How to Play Atlantic City Blackjack
Atlantic City Blackjack plays out much the same way as any Blackjack game. The aim is to build a hand of cards with a value as close to 21 as possible but without going over 21, which is called going bust. When the round finishes, if your hand is closer to 21 than the dealer’s is, then you have won.
Hand values are very easy to understand in Blackjack. Aces count as either 1 or 11, Jacks, Queens and Kings all count as 10, and the cards 2 through 10 count as their face values. Therefore, you can build a hand of 21 with just two cards, and Ace and a 10 card. This hand is known as Blackjack; it is the strongest possible hand and cannot be beaten.
At the start of the round, you need to place your bet. When you are happy with your bet, click on ‘Deal’ and you will receive two face-up cards while the dealer will receive one facedown card and one face-up.
If the dealer’s face-up is an Ace or a 10 card, then the dealer will peak for Blackjack. If the dealer does not have Blackjack then you will have the option to Surrender your hand in exchange for half of your bet back. If the dealer’s face-up card is an Ace then you will have the option to take out insurance. This costs half of your original bet and if the dealer does have Blackjack then you are paid at 2:1.
You then have a few basic options for your hand:
- Stand – The hand remains as it is and play moves to the dealer.
- Hit – You receive another card to the hand.
- Double Down – This is only possible after your first two cards are dealt. Your bet is doubled, you receive one more card to the hand, and play goes to the dealer.
- Split – If your first two cards have the same value then you can split them into two hands by placing another bet equal to your first. If you split a pair of Aces then you will receive just one more card to each hand. Furthermore, split Aces cannot form Blackjack, just a hand of 21. You can split a maximum of three times per round, which equals four hands, and double down is available after a split.
- Surrender – If you believe that you have a weak hand, you can abandon it and receive half of your bet back.
After you have played your hand, it is the dealer’s turn. The dealer will always draw more cards until the hand is worth at least 17 and stand as soon as it is.
At the end of a round, winning hands are paid at 2:1 except Blackjack, which is paid out at 3:2. If both you and the dealer have the same value hand then the bet is returned as a push.
