Blackjack Dealer Must Hit

• Blackjack Hit Guide
• Blackjack Dealer Pay
• In Blackjack The Dealer Must Hit On
• Blackjack Hit Chart
• Blackjack Dealer Must Hit On 16

In most casinos, the dealer is required to hit on hands worth less than 17 points, regardless of the cards that make up their hand. Hands worth 17 points, however, can’t be hit on. If you’re playing as the dealer and your hand is worth 17, 18, 19, 20 or 21 points, you can’t hit any further and need to stand with whatever hand you’ve got. Is Blackjack Dealer Must Hit On Soft 17based on promotions, bonuses, security, cash out options, reputation, software robustness, graphics, customer service, game diversity and the overall respect of the players. Blackjack Dealer Must Hit On Soft 17We update our top recommended online casinos on. This is signaled to the mandalay bay casino map dealer by placing another chip next to the first chip bet.This practice reduces the bet spread the player uses as they only place bets in player favourable situations but casinos are dealer must hit soft 17 blackjack now well aware of this strategy and watch out for players hanging around a table and not playing. The dealer then reveals the hidden card and must hit until the cards total up to 17 points. At 17 points or higher the dealer must stay. (At most tables the dealer also hits on a 'soft' 17, i.e. A hand containing an ace and one or more other cards totaling six.) You are betting that you have a better hand than the dealer. The dealer will reveal his hidden blackjack card and must always hit if they have 16 or lower. They will stop hitting if they have 17 or more. Step 7: win or lose You win when the combined value of your cards is greater than that of the dealer.

Blackjack is one of the very few casino-banked card games where the decisions players make have a direct impact on their long-term chances of winning and preserving their bankrolls. Whether you make the correct plays or not will ultimately determine whether you emerge as a long-term winner or loser.

When you join a blackjack table, the two most fundamental playing decisions you are facing are whether to hit or stand on your hand. Ironically, these two decisions rank last in the order of plays you can exercise at the blackjack table.

The reason for this is simple – unlike surrendering, splitting, and doubling, you can hit or stand on hands that comprise any number of cards whereas the other moves are possible only on two-card totals. Both plays are accompanied by specific hand gestures which differ depending on whether you join a shoe-dealt table or a pitch game.

The great thing about blackjack is that the game combines elements of luck, skill, and strategy. There is no need to rely on gut feelings in order to make the correct move. All you have to do is memorize basic blackjack strategy. It gives you the foundation of becoming a successful blackjack player by telling you when to hit your hand and when to stand.

Hitting a Hand in Blackjack

A new round at the blackjack table starts with everyone receiving two cards that comprise their starting hands. This includes the dealer who normally receives their first card up while their second card is dealt face-down. The players would either receive their two cards face-up in shoe-dealt blackjack or face-down in pitch games where only one or two decks are in play.

At this point, each player takes a good look at their initial two-card hand, checks the dealer’s exposed card, and decides whether to take a hit or not. Hitting is the first most common decision one makes at the blackjack table. It involves the player requesting additional cards on their initial hand.

In multiple-deck games dealt out of a shoe, the player indicates they want to hit either with a beckoning gesture with their finger or by tapping the felt next to their two cards. In pitch games where you receive your cards face down, a hit is indicated by lightly scraping the felt with your two cards.

Players are allowed to take as many hits as they like unless the last card drawn to their hand causes it to break, i.e. go over 21. You can hit any total, with the exception of pat blackjacks which automatically stand.

The main reason for drawing additional cards is to try and improve the value of your hand. Your hitting decisions are influenced by two factors – the current total of your hand and the upcard the dealer is showing.

Standing on a Hand in Blackjack

Standing on a hand is practically the opposite of hitting. The player is satisfied with their current hand value and declines additional cards from the dealer. Similarly to hitting, this decision must be designated with a physical gesture for the purpose of hindering cheaters and preventing misunderstandings on behalf of the dealer and surveillance.

This physical motion involves waving your palm horizontally over your two cards in shoe-dealt games. The gesture is different in single-deck and double-deck games where standing is indicated by sliding the corners of your cards under the chips you have originally placed in your betting box.

Forced Standing Rules for Dealers and Their Variations

Unlike blackjack players, the house representative who deals the cards does not make any decisions when playing out their hand. Instead, blackjack dealers draw cards or stand on their hands according to the forced rules specified by the gambling establishments.

These forced dealer rules vary depending on the gambling hall and the blackjack table you play at, but are generally classified into two main groups. The dealer is either required to draw to 16 and force-stand on all totals of 17 or must draw to 16, stand on hard 17 and hit soft 17. The dealer standing rule is printed on the layout, which makes it easy for players to distinguish what table they are playing.

Which of the two dealer rules is better from the perspective of the player, though? To answer this question, we must first explain what a soft 17 is. This is a hand that contains an Ace whose value is flexible, i.e. it can be either 1 or 11, like in the following two examples – A-6 and A-2-4. Due to the fluctuating value of the Ace, one such soft hand practically has two totals, 7 and 17.

The dealer forced standing rules should be always taken into consideration because they have a direct impact on basic strategy as well as on the house edge. A total of 17 is not strong enough in blackjack where the average winning hand totals 18.5. A dealer who hits soft 17 is less susceptible to exceeding 21 and thus, losing because of the flexible value of the Ace.

If a higher-ranking card is drawn, the dealer’s Ace will count as 1. This practically makes it impossible for them to bust by taking one more card. However, if they happen to catch a small card like a deuce on the next hit, it gets them into the safe zone and they can outdraw the player, who always stands on hard 17 according to basic strategy.

A dealer who hits soft 17 (H17) increases the house edge by 0.22%. This may seem like a small increase in the casino’s advantage but nevertheless, it leads to higher hourly losses in the long term for the basic strategy player.

Assuming you play at a full table where you flat bet at the minimum of $5 and go through 60 hands per hour on average, you will lose roughly ($5 x 60 x 0.22)/100 = $0.66 per hour due to the soft 17 rule alone.

Of course, these figures apply only over the long run where thousands of hands are involved. Nevertheless, a smart blackjack player always favors tables where the dealer stands on all 17 over those where they hit soft 17.

Key Basic Strategy Plays for Hitting and Standing

Basic strategy tells blackjack players when it is the correct time to hit and when they should stand, among other things. The decision is based on the upcard of the dealer and the player’s hand total. Basic strategy is proven to reduce the house edge, but some of the hitting and standing decisions it suggests also aim at minimizing the long-term losses players incur in unfavorable situations. With that said, you cannot overcome the house edge entirely with basic strategy alone.

The correct plays are influenced by a variety of factors which include the above-mentioned dealer forced rules, the number of decks incorporated into the game, and the possible rule variations at different blackjack tables.

The strategy is normally presented in a table format. Here are several of the most important standing and hitting decisions recommended by basic strategy for multiple-deck games where the dealer force-stands on all 17s:

• Always hit totals 4 through 8 regardless of what card the dealer shows
• Stand on hard totals of 12 if the dealer exposes small cards 4 through 6 and hit your hard 12 against all other dealer cards
• Hit 16 against a dealer with a ten-value card or Ace, otherwise surrender if allowed
• Always hit soft totals 13 through 17 and stand on soft 19
• Stand on soft totals of 18 unless the dealer is showing high cards like 9, 10, and Ace. If so, hit your soft 18.
• Stand on all hard totals of 17 or higher

Deviations from Basic-Strategy Hitting and Standing Decisions

Learning basic strategy is an absolute must for anyone who insists on becoming a winning blackjack player. With that said, basic strategy relies on limited information. It tells you the optimal plays you can make in any given situation after you have received your first two cards and have seen the dealer’s exposed card.

However, it does not take into account the way the composition of the deck or shoe changes as more and more cards are removed from play. These changes in composition are important because they have a direct impact on the house edge.

If more ten-value cards and Aces remain to be dealt, the edge swings over in favor of the player and vice versa, the dealer has an advantage when the remaining shoe or deck is richer in small cards. Smart players have learned to exploit this peculiarity of the game by keeping track of the ratio of high to low cards that remain to be dealt.

This is known as card counting. The player keeps a running count as each card is dealt out of the shoe and then converts it into a true count. This conversion is necessary for shoe games and involves the division of the current running count by the number of decks that remain in play.

A high positive true count indicates the shoe is rich in high cards and vice versa, a negative true count means more small cards are still in play. Using this information, well-versed players would deviate from basic strategy for certain hitting and standing decisions. The plays suggested by the strategy are based on a neutral deck or shoe and are no longer optimal after the composition changes.

A Couple of Examples for Hitting and Standing Deviations

Blackjack pros resort to using indices for their playing deviations. An index is a number that tells you at what true count you must diverge from the basic strategy. Let’s use hard 12 against a dealer with a deuce as an example just to give you a better idea of how playing deviations for hitting and standing work.

A basic strategy chart for multiple-deck games under the S17 rule recommends you to hit your 12 against a 2. However, this play is no longer optimal once you arrive at a true count of +3. Now, there are more tens and face cards you can bust with. Therefore, you must deviate from basic strategy and stand on your 12 against the 2 when the true count is +3 or higher.

Another example is a hand of hard 16 against a dealer with a 9 as their upcard. According to basic strategy, you must hit your hard 16 against the 9 if surrender is unavailable. Unfortunately, this decision is a bad one on high positive counts of +5 or above. Respectively, the player stands (the pun was unintentional) better chances of winning if they refrain from drawing more cards because hitting is more likely to break their 16 in shoes that are rich in tens.

And one final example with a hard 13 versus a dealer showing a 3, in which case you should stand according to basic strategy. This may be a good idea in a neutral shoe but it becomes unprofitable on negative counts.

The index for this hand is -2, which is to say you deviate from basic strategy when the true count drops to -2 or lower by choosing to hit instead of standing. At this point, there are more small cards than high cards to help you improve your hand and minimize the risk of breaking it.

Playing deviations are great not only for hitting and standing but for all other possible moves in blackjack, like doubling, splitting, surrendering, and buying insurance. Not only do these deviations enable the player to generate more EV in the long term but they also reduce risk and help you tame variance.

With that said, it is impossible to use them without committing basic strategy to memory first, so we suggest this is where you start if you take your blackjack game seriously.

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Playing Blackjack the player tries to draw cards with a total of 21 points. The main aim of blackjack is to beat the dealer. To do this the player must have a hand that will be higher than the dealer’s and not to go over 21.

The suits of the cards do not play any role in the game. The hand value is simply calculated by summing up the point value of each card in the hand.

The Value of Cards

Blackjack Hands

Let’s now consider the most common hands in blackjack that players should remember.

=21 Blackjack or Natural is a hand of two cards that equals 21 immediately after the deal. The hand is formed by an Ace and a card with a value of 10.

=16 Soft Hand is a hand with an Ace where the Ace can be counted as 11 without exceeding a total point value of 21.

=16 Hard Hand is a hand without an Ace, or a hand with an Ace where the Ace is valued at 1 point.

Blackjack Hit Guide

How to play blackjack?

Blackjack Dealer Pay

Blackjack is played with 1 through 8 decks of 52 cards. The cards are dealt from a special box, known as a shoe. As a rule, the decks are reshuffled after each game.The player makes a bet before any cards are dealt. Then the player gets two cards and the dealer has two cards too, one of them is dealt face up and one is face down. The dealer’s hole card remains unknown until the player has completed his hand. The player makes a decision about how to play the hand based on the two dealt cards and the dealer’s face-up card. After the player has decided to stand (stop taking cards), the dealer turns over his hole card. If his hand is 17 or more he must stand. If the dealer’s hand totals 16 or under the dealer must hit (take more cards). Sometimes a casino lets the dealer hit on a soft 17, adding to the house edge.

If the first two cards total 21(an ace and any 10-value card ), it is Blackjack, the highest hand of the game. If the player has blackjack he wins unless the dealer has blackjack as well, in this case the hand is a “push” or a tie.

In Blackjack The Dealer Must Hit On

If the dealer’s face-up card is an ace, the player can make “insurance” to guard against the risk that the dealer holds a blackjack. The insurance pays 2:1 if the dealer’s hand is a blackjack. The dealer with blackjack wins except the player’s hand that also has a blackjack.

All the possible bets are posted on the table. The player wins 1:1 that is the same amount as he bets. The payout for blackjack is 3:2.

Player Options

Extra Blackjack Options

Besides these blackjack options there are some extra blackjack options: Insurance, Even Money and Surrender.

Blackjack Hit Chart

Insurance. An additional side bet, half of the original bet, available to players after the initial deal when the dealer shows an Ace. If the dealer turns up a natural 21, the player with insurance is paid 2:1 on the insurance bet, but not the original bet. If the dealer does not have a Blackjack, the Insurance bet is lost.

Even Money. In the event of the player has a Blackjack and the dealer’s up card is an Ace, the player can place an Even Money bet, which costs half of the original bet. The Even Money bet protects player from a push if the dealer has Blackjack as well. If the dealer has Blackjack, the player will get his initial bet back and the Even Money bet, 2:1.

Blackjack Dealer Must Hit On 16

Surrender is the option which is not available in all casinos. Surrender allows the player to surrender half of his original bet if he considers that he has a losing hand. This bet can be made before the player says: “Hit” or “Stand”. Thanks to this option the player can save half of his original bet.

There are two types of surrender – EARLY and LATE. Early Surrender allows the player to take half of his bet before the dealer checks for Blackjack. The Late Surrender allows the player to surrender only after the dealer has checked his hole card for Blackjack.