Single Deck Blackjack
The aim of Single Deck Blackjack, as with all forms of Blackjack, is to get more than the dealer without going over 21. The main difference between Single Deck Blackjack and other forms is that it is played with just 1 deck of 52 cards as opposed up to 8 decks at a time. A different deck is used for every hand.
Rules
• First of all, you need to place your bet. This needs to be between the table minimum and maximum. The Dealer then deals you 2 cards face up and himself 1 card face up and 1 face down.
• If the dealer shows an Ace you will be offered Insurance. This is a separate bet as to whether the Dealer has Blackjack, i.e. the face-down card is valued at 10. If they do, the hand ends here, you lose unless you had Blackjack as well in which case it is a push and your stake is returned.
• If the hand doesn’t end here, it is your turn to play. You have a minimum of 3 decisions to make at this point, sometimes more depending on your cards. The choices you can have are as follows:
o Stand – Keep the hand you have.
o Hit – Get dealt another card, you can then make a further decision after this.
o Double – Double your bet and take one more card, you will then Stand.
o Split – If your cards are of equal value, you can Split them. This gives you a 2nd hand with one of each cards in each. You will need to pay a further bet equal to your first and then get another card dealt for each. You will then be able to decide your next move for each hand as per the above unless you Split Aces, in which case you will get 1 more card for each hand but must the Stand on each.
• If at any time your hand totals 22 or more, you ‘Bust’ and lose on that hand.
• Once you have finished your turn, either by Standing on all hands or Busting, the Dealer turns over their 2nd card.
• If their hand is 17 or higher, they will Stand. If they have 16 or lower, they will Hit and receive an extra card. The Dealer has to abide by these rules even if they have a 16 which is higher than all your hands. The Dealer continues receiving cards until they have a total of between 17 and 21 in which case they Stand, or their hand goes over 21, in which case they Bust and you win any hands that are left.
• If the Dealer Stands, payouts are made. If the Dealer has the higher value hand the Player loses, if the player has the higher hand he/she wins and if the values are the same, the hand ‘pushes’ and stakes are returned.
• If you have a winning hand, you receive winnings of even money on each hand unless you got Blackjack – An Ace and a 10 in your first 2 cards – in which case you are paid at 3 to 2 on that hand
In the Single Deck Blackjack example below, we had 18 to the Dealers 17, therefore we won at even money.
