BLACKJACK

Liberty Slots Casino offers a number of different variations of Blackjack, including Traditional Blackjack, Perfect Pairs Blackjack, Vegas Strip Blackjack, and Progressive Blackjack. Each version of the game has additional betting rules, so make sure to read up on individual game info.

How to Play Blackjack

In Blackjack, the players around the table are competing against the house or the dealer. The object of the game is for the players’ hands to add up to 21 without going over. The player wins when either hitting 21 on their first 2 cards or by getting closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand.

Blackjack is played on a semi-circular table with 5 or 7 playing positions. Before any cards can be dealt, bets must be placed in the circles provided. The dealer then deals cards from the deck or what is commonly referred to as the ‘shoe’. Traditionally a shoe may contain anywhere from one standard 52 card deck to up to 6 or even 8 decks of cards.

The online blackjack rules provided below are based on a single deck shoe, using a 52 standard card deck, shuffling after each hand dealt – at Liberty Slots this is our Traditional Blackjack.

At the table there are 5 positions available for bets and players may bet on 1 or all 5 hands of blackjack at the same time. Each hand must have its own separate bet against the dealer.

Each hand is then dealt 2 cards face up, while The Dealer also receives 2 cards, but one is face down. The card facing down is referred to as the ‘hole card’.

If the players hand totals 16 or less, they must take another card or ‘hit’ and if their hand totals 17 or more they can choose to hit or stand.

All face cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings) have a value of 10.

Aces have a value of either 1 or 11, whichever value is most beneficial to the players hand. A hand containing an Ace, whose value does not exceed 21 is called a ‘soft hand’. For example, an Ace and eight will add up to 19, but if the player chooses to take another card causing the hand to exceed 21, the Ace will revert to a value of 1.

When an Ace is dealt in combination with any face card or a 10, it is called “Blackjack” and the hand automatically held. Blackjack pays out 3 to 2 odds.

When dealt a pair of cards, you may SPLIT them to make 2 hands; however, you will have to add a second wager to the new hand. Each hand is then played separately.

If dealt a pair of Aces, you may split them; however, if the next card dealt is a 10 or a face card it is no longer considered Blackjack. Such a hand would just have a value of 21. This rule also applies to splitting pairs of cards with a value of ten. Should you split a pair of tens (or face cards) and then receive an ace, this hand is not a Blackjack.

When splitting Aces, a player will only receive 1 more card to complete the hand. If you receive another matching card, you cannot split your hand(s) again.

A hand valuing 21 will beat any dealer hand lower than 21, it will tie or ‘PUSH’ against a dealer 21, unless the dealer has Blackjack, in which case the dealer wins.

If the initial value of a hand is 9, 10 or 11 a player is allowed to DOUBLE. This is a bet that your hand with one more card will total more than the dealer’s hand. To DOUBLE your bet, you must add an equal amount to the original bet. If the hand is won, players are paid double the total bet (4x the original bet).

Players may purchase INSURANCE if the dealer’s face up card is an Ace. INSURANCE is purchased prior to playing your hand(s). If you purchase INSURANCE and then SPLIT or DOUBLE your hand(s), the value of your INSURANCE bet is also doubled.

If you purchased INSURANCE and the dealer has Blackjack, you break even. If the dealer does not have blackjack, you continue to play, but lose your INSURANCE bet.

Terms to remember

BUST
Any hand exceeding a total of 21. If the dealer BUSTS all players with totals less than 21 win.

BLACKJACK
A combination of an Ace and a face card or 10 dealt as the initial 2 cards. Blackjack beats all hands except if the dealer also has Blackjack – this is a PUSH

INSURANCE
A bet made when the dealer’s face card is an Ace. This protects the players initial bet in case of the dealer having blackjack.

PUSH
When the players hand and dealer’s had are equal, the hand is a tie or PUSH and the original bet returned.