completion, at which point the dealer will deal
a second card to the second hand, and you can begin
making play decisions on it.
If you get additional pairs (in the first two cards
of a hand), most casinos will allow you to resplit,
making yet another hand. The most common rule allows
a player to split up to 3 times, making 4 separate hands,
with 4 separate bets. If double after split is allowed,
you could have up to 8 times your initial bet on the
table if you chose! Some casinos restrict resplitting,
and some allow unlimited splitting. Another fine point
is that you are allowed to split any 10-valued cards,
so you could split a (Jack, Queen) hand. However, this
is usually a bad play: Keep the 20.
The other complication for pair splits concerns splitting
Aces. Splitting Aces is a very strong player move, so
the casino restricts you to drawing only one additional
card on each Ace. Also, if you draw a ten-valued card
on one of your split Aces, the hand is not considered
a Blackjack, but is instead treated as a normal 21,
and therefore does not collect 3:2 odds. Some casinos
allow resplitting Aces if you draw another, while many
do not allow resplitting Aces although they often do
allow resplitting of any other pairs. With all these
restrictions, you may wonder whether it makes sense
to split Aces. The answer is a resounding YES. Always
split pairs of Aces.
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