Live Blackjack Rules

Most people will have a vague knowledge with the basics of blackjack (also known as pontoon, vingt-et-un or twenty one). The idea is to get to 21 with as few cards as possible without going over. Unlike some over casino games, the betting system for blackjack is fairly simple, all you have to do is bet on yourself to win. Whilst there are other players at the table, it's actually only your hand against the dealers'.

Betting on your Hand

You place your bet before the cards are dealt, so in this respect blackjack is a true game of chance. After you've been dealt your cards you will have to decide what to do next, bearing in mind you want to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. You will be dealt two cards to start off with and then you can choose to either 'hit', which will let the live dealer know you want another card, or you can stick, which tells the dealer you're staying with the cards you already have.

Remember that all the court cards (jack, queen and king) count as 10 towards the total, whilst an Ace can count as either a 1 or an 11. Ideally, you want your first two cards to be a ten/court card and an ace, which straight away will make 21; the dealer can't beat this hand unless they too get blackjack (a 10/court card and an ace) which is rather unlikely.

What to do With Your Hand Next?

After the first two cards are dealt, you'll need to decide whether you should stick or raise; it's a given rule that if you've got a combined total of 11 or less that you should always hit, because you can't go bust. The dealer will only show their top card which will influence the players choice, for instance if they have an ace then there's a good chance the dealer may have blackjack, whereas if they have a 2 then you'll feel more confident about sticking on 19. It's all about what you feel comfortable with, if you've got 17 all together and notice the dealer doesn't have a great hand, then you might want to stick, other players might want to risk it and try for 21. Just do what you think is right and don't do anything without thinking about it first.