Learn About Blackjack - Page 2

Insurance: When the dealer's up-card is an ace, the dealer will stop the game and offer an optional side bet, called "insurance." To play this side bet, you place a new wager equal to half of your original bet in the insurance box. The dealer looks at the down-card, and if the card is a 10, the dealer will turn it over for a blackjack. You lose your original bet, but win the insurance bet and are paid at 2 to 1. If the dealer does not have a lO-value card, you lose the insurance bet, and the hands are played out normally.
The insurance bet has almost a 6-percent house advantage and is considered a poor bet for the player. Another technique employed by the casino is to offer "even money" for your blackjack in lieu of the bonus of 3 for 2 payout.

Surrender: This option is not offered in many casinos. However, this is a good option for you, the player. There are two kinds of surrender: early and late. Early surrender allows you to throw in your hand, or "surrender," before the facedown card of the dealer is looked at. Late surrender allows you to throw in your hand after the down-card is seen by the dealer. You must state "surrender" to the dealer while discarding your hand. (There is no hand signal for this action, so you must speak to the dealer directly.) The cost of surrender is one-half of the original wager, and you are out of that specific round. Your surrender options are:

• Surrender 9-7 or lO-6 against dealer's 9, lO, or ace

• Surrender 10-5 against dealer's 10

If you have a 16 or a 15 hand, you have the worst and second-worst hand in blackjack, respectively. With the dealer showing a lO or an ace, you have a greater than 75-percent chance of losing that round. Surrender is an excellent option in this case, as it allows you to save some of your wager for the next round.

Soft hand: This is not really an option for the player but should be discussed in detail. Any hand containing an ace is said to be a "soft hand." An ace-7 can be counted as an 8 or an 18 (it's the player's choice). If two aces are received along with, say, a 5, the player will have 5-ace-ace, which can be counted as a 7 or a 17. Soft hands can be confusing to a player. When you are not sure what your hand totals, ask the dealer what you have. He will tell you.

The ace can be confusing in the heat of the game. Try using this technique: always count the ace as a 1, and then total all the cards in your hand, including the aces, and then add 10. For example: ace + 2 + ace + 7 = 11 + 10 = 21. If you go over 21, discard the 10. Counting this way will help prevent you from hitting a soft 19, 20, or even 21 by mistake.