Blackjack originated as a game called Ving-et-Un, which was played by the aristocratic classes in eigthteenth-century France. The modern game of today is just as elegant and refined, but it is luckily much more freely available and is enjoyed in online casinos across the United States and the rest of the world. If you’d like to start investigating the game from the comfort of your own home, check out the guidelines below.
Basic Blackjack Principles
Offline and online Blackjack games are very similar, and both offer the great blend of strategy and chance that is so appealing to enthusiasts. Cards are randomly dealt, and then you need to make shrewd decisions based on your hand. The more you play, the more intriguing you’ll find the complex patterns that can arise.
To start with two cards are dealt to each player and to the live dealer who represents the House or, if there is no live dealer, to the House itself. Aces have a value of one or eleven, picture cards are worth ten and the number cards are all worth their face value. The game’s objective is to get a hand total of twenty-one, or as close to this as possible without going higher. This is where the name Ving-et-Un, which actually means Twenty-One in French, comes from, and is why Blackjack is also often called Twenty-One.
Players need to bet on their hands before the cards are dealt, and once everyone has seen their cards they can try to improve their totals by drawing more. The House has to draw until a hand total of at least seventeen is reached. Once everyone is satisfied with their cards and is standing, all the hands are revealed. If the House hand and your hand are less than twenty-one, you lose if your total is lower and win if it’s higher. If you tie below twenty-one you’re allowed to keep your bet, and if your hand and the House hand are both over twenty-one, the House automatically wins. A hand with an Ace and face card is every player’s dream, with a rewarding 3:2 return. This is called a Natural Blackjack or Natural Twenty-One, and the feeling of elation when you see this combination is very hard to beat!
Developing Your Online Blackjack Strategy
Once you start playing online blackjack, you’ll soon be drawn in and will get familiar with the game very quickly. Your own style and insights will evolve quite naturally as you go along, and there are plenty of online resources to help you with this as well. One of the perks of playing online is that you can take what you learn and apply it immediately, which will really deepen your understanding. Start by checking out the tables that show you the odds of every possible hand and what bets to place in every instance, and the guidelines on card counting, and see where you go from there. You do need to be careful though – even small deviations from set tactical plans can really decrease your winning odds. Find and use every resource that you can, and enjoy the learning process. Most respectable online American casinos also allow a no-deposit Free Play mode, where you can hone your skills at no financial risk. Take full advantage of this to improve your overall game enjoyment and confidence.
More Play Means More Evolution
The more you play Blackjack online, the better you’ll be and the more satisfaction you’ll get. And the sooner you start, the more you can play!