How To Play Pairs in Blackjack
Here’s How:
- Look at the dealers up card.
- Look at the pair in you hand.
- If you have a pair of Aces or Eights: Always split.
- If you have a pair of twos or threes: Split if the dealer has 2 – 7, otherwise hit.
- If you have a pair of fours: Split if the dealer has 4 or 5, otherwise hit.
- If you have a pair of fives: Double if the dealer has 2 – 9, otherwise hit.
- If you have a pair of sixes: Split if the dealer has 2 – 6, otherwise hit.
- If you have a pair of sevens: Split 2 – 7, otherwise hit.
- If you have a pair of nines: Split 2 – 6, and 8 or 9. Stand if the dealer has 7, 10 or Ace.
- If you have a pair of tens: Always Stand.
Tips:
- These rules are for 4- 8 deck games when doubling after splitting is allowed.
- Always check the rules of the game before playing.
- Learn the different strategies for single or double deck games.
Objective and Card Values in Blackjack
Objective
The objective of the game is to beat the dealer. If your cards total higher than the dealer’s cards without going over 21 you win. You are not trying to get close to 21. If your hand or the dealer’s hand goes over 21 you “Bust.” If you bust you automatically lose. If the dealer busts and you do not you win. The player must act first. If the player busts he loses regardless if the dealer busts or not.
Card Values
The suits of the cards have no affect on the game. Cards 2 – 10 are counted at face value without regards to their suit. All face cards have a value of ten. An ace can count as either one or eleven. A queen and a five would equal 15. An ace and a five would total either 6 or 16. A hand that does not have an ace is referred to as a Hard Hand because it has only one value. A hand that contains an ace is referred to as a Soft Hand because the value can change. If you draw to a soft hand and the three cards total a number where counting an ace as eleven puts you over 21 then the hand becomes a hard hand. Example: You are dealt an ace and a three. You have 4 or 14. If you then draw a ten you now have a hard 14 because if you count the ace as 11 you would have 25, which would bust you.
Doubling Down For Profit
When you are playing blackjack one of the most favorable situations arises when you have the opportunity to double down. When you double down you are allowed to double your bet after receiving your fist two cards. You then receive one card only on your hand. Most casinos will allow you to double down on any two cards (DOA). Some casinos limit your doubling to hands that total ten or eleven. DOA is a favorable rule to the player. Another favorable rule is when the casino will let you double after splitting (DAS). Take a look at how these affect the house edge.
If you are playing a shoe game with eight decks and can double on anything, the basic house edge is -0.55% a little more than half of one percent. Other rules relating to doubling and either reduce or increase this basic house edge.
Double after splitting reduces the house edge by .13 % to -0.42
Double on 10 and 11 only – .21 increase the house edge to -0.76
By using basic strategy you can determine when you should double down based on the mathematics of the game The reason that doubling down is so favorable is that you are doubling your bet when you have the best opportunity of beating the dealer. Most of the time, this is when the dealer is at their weakest. This happens when the dealer shows an up card, which can possibly cause them to bust.
Many computer simulations have been run to determine the frequency that a dealer will bust based on their up card. Take a look at the table at the bottom of this page.
The worst cards for the dealer are the two through six. They will bust more times with these cards showing. Your double down will be successful more against these cards. There are other situations where you will double down with a ten against the dealer’s nine or an eleven against a dealer’s ten. These are close calls and some newer players hesitate to do this. Although you will not be as successful with these plays as many times as when the dealer has a smaller card it is still the correct strategy to do so. In the long run you will win more money by doubling in these situations than you will lose.
Go For It
Some players are hesitant to double down because they are afraid of losing a double bet. If the size of your bet when you double down makes you sweat, then you are playing at table stakes higher than you should be.
Most casinos will let you double down for less than your original bet providing it meets the table minimum. This is foolish. You only double in favorable situations and it are to your advantage to double for the maximum. Strike while the iron is hot!!
As an experienced player I can say that I love double down situations. But you must realize that there will be times when you will run into a negative streak. I have had some nights when the majority of my double down hands were losers. Its frustrating but negative fluctuations occur. If you are a newer player and this happens, you may have a tendency to want to deviate from correct strategy and not double down. Do not give in to the temptation.
Doubling down is extremely profitable and it is factored in to the figures that are computed for the house edge. When you don’t double down in the proper situations you are not playing correct basic strategy and you will be increasing the house edge. Seize the moment and double down when you can.
Fan Tan Rules – Card Game
Fan Tan, which Hoyle’s Rules of Games indicates may have been named after a Chinese gambling game, is also known as Stops or Sevens.
Players
3 to 8 players. Probably best with 4 or 5 players.
Deck
Standard 52-card deck. King is high; Ace is low.
Goal
To be the first player to get rid of all his cards.
Setup
Shuffle the deck and choose a dealer, who deals the entire deck out. Some players may receive one card more than others. This will even out over several hands.
Gameplay
A key rule in Fan Tan is that each player must play if they can. Breaking or even simply forgetting this rule can ruin the game.
The 7s are always playable.
The player to the left of the dealer plays first and play continues in a clockwise direction. If he has a 7, he must play it; otherwise, he must pass. When a 7 is played, it’s laid in the middle of the table because it forms a foundation for other cards to be played on.
Once a 7 is played, the 6 and 8 of the same suit are playable. Place the 6 to one side of the 7 and the 8 to the other. Future plays are made on these cards, always in sequential order. On the 6s, the sequence is 5-4-3-2-A. On the 8s, the sequence is 9-10-J-Q-K.
Winning
The first player to play all of his cards wins the hand.
Poker Games, Why Play Blackjack
Blackjack is the most popular casino table game. When played properly it has a house edge of less than one percent, which is the lowest house advantage of any table game. The casinos set the edge at two percent for assigning comps but I have seen documents showing the house sometimes has a hold (profit) of more than ten percent in some cases. How can that be? The reason is that the game is not played properly by many players. A player can give up a huge advantage to the house by playing hunches
Unlike craps and roulette, in Blackjack the decisions you make at the table have an effect on the house edge. In roulette the house edge is 5.26%. There are 38 numbers on the wheel and each spin is an independent event. In craps there are only 36 combinations of the dice. This never changes thus each roll of the dice is an independent event as well.
Blackjack however is a game based on dependent events. This means that as each card is dealt the make up of the cards remaining in the deck changes. Big cards left in the deck favor the player and small cards favor the dealer. The advantage shifts back and forth from player to dealer. This is the basis behind card counting. A card counter will bet more when he has the advantage and less when it favors the dealer. The subject of card counting will be left for another time. You don’t have to learn card counting to bring the house edge down less than one percent.
Because blackjack has a fixed set of rules which must be followed by the dealer a mathematically correct strategy can be derived insure optimum play. This known as basic strategy and was refined by Julian Braun who worked for IBM and ran millions of hands through a main frame computer decades ago before the advent of the personal computer. Utilizing basic strategy a player will decide how to play his hand depending on the dealer exposed (up) card. A player will stand, hit, double or split his cards to give him the best chance of winning the hand.
The object of blackjack is to beat the dealer not to try to get close to twenty-one. Because the player must act first it is sometimes the player’s advantage to stand on a hand that has the potential going over 21 when the dealer also has card that can bust him. If the player and the dealer both bust the player loses the hand. That is why it is important that the player learn to play his hand correctly to insure the best outcome based on the mathematically correct strategy.
Blackjack is a great game with a low house advantage that is fun to play. It is not difficult to learn to play correctly. Many casinos will even let you use a basic strategy chart at the table for reference but with a little effort on your part you will soon be able to make the correct decisions without one.