How Video Blackjack Is Played
Blackjack appears to be a simple game and, indeed, its structure is quite easy to follow. All the cards have their face value. An eight equals an eight, a two equals a two, and so forth. All picture cards equal 10 as does, naturally, a 10. An ace equals either an 11 or a one. It is up to the player to decide how he is using the ace. Hands with an ace as one of the first two cards are called soft hands. Hands without an ace as one of the first two cards are called hard hands.
The objective of a blackjack game is to beat the dealer or, in video-blackjack terms, the dealer-in-the-machine. This can be done in one of two ways. You can beat the dealer because you have a better hand or you can beat the dealer because he has gone over 21 and busted. If either the player or the dealer has an ace and a 10 value card as his first two cards, this is called a blackjack or natural and is usually paid off at three to two (or 1.5 to one) for the player in the table-game version. However, many of the video-poker games you'll find will pay two/or one. This is not as good as it sounds because two for one merely means an even money bet. You are getting back your one-unit bet and your one-unit win; thus two for one. In a three to two payoff, you are actually receiving 2.5 units in return for a one unit bet: your initial one-unit bet and your 1.5-unit win. Paying this way gives the casino a hefty edge over the player, as you shall see in the chart "Rule Changes and Their Effects on the Player's Edge." This hefty edge can only be equalized if the machine has extraordinary payouts for other types of hands—a rarity indeed.
If the dealer has a blackjack and the player has a blackjack, the hand is a standoff or push and nobody wins. In fact, any time the dealer and the player have the same valued hand it is a push. Never play in a blackjack game where the dealer wins the pushes, unless it is a face-up or double exposure game, the strategy for which is quite different than for regular blackjack. In video poker, you will find some machines where the house takes the pushes. Avoid these like the plague.
Blackjack tables generally seat six to seven players but video blackjack is usually a head to head affair, player vs. dealer-in-the-machine. However, newer versions of video blackjack will have the capacity to deal to as many as four players per round. This is an ideal game for card counters—especially if you are given more than one round before the dealer-in-the-machine shuffles up.
When you put your coins in, the dealer-in-the-machine will deal you two cards face up. The dealer-in-the-machine also deals himself two cards, one face up and one face down. All your playing decisions will be based on the face-up card of the dealer-in-the-machine.
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