Blackjack at Blackjack Ballroom

The Rules of Blackjack
Optimal Online Blackjack Strategy
Best Places to Play Blackjack Online

The Rules of Blackjack
The object of Blackjack is for the total of your cards to be closer to 21 than the dealer's cards, without exceeding 21. In Blackjack, aces count as either 1 or 11, face cards as 10, and number cards as their face value.

If you receive an ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards, you have Blackjack and win one and a half times your bet (if you bet was $10, you receive $25). If the total value of your cards is closer to 21 than the dealer's, you win as much as you had wagered (if your bet was $10, you receive $20). If the total of your cards is more than 21, you "bust" and lose your bet. If you and the dealer have the same card total (17 and up) neither of you win and your bet is returned to you in a "push". Blackjack beats a score of 21.

Split
If your first two cards have the same point value, you may split them into two separate hands by placing a second bet equal to the original bet. You then proceed to draw cards. You may draw as many cards as you like on each split hand, but if you split two aces, you receive only one additional card for each ace. If you receive an ace and a ten-value card in a split hand, it is counted as 21 and not Blackjack.

Double
After you are dealt two cards, and think that another card will allow you to beat the dealer's hand, you can increase your bet by an amount up to your original bet or "double" your bet. Your wager is doubled, and you are allowed to receive one more card.

Insurance
Insurance is considered to be a game of its own within Blackjack. If the dealer has an Ace as his up card, you'll be given a chance to buy insurance. When you buy insurance, you're betting that the dealer has a blackjack. It allows you to try and protect yourself when you think that the dealer may have Blackjack. When buying insurance, you place half of your initial bet by pressing the Insurance button. If the dealer does have Blackjack, you are paid 2 to 1 on your insurance bet. If the dealer doesn't have Blackjack, you lose your insurance bet.

10 Card Charlie
It is theoretically possible for the player to draw 10 card without going bust. In this case the player's hand automatically wins, except when the dealer has Blackjack.

Payouts
Winning hand: pays 1 to 1
Insurance: pays 2 to 1
Blackjack: pays 3 to 2

Optimal Online Blackjack Strategy
Many players make fundamental playing mistakes which greatly increase the house edge. The optimal strategy for playing blackjack online changes slightly depending on the software used by a particular online casino. If you really want to play perfect strategy, you can use our blackjack strategy cards to guide your play. For the rest of you, however, the house edge can be significantly decreased if you simply adhere to the following rules:
•  Stand on any hard 17 or better
•  Stand on any hard 12-16 if the dealer's up-card is a 3-6
•  Hit any hard 12-16 if the dealer's up-card is bigger than a 7
•  Double down on any 11 if the dealer's up-card is smaller than an ace
•  Double down on any 10 if he dealer's up-card is smaller than a ten
•  Always split aces and eights
•  Never split tens, fives or fours
•  Never take insurance

Blackjack Strategy Cards:
Blackjack Microgaming Strategy Card
Blackjack Cryptologic Strategy Card
Blackjack Realtime Gaming Strategy Card
Blackjack Playtech Strategy Card
Blackjack iGlobalMedia Strategy Card

Best Places to Play Blackjack Online
For our money we'll take Blackjack Ballroom. They offer seven different varieties of online blackjack, and the house edge with optimal play is less than one percent. The sign up bonus is huge (40% up to $400), so big players should be sure to take full advantage of this bonus.

		Blackjack Ballroom Casino Bonus: 40% up to $400 Casino Overview: The best thing about Blackjack Ballroom is the unrivaled game selection. With seven different varieties of blackjack, three varieties of roulette, and both video poker and slot progressives, Blackjack Ballroom has no shortage of games. The software is provided by Microgaming, which in our opinion is the best playing software out there. This is an enormously popular online casino amongst online gamers, due to the facts that they're part of the prestigious Casino Rewards group and that they offer a huge sign up bonus.