Blackjack Card Worth

If his first card is a 7, it pays 3 to 1. If his first two cards are 7s, the payoff depends on whether they are suited (100 to 1) or unsuited (50 to 1). Draw a third 7 and now it really gets interesting. If his first three cards are unsuited 7s, the payoff is 500 to 1, and if suited, he receives the top payoff of 5,000 to 1. Entire books have been devoted to the subject, but all basic strategies revolve around the fact that there are more cards worth 10 in the deck than any other value - 16 out of 52 cards are worth 10. Knowing this, a basic-strategy player assumes that the dealer's second card will be worth.

1. Rules Of Blackjack
2. Blackjack Card Worth
3. Joker In Blackjack

• Appendices
• Miscellaneous
• External Links

Introduction

Her value is unique, akin to no other card, and in the game of blackjack, if we are ever so lucky to be dealt a pair of Aces, split them apart so they don't get jealous of one another. Naturally, there is an increased risk when splitting, as we need to double our bet to create two hands, but she's worth every penny. Like the basic rules of blackjack that we mentioned earlier, these blackjack card values can present some sneaky ways for the casino to preserve its house edge. Particularly, the casino loves a blackjack card value of 17.

Let me say loud and clear that card counting is hard and is not as rewarding as television and the movies make it out to be. If it were an easy way to make money, then everyone would be doing it.

If you do not know the basic strategy, trying to count cards is highly ill-advised. Experienced card counters still play by the basic strategy the great majority of the time.There can be no short cut around learning the basic strategy, those who attempt card counting without a firm foundation in the basic strategy are making a big mistake.

To be a successful counter you have to be able to countdown a deck fast and memorize large tables of numbers as well as make it look like you're just a casual player.Furthermore, with today's rules, a realistic advantage the counter will have is only 0.5% to 1.5%. You will not win money slowly and gradually but your bankroll will go up and down like a roller coaster in the short run. Only in the long run, over hundreds of hours of playing, can you count on winning.

The underlying principle behind card counting is that a deck rich in tens and aces is good for the player, a deck rich in small cards is good for the dealer. When the counter knows the odds are in his favor, he will bet more, and adjust his playing strategy to stand, double, and split in some plays where basic strategy says to stand. All the options the player has at his disposal favor the player even more when the deck is ten and ace rich. Here is a list and a brief reason why.

Standing: The player may stand on stiff totals of 12 to 16, and the dealer may not. In ten-rich shoes, hitting stiff hands becomes more dangerous, favoring the more conservative player strategy.

Insurance: On average, when the dealer has an ace up, the remaining cards in blackjack will be 30.87% tens (based on a six-deck game), making insurance a bad bet. However, if the probability gets above 33.33%, it becomes a good bet. Counters know when the remaining cards are ten-rich, and make powerful insurance bets at those times.

Doubling: Usually, when the player doubles he wants a ten. In ten-rich shoes, the player makes better double downs, getting closer to 21.

Blackjack: Both player and dealer will see more blackjacks, but the player gets paid 3 to 2, and the dealer does not.

Surrender: The alternative to surrendering is much worse in ten-rich shoes. If the alternative is hitting, the player is more likely to bust. If the player would otherwise stand, due to the high count, the dealer is still more likely to get a 10. While the counter will surrender more in high counts, the savings will be greater.

Splits: The player is usually splitting high cards and/or off of a weak dealer card. Either way, a ten-rich shoe helps the player get higher totals, and increases the probability of the dealer busting.

I'm working on an in-depth study of how these effects break down. The contribution to each factor depends on the rules, deck penetration, and bet spread. However, based on average conditions in a six-deck shoe, my initial results break down the benefits of counting as follows.

Why Card Counting Works

The probability for insurance was taken from Don Schlesinger's 'Illustrious 18' list, as found in Blackjack Attack. The rest of the breakdown is mine.

To gauge the richness of the deck in good cards, the player will keep track of the cards the are already played. Strategies vary, but all assign a point value to each card. For example, the hi-lo count assigns a value of +1 to 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and -1 to tens and aces. Everything else is 0, or neutral. At the beginning of a deck or shoe, the count is 0. Then the counter constantly adds and subtracts from the count, according to the cards played. This running total is called the 'running count.' A positive count means that a disproportional number of small cards have already been played, which means that the deck is rich in large cards. To determine the 'true count,' divide the running count by the number of decks left to be played, or in some strategies, the number of half decks. This will tell you the relative richness of the deck in good cards.

The true count is used in two ways, to determine how much to bet and how to play your hand. Unless it is obvious, every situation has a line in which you should play one way if the count is above the line and another if below. For example, a 12 against a 6 may dictate that you stand if the true count is -1 or greater and hit if the true count is less than -1. The counter will also bet more when the true count is high, meaning the deck is rich in good cards.

A problem arises when it comes to treating aces. The player should bet more when the deck is rich in aces since they add to the probability of getting a blackjack. However, when it comes to playing your hand, the number of aces left is not nearly as important as the number of tens, so it is desirable, but not necessary, to distinguish between tens and aces. Some card counting strategies keep a side count of aces. In the Hi-Opt I and Revere Plus/Minus aces are counted separately and only considered when making the wager. This is a more accurate and powerful way to play than assigning a negative value to aces and not keeping a side count, as some strategies do. Yet, many people feel that for the beginner it is too confusing to keep two counts. A player is more likely to make mistakes keeping two counts and that costs money. The efficiency of a strategy that does not keep a side count of aces is only modestly less, but you likely will gain more from fewer mistakes made. Different experts fall in various places in the spectrum in terms of what to recommend for the beginner. The Zen Count takes the middle ground and gives aces a value of -1 and tens -2. Personally, I have tried both and would recommend against a count that requires a side count of aces to a person ready to take up card counting. The Uston Advanced Plus/Minus is a good strategy that does not involve an ace side count and can be found in the book Million Dollar Blackjack. How well you know a counting strategy is much more important than which strategy you know.

Legally speaking, the player may play blackjack any way he wants without cheating or using a computer, and the casinos may do anything from making conditions unfavorable to barring, in an effort to stop anyone who they deem has an advantage over the game. Much of the challenge of card counting is avoiding suspicion that you are anything but a normal non-counting player. The most obvious indication that somebody is counting is that they make a substantial increase in bet size after a lot of small cards leave the table. Although the greater the factor by which you can increase your bet the greater your odds of winning, more than doubling your last bet is a fast way to arouse 'heat'from the dealer and pit boss. Usually when casinos employees realize you are counting, they will either shuffle the cards whenever you increase your bet, essentially removing any advantage, or ask you to leave.

This is only scraping the surface of the subject of card counting. I suggest the following pages of mine.

Practice

Practice your card counting skills with our trainer.

Internal Links

• Blackjack main page.
• Hi-Lo Count.
• The Ace-Five Count, possibly the easiest way to count cards.
• Book review section, for suggestions on good blackjack books.

External Resources

• Blackjackinfo - A complete course covering everything from basic strategy to card counting
• BJ21 - By Stanford Wong; A membership based community covering all aspects of card counting.

There are different games on the casino floor but few of them hold the appeal of the game of 21. Blackjack has a special cachet that other gambling games like baccarat, roulette, and craps simply lack. Not surprisingly, this is the most popular table game in casinos and one of the top earners for the house, along with the infamous slot machines.

What makes the game of 21 so appealing, though? The first thing that comes to mind is the game's very simplicity. The premise of blackjack is beyond easy to grasp – players must beat the house's representative in the face of the dealer by getting as close to 21 as possible without going over. This simple peculiarity of blackjack makes it very attractive to players as it creates the somewhat romantic notion of 'us against them'.

• £10Minimum Deposit
• Mobile Casino
• 24/7 Support

Rules Of Blackjack

• £10Minimum Deposit
• Mobile Casino
• 24/7 Support

• £20Minimum Deposit
• Mobile Casino
• 24/7 Support

What also adds to the game's appeal is the fact that understanding the hand and card values in blackjack is easy and intuitive. Unlike poker, blackjack does not require memorizing any specific combinations of cards. All you need to know to play the game is the card ranking and how to add up to 21.

Another peculiarity of blackjack that distinguishes it from other casino games is its low house edge. Players who use perfect basic strategy can reduce the house advantage to almost zero and are nearly playing a break-even game. It gets better since blackjack is, in fact, a beatable game when one knows how to count cards.

Blackjack Card Worth

But, of course, one must learn how to crawl before they can walk. We suggest you start with the very basics if you are a blackjack novice and build up from there. In the following article, blackjack rookies will learn about the ranking of the cards, the hand totals, and the possible playing decisions you can make in blackjack.

The Deck and the Card Values

Before we go into any lengthy discussions regarding the different card and hand values, we shall clarify in brief the rules when it comes to the deck itself. The game is commonly dealt out of multiple decks, with most casinos using either six or eight full packs of cards. Vegas downtown casinos commonly utilize two decks while those on the Las Vegas Strip usually deal their blackjack games out of four packs.

Single-deck tables are available although most of them offer reduced payouts, paying at odds of 6 to 5 rather than 3 to 2 for blackjacks. Players should altogether refrain from playing 6 to 5 blackjack since this puts them at a higher disadvantage. As for the suits of the cards, these do not matter in the game of blackjack. Almost all variations of the game, except Spanish 21, and a few others, play with the complete set of 52 cards.

Joker In Blackjack

Short decks are used for Spanish 21 and Pontoon where the 10s of spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts are all removed. Short-deck games, however, compensate for the removal with more liberal rules like doubling down on any number of cards, among others.

As for dealing procedures themselves, single- and double-deck games are hand-held, meaning that the dealer holds the pack(s) in their hand and pitches the cards face-down toward players' betting spots. In this respect, hand-held blackjack kind of resembles poker.

Holding four or more decks in one's hand is obviously impossible, which is why multiple-deck games are dealt out of what is called a 'shoe'. Rather than pitching the cards unexposed towards players, the dealer would slide them one by one out of this plastic box, turn them over, and deal them to players face-up.

Shuffling Procedures

An increasing number of brick-and-mortar gambling venues are switching to shoe blackjack because the higher deck number enables the dealers to produce a greater number of hands per hour. In turn, this allows the casinos to extract more profits from players, who would lose more the more hands they play per hour due to the house edge.

Cards are reshuffled either manually by the dealers or via automatic shufflers (ASM) and continuous shufflers (CSM). The number of cards dealt before a reshuffle takes place varies between casinos and even between individual blackjack tables.

The dealer would use a colored plastic card, known as the cut card, to mark the point where the reshuffle should take place. In hand-held games, the cards usually are shuffled midway after six or seven hands, or at around 50% of the deck(s). At multi-deck tables, the dealers normally cut out a deck and a half to two decks but this all depends on the policies of the casino.

Tables that implement CSMs reshuffle after each round. The dealer places the discards into the continuous shuffler at the end of the round, so each round basically starts from a neutral shoe.

When the cards are reshuffled by the ASM or manually, the dealer would hand out the red cut card to one of the players and request them to cut the reshuffled shoe. One or more cards are then burned, which means the dealer would draw them out and remove them from play.

It is also worth noting that the players have the option to request a new shuffle before the dealer has reached the cut card. Many players ask for random shuffles when they are having a bad run.

Just keep in mind you should ask other seated players, if there are any, if they mind. Some people are superstitious and frown at random reshuffles. Most dealers are happy to accommodate such requests although it again depends on individual house policies.

The Values of the Cards in Blackjack

As for the values of the cards, these are beyond simple to remember.

• Pip cards 2 through 10 are counted according to their pip values, i.e. a 2 is assigned a value of 2, a 3 is counted as a 3, and so on, all the way up to 10.
• Court cards like the King, Queen, and Jack are all counted as 10, regardless of suit.
• The aces are the best cards for blackjack players because their value can change. They can be either 1 or 11, depending on the preferences of the player. It all depends on which of the two values helps the player's hand total the most. If the player draws a card that could cause them to exceed 21 (and lose, respectively), the ace's value automatically switches to 1 to prevent the bust.

Figuring Out the Total of Your Hands in Blackjack

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the different card values, it is time to talk about the hand as a whole. The game will begin by the dealer handing each player at the table two cards. Whether the cards are dealt exposed or not depends on whether you are playing hand-held or shoe games.

As you already know, the object of the game is to get to 21 or the closest without going over (or having a greater total from that of the dealer). The dealer would start distributing the cards from their left to their right. Once everyone has received their two cards, it is time to evaluate the strength of your hand total and determine what decision to make next.

You simply must add up the values of the two cards you are originally dealt. Here is an example. You start the round with 10/9 for a total of 19, in which case it would be wiser to refrain from drawing more cards.

The next round you are dealt K/5 for a hard 15 because the King counts as 10. You decide to hit, pull out a 6, and now stand with the highest hand total of 21. Next, you receive a 9/4 for a 13, you hit, pull out a Queen, and bust with a total of 23. Here is one final example so you can see how the flexible value of the aces works.

You receive A/2, which can be treated either as 3 or as 13. You hit and the dealer hands you a 3. Your hand is now soft 16, giving you the chance to choose from totals of 16 or 6. You decide to take another card and draw a Jack so that now you have A/2/3/J. Since the Jack would cause you to exceed 21, the ace is automatically treated as 1 and now you have a hard 16. Other than that, there are three ways to beat the dealer in blackjack, namely:

• The player has a hand total that is greater than the dealer's hand total. An example is K/9 versus the dealer's Q/7.
• The player obtains a blackjack (a ten-value card plus an ace) against a dealer with any other hand. An example is J/A versus the dealers' K/Q.
• The player also wins automatically with any hand whose total does not exceed 21 against a dealer who goes over 21. Such is the case with a 9/8 versus the dealer's 9/2/3/J (24).

Respectively, the player loses against the dealer if their hand busts with a card that takes it beyond 21, if the dealer has a blackjack but the player does not, and if the dealer outdraws the player by reaching a higher hand total.

Possible Playing Decisions

Once cards are dealt, the player has a choice from several possible playing decisions. What move they choose depends on the player's starting total and the value of the dealer's upcard. All hands should be played according to blackjack basic strategy which increases your winning chances, boosts the profits from good hands, and reduces the losses from losing ones. As for the possible playing decisions, these include insurance, surrendering, splitting, doubling, hitting, and standing.

• Hitting refers to when the player demands more cards from the dealer in an attempt to improve their hand's value. The player can hit as many times as they like until they bust or are satisfied with the total of their hand. Most casinos do not allow you to draw cards to blackjacks, which is a nonsensical move, to begin with. Blackjacks automatically stand and the dealer proceeds to service the next player.
• Standing refers to when the player has received a starting total they deem acceptable and do not wish to draw additional cards to their hand. The dealer would then move on to the next betting spot.
• Doubling is advisable when the player receives a good starting hand and the dealer receives a bad upcard that may cause them to bust. Doubling is possible only on your first cards. Some casinos would restrict this option to two cards that add up to 9, 10, or 11. When the player doubles, they must contribute an additional wager up to the amount of their initial bet. In exchange, the player receives only one more card and can no longer hit. Their hand stands automatically after the third card is drawn. If it wins, the player collects twice as much money. The opposite is true if the hand loses.
• Splitting is a viable move only if the player's first two cards comprise a pair, i.e. they have the same numerical value. The player can split by putting out a second bet that equals their original bet in size. The dealer would split the alike cards into two separate hands, with each split card becoming the first card of its corresponding new hand. Court cards can also be split although some casinos disallow splitting unlike tens like K/Q, for example. The hands are then played as normal. Most casinos allow you to resplit subsequent pairs up to three times and double down after splitting. Resplitting and hitting split aces are usually not permitted.
• Surrendering is a viable play when the player finds themselves in bad situations with hands that stand over a 50% chance of losing. With this move, you forfeit your bad hand to receive half of your initial wager back. Late surrender is more common where the dealer must check their hole card for a blackjack when their upcard is an ace or a ten before the player can surrender their hand.
• Taking insurance becomes available to players when the dealer draws an ace as their first card. To buy insurance, the player must put up a new bet equal to half of their initial wager. The dealer then checks for a blackjack and if they indeed have one, the insurance bet returns at odds of 2 to 1. The original wager loses unless the player also holds a blackjack. In case the dealer does not have a blackjack, the player loses their insurance and the round of play continues as normal.

The Order of Playing Decisions

The above-listed plays must be considered in a specific order. Some moves have a priority over others because they are possible only at the very beginning of a round when players are dealt their first two cards.

The first thing you should ask yourself is whether you should forfeit your hand (surrender) because surrendering becomes unavailable if you have previously made any of the other plays. If the answer is no, you proceed by considering whether you should split, provided that you have been dealt a pair.

If not, you move on to the next decision which is doubling down. This move is not always a good idea as it yields an advantage only on specific soft totals and two-card hands 8 through 11 against weaker dealer upcards. Check out our article on basic strategy to see the correct double-down plays for shoe games and double-deck blackjack.

Finally, the last two decisions that bear consideration are whether to hit or stand. These two decisions should also be exercised according to basic strategy. We have not included taking insurance here because this is always a bad play under basic strategy and as such, should never be made.

More Articles Covering Blackjack

Blackjack Basics
Blackjack Rules
Blackjack Variations
Multi Hand Blackjack
Single Deck Blackjack Rules
Vegas Downtown Blackjack
Vegas Strip Blackjack Rules
Atlantic City Blackjack
How to Hit a Hand
Splitting Hands in Blackjack
Insurance in Blackjack
Surrender in Blackjack
Standing a Hand
Blackjack Double Down
Splitting Hands in Blackjack
Blackjack Odds
Blackjack Strategy for Playing Hands
Blackjack Cards and Hands Value