35
votes
Accepted
If Dealer is dealt an ace, and then dealt another card, will he bust?
An Ace has a value of 11, unless it would bust your hand, at which point it becomes 1
Quoting from Wikipedia (due to lack of an official online source for blackjack rules):
If a player holds an ...
- 9,251
21
votes
Why does the dealer in blackjack receive only one face-up card, not two like the players?
In Black Jack, you play against the dealer, not the other players, and one of the main mechanics is deciding whether to hit or not. This decision becomes trivial and meaningless if you could know ...
- 74.9k
5
votes
Accepted
Friendly Blackjack, with players edge over the house?
In blackjack, the house edge over an inexperienced players is around 2% [source]. Thus any small rule-adjustment will do the work.
My suggestion is not to change the rules but to simply remove half ...
- 4,470
4
votes
Accepted
Why does the dealer in blackjack receive only one face-up card, not two like the players?
The dealer cards only are relevant if there is at least one player that passed.
If all players are busted or had 21, there is no need for a turn for the dealer.
Dealing the dealer cards face up ...
- 11.7k
4
votes
In Blackjack, does the dealer reveal his hole card if you bust?
I've never played in Atlantic City, but I have played in casinos in several other places, and I have never encountered a game where the dealer doesn't show the hole card every time, even if there are ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Does the "unnatural" blackjack after splitting push with the dealer?
It depends on the house rules, which may be either determined by law (or subordinate regulation) or by the casino by publication.
The dealer will often make the rule explicit by stating that splits ...
- 3,551
3
votes
Accepted
Why is it optimal to hit with a high total against a high card?
Here's an intuitive justificatiin:
There's a card on top of the deck. If you don’t draw it, the dealer will.* If that card is a 7-K and you draw it, you bust. But critically, if you don't draw it, ...
- 12.5k
3
votes
BlackJack Basic Strategy
Wikipedia's article for basic strategy says to stand when dealt a hard 18-21, at all times, regardless of the dealer's face up card.
Given a game with the following parameters:
Four to eight decks
...
- 371
3
votes
Deviations from basic strategy due to the count in blackjack?
The short answer to your question is YES. This is the whole reason for counting, to understand how to change your bets and strategy to account for the count and to take advantage of the change in the ...
- 5,454
2
votes
Player insurance on natural player blackjack
Assuming the Player Has Blackjack
If you take the insurance:
If the dealer has Blackjack you will earn $1.00 on the hand.
If the dealer does not have Blackjack you will earn $1.00. ($1.50 - $0.50)
...
- 2,289
2
votes
Is the dealer's hand considered soft if he hits himself with an ace?
This answer is yes, a total arrived at with an ace counted as 11 is a "soft total,."
This comes into play with the "soft seventeen" rule that reduces a player's expectation slightly (by 0.2%). This ...
- 22.3k
2
votes
Is the dealer's hand considered soft if he hits himself with an ace?
According to this site:
Any blackjack hand that contains an ace counted as an 11 is a soft hand.
So it does not matter when the ace entered the hand.
- 11.1k
2
votes
In Blackjack, does the dealer reveal his hole card if you bust?
The dealer is required to show the hole card even if all players bust. There isn't a casino anywhere that I've played where that isn't the rule of the house. Not showing the hole card would open the ...
- 121
1
vote
Friendly Blackjack, with players edge over the house?
In some casinos the house rules say the Dealer must:
draw on 16 or under
stand on 17 or over
You could raise that to:
draw on 17 or under
stand on 18 or over
to increase the chance of the Dealer ...
- 381
1
vote
Do you surrender or split 8s against 9, X or A in Blackjack using Basic Strategy
According to The Wizard of Odds, if you follow the basic strategy, you should Split 8's, with one exception: If the dealer hits on soft 17 and is showing an Ace, then you should Surrender. The same ...
- 4,470
1
vote
Does the "unnatural" blackjack after splitting push with the dealer?
This scenario will never happen when playing blackjack in a typical Vegas-style casino. The hand ends immediately if the Dealer has (natural) Blackjack. So there will never be an opportunity for you ...
- 4,021
1
vote
Accepted
Can multiple Blackjack Aces have value 1?
Yes, each Ace may be counted as one or as eleven.
Bicycle
It is up to each individual player if an ace is worth 1 or 11. Face cards are 10 and any other card is its pip value.
Poker Casino
...
- 11.4k
1
vote
How do blackjack simulations work?
The optimal player strategy of BJ is well studied and known. A quick google search will present you tons of charts similar to this one.
The way to find the optimal action in each situation is, as ...
- 4,470
1
vote
How do blackjack simulations work?
Any simulation is based upon a set of assumptions - the simplest assumption in blackjack is that any card drawn will be of value 10 (i.e., 10, J, Q, K). You run your simulation with that assumption, ...
- 3,607
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible