The Swedish Blackjack Site

International Blackjack rules

These rules are the ones used on swedish casinos and even some more rules that might be used on international casinos, but it varies much. The rules that might be different are discussed beneath.

Basic rules

The player plays against the dealer (the bank) independent of other players. The goal is to draw cards that together gives 21 or as close as possible without exceeding 21. All dressed cards are worth 10 and ace is worth 1 or 11.
If the player is closer to 21 than the dealer he wins as much as he bet, except when he has a blackjack, that pays 3:2.
You have blackjack when the first 2 cards equals 21. That would be a dressed card / 10 and an ace.
The player may take as many cards as he wants to until he gets 'bust' except when he has split 2 aces, then he is only allowes one more card. If the player has 21 he may draw more cards but not if he has blackjack.
The dealer has to draw to 16 and stay on 17. Blackjack beats 21.
If the bank has A,6 it is 17, while the player can choose,7 or 17.
If the bank and the player has the same total it's a 'stand off'.
Stand off means the player neither wins or looses, he keeps his bet.

Double

If the guest on his first two cards have 7,8,9,10 or 11 he has another chance to winst. He doubles his bet and get one more card and then have to stop.
If the player doubles on 9/19 och get a 2 it totals 11 because he doubles on 9 because double at 19 isn't allowed.

Split

If the players first two cards is the same figure he can double his bet and split these and then play two separate hands. Split is allowed multiple times. If the player has 7,8,9,10,11 after the split he has the possibility to double if he wants to. If the players split 2 aces he only gets one more card on each, if he then gets a dress card / ten it is 21, not blackjack.

Insurance and even money

If the dealer's first card is an ace, the player can insure himself in case the dealer might get a black jack. The players then pays half his original bet as an insurance. If the dealer then gets blackjack the player keeps his bet and the insurance.
Actually the insurance pays 2 times the insurance bet and you lose the bet but it even out; exception below.
If the dealer doesn't get blackjack the bank takes the insurance bet and the game continues as normal.
If the player has blackjack and the dealer gets an ace as his first card the player is offered 'even money' which means that the player then gets his money payed out immediately but only 1:1. So he doesn't get the usual 3:2 for a BJ but he doesn't risk to not win at all in case the dealer gets a BJ.
The reason for even money is this;

Imagine you have blackjack and wants to insure it, say you're playing for $10 The insurance bet is then $5. Two things might occur:
Dealer gets BJ: You keep your $10 plus $5 from the insurance, and win $10 on the insurance, result: +$10
Dealer doesn't get BJ: You keep your $10, lose the $5 from the insurance, and win $15 from your BJ, result: +$10
Even money also means +$10. Even money is just a more simple form of insurance.

Over / Under 13

To participate in the game the playermust take part in the blackjack-game. The player then bet if the first two cards are over or under 13. The table must be provided with special boxes for this purpose. At 13 the bank wins. Ace is counted as 1, dressed cards as 10 and other cards as normal.
If the player bet under 13 and get 2 aces it pays 3:2, otherwise he's paid 1:1 if he wins.
Odds for over / under (not verified);
13: 8,28 % , Over: 46,7 % , Under: 45,0 %
So if you'r not a card counter avoid over / under.

Surrender

Surrender means that after your first two cards you can give up. By doing so you lose half your bet and the game is finished. If you bet $10 then you lose $5 and keep $5. This can be good sometimes if you have for example 16 and the bank has an ace your chance of winning is very small and surrender might be a good choice.
This rule is not used at swedish casinos. Differences in rules In some casinos the bank is allowed to draw at 7/17, soft 17. That gives the bank alittle bigger chance of winning.
International it is a common rule that you'r only allowed to split aces once.
You are not allways allowed to double after a split, giving the bank more advantage.
Double might only be allowed on 9,10,11 or 10,11. Some places you can double at any two cards, which gives an increased chance of winning.