How to play and win at blackjack in an online casino

The real world is more complicated than the virtual. If you walk into a casino, you feel the heat of so many people caught up in the excitement of the game, see the lines of machines and the green of the playing tables, smell the adrenaline of the players. You can almost reach out and touch the money you're going to win. Online, you have animations of the different games and a soundtrack of background noise. Some parts of the gaming environment have a chat facility but, all things considered, the experience is stripped down to the bare essentials. You come to gamble from the comfort of your own home. The designers and programmers have done their best, but they cannot recreate the real world experience.

What to look out for online blackjack

If this is your first time in a casino, check out the range of bets allowed and decide the amount you want to bet on each hand. The chips are colored so it's easier to see how much you are winning. The table will be clearly marked with the house rules, including the main statement of odds. This is usually, "Blackjack pays 3 to 2", i.e. if you draw 21 in two cards, you win 3 dollars for every 2 you bet. The other key rule defines when the dealer must draw or stand. In most casinos, the dealer must stand on 17s. So if the total of the two cards is less than 17, the dealer must continue to draw cards until the score is greater than 17. But if the score of the first two cards is 17 or higher, the dealer cannot draw any more cards. Remember that an Ace carries the value of 1 or 11 so long as the count is less than 21.

How do you play?

The original name of the game was vingt-et-un, French for 21. No matter how many players sit around the table, it is played against the dealer. Everyone is dealt two cards from the shoe — a device that holds the stacked decks of cards so that no-one can interfere with them once play begins. The cards are numbered from 2 to 10. Face cards count as 10. Aces count as either 1 or 11. Between each player and the dealer, the winner is the one whose cards have a total closer to 21. If the first two cards are an Ace and a card counting as 10, this is a natural blackjack and it wins unless the dealer draws the same combination. If your total is less than 21, you have to decide whether to stand or draw another card. If you draw a third card and the total is less than 21, you decide whether to stand or draw a fourth card. Once you decide to stand, the dealer applies the house rule on 17 and either draws or stands. If either you or the dealer total more than 21, you lose. The higher total of 21 or less wins.