HISTORY

Though blackjack originated in France, it has been one of the most popular table games in America for decades. Originally played as "21", the game was never as popular in the early American clubs and gambling houses as was poker or craps.

To increase interest in the game, some of the card rooms began to offer higher payouts for certain hands of cards; players who received an ace of spades with a jack of clubs or a jack of spades received a 10:1 bonus. Thereafter the game of 21 became known as blackjack because of those two cards. The game of blackjack remained more or less unchanged until the 1960's when mathematician Edward Thorpe proved that the house edge could be virtually eliminated. With the help of computers, Thorpe and his colleagues calculated the most advantageous way to play every possible card combination. Based on this research, a set of moves known as basic strategy was developed, and then modified by experts over the years.

Basic strategy led casinos to develop countermeasures to control losses, and today there are slight variations in blackjack rules depending on the casino. SOS Casino Blackjack uses six decks of cards and they are shuffled after each hand is played.


GAME PLAY and PLAYING OPTIONS

We now have six different table games for BlackJack. Each one has a minimum and maximum limit and also has three positions for you to play at. You can play at one position, two or three positions depending on how you feel, or any combination. Dependant on which table you choose depends on the maximum bet per hand.

As with all blackjack games, the objective is to beat the dealer in one of two ways. Either to accumulate a higher score than the dealer without going over 21, or to stand on a lower score and hope that the dealer goes over or busts. Now you have up to three chances to do that each deal.

All face cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings) are worth 10, and an Ace is worth either one or 11, whichever value the player chooses for that hand. The remaining cards are worth their face value. The highest hand in the game is a blackjack or a natural, which is a two-card hand that totals 21. That hand cannot be beaten unless the dealer also has a blackjack, then it becomes a push or a tie. Three or more cards totaling 21 have the same value but do not beat out a natural 21 (Blackjack).

The player makes a bet by clicking on his chips to place the amount that he wishes to wager. To start, the player hits the "DEAL" button and the dealer starts the game. Two cards each are dealt to the player and the dealer. The dealer's second card is dealt face up. If the player has an Ace with any ten-valued card this is a Blackjack and will turn itself up immediately. It wins unless the dealer also has "Blackjack", in which case it is a push and neither wins. The win is paid one-and-a-half times the bet.

If the dealer's face up card is an Ace, the player will be given the opportunity to take Insurance. Insurance will only be offered on bets of $2 or more. For $1 bets, insurance will not be offered, as the insurance bet is 50% of the main bet amount which is $0.50, and this cannot be less than $1. Insurance is a side bet, that the dealer has a natural (blackjack), and it is only offered when the dealer's up card is an Ace. When the dealer has an Ace card showing, it is assumed that he could have a 10 card as his hole card. The player is asked if he would like to insure his hand, and if he accepts, he may bet up to one-half of his original bet before play commences. If the dealer does have a blackjack, then the insurance wager wins and the player is paid off at a rate of 2:1 on the insurance bet, but loses the original bet.

After receiving two cards, the player must decide whether or not he would like to keep the hand as is, or take additional cards to increase the value of the hand. To do so the player clicks on the "HIT" button. A player may hit as many times as desired, as long as the total count of the hand does not exceed 21. When a player is satisfied with his hand, he must hit the "STAND" button (take no more cards).

The player can "DOUBLE DOWN" only after looking at the first two cards; the player cannot take a hit and then double down. The only catch is that one, and ONLY one more card is dealt. Most players will double down when their first two cards total ten or 11. The reasoning behind this is that odds are good that the next card dealt will be a ten, giving a total of 20 or 21. Odds are in favor of receiving a 10-card because they are the most frequently occurring cards (since all face cards have a value of ten). If the player wins on a doubledown bet he is paid double his money. If it is a push it is even.

To split a hand, the player hits the "SPLIT" button (this is only offered when there is a pair, two cards of the same value such as two 8's.) An identical bet to the first one is placed on the second hand. Split hands are then played out one after the other, both receiving an additional card and then following the route of hitting and standing. Hands may only be split once and the splitting of Aces is special, for when they are split, the player can receive only one card on each Ace. If a blackjack is obtained on a split pair, it will only be paid 1:1 for it is not a true blackjack (having not originally been dealt a two-card hand of 21).

To finish playing the hand the player has to hit the "STAND" button at which point the dealer starts playing his hand.

Whether the dealer "HITS" or "STANDS" depends upon the count of the dealer's hand (the dealer has no choice). The dealer turns his bottom card up and either stands or draws as necessary.

The dealer MUST draw if he has any total up to and including 16 and MUST stand on 17. The dealer will also stand on all soft 17's. (SOFT 17's are: any combination in which and Ace is used as an 11). Should the dealer "BUST", (the cards total 22 or higher); the player’s hand, whatever the total under 22 will be paid even money.

Once all the bets have been taken or paid and the cards picked up by the dealer, a new game starts again. The cards are reshuffled randomly, normally after 100 cards have been dealt out of the six pack shoe.

The player cannot remove a bet after the " DEAL" button has been pressed.

STRATEGY

These basic strategies help the player maximize the odds of winning.

The most important decision a player has to make is whether to hit or to stand on their hand.

There are a few straightforward rules for both hard and soft hands.

Hard hands have an Ace counted as a one, soft hands have an Ace counted as 11.
For hard hands, if the player's cards amount to 12 or higher, there are three rules:
• Hit if the player hand totals 12 through 16 and the dealer has a seven or higher.
• Stand on any hand totaling 17 or higher.
• Stand if the player cards total 12 through 16 and the dealer has two through six.

For soft hands there are only two:
• Always draw to soft 17 or less.
• Only draw on soft 18 if the dealer has an eight, nine or ten.

Doubling down is the main method by which a player can eliminate the house edge so it is very important to remember when to utilize this option.

For hard hands, there are three basic rules:
• Double down when the player's cards total 11 and the dealer has a ten or less.
• Double down when the player's cards total 10 and the dealer has a nine or less.
• Double down when the player's cards total nine and the dealer has a four, five or six.

For soft hands, there are also three basic rules:
• Double down with a soft 13 and soft 14 when the dealer has a five or six.
• Double down with a soft 15 and soft 16 when the dealer has a four, five or six.
• Double down with a soft 17 and soft 18 when the dealer has three through six.

There are six easy rules that apply to splitting pairs in basic strategy:

• Always split a pair of Aces or eights. A pair of Aces totals either two or twelve but when split each card is worth eleven. When eights are split it breaks up 16, which is the worst hand to have.
• Never split fours, fives or tens.
• Split twos and threes only when the dealer has four through seven.
• Split sixes when the dealer has three through six.
• Split sevens when the dealer has three through seven.
• Split nines when the dealer has two through six, eight or nine.