The Game Of 21
I should assume that the reader has a working knowledge of blackjack, but being a casino habitué for forty years I have learned to assume nothing.
Blackjack is a simple game built on a simple concept. The player's object is to get a higher total than the Dealer, but not to exceed the sum of 21.
Today, partly to frustrate card counters, most casinos use a "shoe" that contains six or eight decks of cards. The shoe is an elongated plastic or wooden box with a clear plastic cover. It allows the dealer to deal from it, one card at a time. Once the decks of cards are shuffled and "cut" by the player, the cards are placed in the shoe, and the game is ready to begin. It must be said that cutting the cards is not a gilt-edged guarantee that the cards aren't stacked. The hand is quicker than the eye, and a good "mechanic" can easily "fix" a deck right in front of you.
Later I'll tell you about an episode that turned me off forever from playing blackjack in any hand-held dealing games.
To begin a game of blackjack, the player places his bet on the designated space on the cloth in front of him. The dealer then deals a card face-up to the player and a card face-up to himself.
The dealer now deals a second face-up card to the player, but for himself he deals the card face-down and tucks it under his open card. This is the dealer's hidden "hole" card. The numerical value of the cards dealt corresponds with what is printed on them, with the exception of the picture cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings), which are all counted as ten-pointers, and the Ace, which has a value of one or eleven, player's choice.
Now the cards are out. If the player gets an Ace along with a ten or picture card, he has a "blackjack," and promptly receives one-and-a-half times his wager. If, however, the dealer also gets a blackjack, it is a "Mexican Standoff"—a tie game that neither dealer nor player wins or loses. In fact, if the player and dealer have any identical amount, it's a "push" and nobody wins.
If neither the dealer nor the player gets a blackjack, the game proceeds. Depending on his two-card total, the player may request a "hit," meaning an additional card, or several "hits," depending on his judgment of his two-card count and the dealer's "open" card. This is an advantage for the player, as he has the discretion of hitting or standing pat (staying) with his hand, while the dealer is boxed-in with iron-clad rules that compel him to hit any total up to and including 16, and requiring him to stand on any total of 17 or more. In other words, if the player has 18 and the dealer has a total of 17, the dealer cannot draw another card to try to beat him. The dealer's advantage, however, is that if the player draws and "busts" (gets a total of more than 21) the dealer takes his money even if, after dealing to other players, he draws and busts too.
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Tags: blackjack, card counters, casino