Official Blackjack Rules

Official Blackjack Regulations - Official Blackjack Rules

I guess in states where gambling is allowed, there are regulations for how blackjack is to be played. In Oklahoma, for example, the house has to charge an ante of 50 cents on every blackjack hand. Theoretically speaking, the house doesn't actually win any money on players' actual blackjack losses - that money is given to charity, is what one Oklahoma blackjack dealer told me. The house's only profit is the ante on each hand. (I'm not even going to mention how the ante destroys the payback percentage for the game.) Anyway, charging a 50 cent ante sounds like an "official blackjack rule". Since it's a state requirement, it might even be considered part of Oklahoma's "official blackjack regulations".

I would also think that official blackjack rules would come into play any time there's a major blackjack event or blackjack tournament. Some might argue that, compared to poker, blackjack doesn't have any "major" events or tournaments, but even minor blackjack events would have official rules and regulations. But these official blackjack rules probably cover more than just when to hit and to stand. They also cover what kinds of cards are used, what happens if a card falls off the table, how many hours a dealer can work, and so on.

Different casinos have different blackjack rules that they follow too. The official rule at one casino might be completely different at another casino. There is no worldwide blackjack association which sets up official rules for the game, like you'd see in billiards or something like that. While blackjack is definitely a game of skill, it's not really a competitive sport like bowling or darts or something like that. Now those are some games which have "official rules".

In some casinos, the dealer hits a soft 17. In other casinos, she stands. The official blackjack rules for what she does in that situation are set by the casino, and they can be changed at any time by the casino. The rules for being able to surrender vary from casino to casino too. And each casino has official rules for when you can split pairs, and whether or not you can resplit a hand once it's been split. And rules vary from casino to casino about doubling down too.

And just in case you were actually hoping for real rules for playing blackjack, here is a quick overview. Just remember that these rules aren't really official:

1. A blackjack hand starts with 2 cards.
2. The cards have a point value equal to their rank. Face cards count as 10, and aces can be counted as 1 or as 11.
3. Any hand totaling over 21 busts and automatically loses.
4. Players can opt to take additional cards by hitting, in an attempt to improve their score.
5. Players can also opt to stand, or keep the score that they currently have.
6. If the dealer has a higher total than the player, the dealer wins.
7. Unless the dealer busts.
8. And that also assumes that the player didn't bust.
9. A natural blackjack pays out at 3:2 usually.
10. Some really lame casinos only pay out at 6:5 on a natural blackjack.
11. A natural blackjack consists of an ace and a ten.
12. Counting cards may or may not be against the "official blackjack rules" at a casino, but almost all casinos discourage the practice.

And that's a really quick, brief rundown of the rules of blackjack. I don't really have a lot of information about official blackjack regulations,  but those probably differ radically from state to state and from casino to casino anyway. Good luck at the tables.

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