The Newbie's Guide to Playing Online Blackjack

If you have played Blackjack in a live casino before, you would have very little problems adjusting to its online version. But even if you have never been at a gambling establishment, it won't take long before you get used to playing on the Internet.

The first step you take in playing online Blackjack is downloading the software. Most of these applications are small, and installing them is just a matter of clicking setup.exe and following the instructions. After you register, you're ready to play the game.

Unless you are playing a Blackjack variant, the rules of the game are still the same: you play against the dealer, the objective being to reach 21 or as near to it as possible without going over. The face cards have a value of ten, the Ace 1 or 11 and the rest are face valued.

Now you click and drag your chips to the betting area. After that, the casino dealer will hand you two cards, one up and one down. In online Blackjack, you have the option of taking another card (hitting) if the value is too low. The number of cards you can draw vary from one to three. If you like your card total as they are, you should stand.

In traditional online Blackjack, you have the choice of splitting the hand if you are dealt a pair (55, 66, etc.) If you decide on a split, each card will be treated separately, providing you with an extra opportunity to win more money. As with the live version, you can double your bet (double down) if you feel that you have a good chance of winning, or the dealer is going to bust.

The insurance option (betting that the dealer has a Blackjack) is also available in online play, but as in the brick and mortar version, this option is rarely exercised by players, owing to the odds against it.

When playing online Blackjack, you should check the rules on how the dealer handles card totals of 17. In most online games, the dealer is allowed to take another card on a soft 17. This is ideal for some because if you have a higher card total than that, odds are high the dealer will bust out.

Playing online Blackjack is very simple, and while the game may take a while to master completely, learning how to play is where it all starts. Now that you know how straightforward the process is, you can concentrate on getting the best cards possible so that you can take down that big payout.