Beginners always ask lots of questions especially when the player was a former poker player and cannot help but notice some resemblance in the game. You’ll see them asking questions like “Is blackjack poker?” Well, blackjack isn’t poker, blackjack is a different game from poker and blackjack is simply a more popular variant of poker. Do you have similar questions like that? Not to worry, in this blog post, I’ll be covering some of the most common questions beginners ask and who knows you just might find the answer to your question.

10+ common questions beginners always ask

1. How do you play blackjack?

There are basically two ways through which you can play blackjack. You can either play the game at a land-based casino or an online casino.

In the game of blackjack, you are not competing with other players rather you’ll be playing against the dealer. The game aims to beat the dealer and you can go about that in two ways. 

You can either have cards that total 21 or have a card count value that’s closer to 21 than your dealer’s cards count.

You can also win if your dealer bust.

In blackjack, the cards have the value 2 through 10 except for the ace which could be 1 or 11 (its value depends on which point will get you the best hand) and the face cards King, Queen, and Joker which have values of 10. In blackjack, the suits do not matter.

Before you’ll be able to play, you’ll have to place a bet. After placing the bet, the dealer will give you two cards and the dealer also gets to receive two cards. One of the dealer’s cards will be open (dealt face up). At this point, you can choose to apply any of the four blackjack strategies you are familiar with. You can choose to split, hit, double down, or stand. When the game ends the cards are counted and the hand with a total of 21 or the closest to 21 wins. In the case where both hands have 21 a push occurs and you’ll receive your original bet.

2. What happens when I get a blackjack?

Blackjack is simply a 2-card hand that total 21. The cards that can help you achieve a blackjack are those that have a value of 10 and an ace. In most casinos, the standard payout is 3:2 i.e., if you wagered $100 you’ll end up receiving $150. Some casinos offer a 6:2 payout. For those casinos, you’ll be receiving $120 instead of $150 for the $100 wagered. It’s best to avoid such casinos (casinos with a 6:5 payout) they do not offer the best odds for the player.

3. How do you win at blackjack?

Among all the cards games one can play at a casino, blackjack offers one of the best odd but that doesn’t mean the house still doesn’t have an advantage over you. As an average player, to win you’ll need lady luck on your side and knowing how to quit when you are when you winning otherwise in the long run, the house would still win except you knew some sort of advantage gambling strategies such as card counting and shuffle tracking which can help you in beating the dealer always but those strategies require adequate knowledge, time, and practice which most players are unable to do.

4. What’s a push in blackjack?

A push is a term that’s used to refer to a tie. In the event where a push should occur, you’ll be able to get back the amount you staked without the winnings.

5. Does blackjack offer the best odds?

The answer is Yes. Blackjack actually does offer one of the best odds for gamblers. The house edge for blackjack ranges between 0.19% and 1% that’s if you play according to a correct betting strategy.

Many other casino games do not come to blackjack in terms of the odds offered. As a matter of fact, the only game that comes close to blackjack in terms of the odds offered is video poker and that’s probably because they have lower betting limits. 

6. Are phones allowed at a blackjack table?

Different casinos have different rules so the rule concerning the usage of phones at a blackjack table varies. In general, though, lots of casinos prevent the usage of mobile phones when you are at a blackjack table. 

For casinos that do not have restrictions against it, in those casinos, that action is considered as poor casino etiquette and in some cases, it’s viewed as being rude.

7. Is Downtown Vegas Blackjack different from Vegas Strip Blackjack?

The difference lies in the rules. The rules in Downtown Vegas are more liberal than the rules on a strip. In a strip casino, you are likely to see most blackjack games being dealt from a shoe containing as many as 8 decks of cards in it in order to reduce the player’s chances against the casino. Additionally, that method also makes it harder for the player to count cards.

Then there are minimum bets too. The minimum bets in a Las Vegas Strip casino are usually on the high side when compared to its Downtown counterpart.

8. Can blackjack be rigged in a casino?

Pretty much any game can be rigged in a casino and blackjack is no different. But then blackjack is rarely or never rigged in a casino as opposed to what many people may believe and that’s because the casinos usually have the odds in their favour so there really is no need to cheat. 

Since we can’t entirely rule out the possibility of the game being rigged, a good way to be sure that the casino you are playing at isn’t ripping you off your money is playing in a licensed, registered, and trusted gambling company. If you are in search of a new online casino site that’s licensed, registered, and trusted where you can play your favourite games like blackjack without the fear of being ripped off then you should take a trip online to casinomarin.

9. When should I take insurance?

Insurance should only be taken when you are counting cards. Insurance is simply a side bet in which the odds are against you. If you are a player who counts cards, you should be able to tell when the situation demands that you take insurance otherwise please avoid it, it’s a sucker’s bet.

Also taking insurance at the right time might hint to the casino that you are card counter and casinos often frown at advantage gamblers which means you could get kicked out of the casino.

10. How do casinos make their money from blackjack?

Casinos do not make money from blackjack alone. On the contrary, they make money from all casino games but by a small, subtle rule detail. The rule detail often varies between games for instance in the game of roulette, the rule detail lies in the presence of the 0 and the 00 boxes on the wheel.

Now back to blackjack. In the game, of blackjack, the casino makes its money by forcing you to play your hand first and in the event where you bust, you’ll lose immediately. The dealer doesn’t show their hand until you have already shown yours whereas in a fair game both the dealer and the player are supposed to show their hands at the end of the game so that if both of them are busted the result would be a push but in the casino’s blackjack, you’ll get busted first and the dealer doesn’t need to reveal their card because your game or the round has already ended. 

11. Is card counting illegal?

Count counting is allowed so long as you don’t use any device to help you keep track of your counting. Card counting is a mind game so how could it be illegal? You are just basically thinking as you are playing.

Casinos hate card counters and in some casinos, if they realize that you are a card counter, you could get barred from playing in such casinos.