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The player must wager before any cards are dealt. He does this by placing his bet in front of his
table position. Next, the dealer deals two cards to each of the players and two to himself. (One of
the dealer's cards is dealt face up, one is dealt face down). Face cards count as ten, ace counts
as one or 11, and all other cards are counted at their face value.
A blackjack occurs if the player's first two cards are an ace and a ten or face card. This is usually
a winning hand, although if the dealer also has a blackjack, it is a tie. A winning blackjaack pays
the player three to two.
The dealer must draw on 16 and stand on 17.
Basic terminology
Hit or Stand - Hit means to draw another card, which the player signifies by tapping the table with
his cards or a similar hand motion. Stand means that the player wants no more cards, which the
player signals by placing his cards under his wager or holding his hand in a horizontal direction. If
the player hits and busts (goes over 21), his wager is lost.
Double down - The player is allowed to double his original bet on his first two cards, then draw
one more card.
Splitting - If the first cards a player is dealt are a pair, they may be split into two hands which are
played separately. The bet on each hand must be the same amount. Aces receive only one card.
After splitting, Ace-ten counts as 21, and not as blackjack.
Insurance - A bet not exceeding one-half of the original bet. When the dealer's up card is an ace,
the player may take insurance. If the dealer's down card is a ten or face card, the player wins two
to one. Any other card means a win for the dealer.
Surrender - To give up after the deal of the first two cards. Only one-half of the original bet is lost.
Not all blackjack games offer surrender.
A Simple Strategy:
All of your decisions in these four basic steps are based on the value of the dealer's up card.
If the dealer's up card is 7 or higher, continue to draw cards until you have a hard count of at least
17 or higher, or a soft count of 18 or higher. (A "soft" hand is one that has an Ace that is counted
as 11. A hand that either contains no Aces or the Ace is counted as a 1 is called a "hard" hand.)
If the dealer's up card is 6 or lower, draw cards until you have at least 12. Stop when you have
12 or higher.
Double down when your first two cards total 10 or 11, If the dealer has a 9 or lower. To double
down simply means you can double your original bet after you receive your first two cards. If you
decide to double down you will then receive only one more card.
Always split aces and eights. Do not split any other pairs. To split a pair simply means that when
you receive any pair on your first two cards, you can split them into two separate hands. You can
then play each hand as individual hands.
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