How to Play Blackjack for Beginners

Is it hard to learn blackjack? It depends on how seriously you want to become involved in this game.

Learning the basics is actually quite simple, and includes basic blackjack strategies to help you increase your chances of winning. However, blackjack players also use advanced strategies that are more challenging to learn.

In this guide, we’ll mainly deal with the basics, so make sure to read our guide carefully to learn how to play blackjack.

Before we continue with our blackjack guide, let’s take a look at the list of the best online casinos in the US that offer the popular card game.

All platforms on this page are licensed in the US and secure. Moreover, they offer a wide array of blackjack games, with many of them featuring live dealers.

Feel free to explore the available options and pick the one that meets your needs.

Blackjack is a card game that uses the standard type of playing cards and is played in land-based and online casinos. In this game, players play against the dealer, and the goal is to get as close as possible to 21 without going over it. The player who has the higher number wins, unless it’s above 21, in which case they go bust and lose the hand. 

The beauty of blackjack is to learn to assess every possible combination and decide what to do next. You can take several actions, the basic ones being hit, stand, split, and double down. We’ll explain each action in the section below, where we’ll discuss blackjack hand signals.

Every round starts by making a bet. After that, the blackjack dealer gives you two face-up cards. Finally, the dealer deals two cards to themselves, with one card being face-up. You have to decide what to do next based on the cards you received.

Finally, it’s important to know how much each card is worth in blackjack. Basically, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are worth their face value. 10, J, Q, K, and A are worth 10, except Ace can also be worth 1.

Blackjack hands guide is a strategy chart that tells you what to do based on your current hand.

Once the dealer gives you two cards, you’ll need to decide whether to hit, stand, split, or double down.

The blackjack hand guide considers every possible card combination and suggests the statistically best hand to play at that moment. If you stick to a chart, you can significantly lower the house edge in blackjack and increase your chances of winning.

• Tapping on the table means to hit.
• Putting a second bet on the table and holding one finger means to double down.

• Waving your hand on top of your chips means to stand.
• Putting a second bet on the table and holding two fingers means to split.

There are different betting strategies you can assume to have better control of your bankroll.

Please remember that betting strategies cannot actually help you improve your chances of winning. That’s why strategy charts and hand guides exist.

Betting strategies, such as martingale, 2-1-2, d’Alembert, and others, are there to make the game more interesting and help you be in control of your betting. They are perfect for beginners who don’t know how to organize their wagering.

Insurance is the most popular type of side bet that you can make if the dealer’s up card is an ace.

In that case, there’s a chance the dealer might have a blackjack. Insurance gives you the chance to return your invested money if that happens. In other words, you get your money back if the dealer gets 21 points on that round.

Side bets in blackjack are usually made separately from the main bet, and they give you a chance to earn more money.

The thing about side bets is that they are mostly based on the element of chance, so making them is a good idea only if you feel lucky. Some of the most popular side bets are perfect pairs, 21+3, insurance, royal match, over/under 13, super sevens, and lucky ladies.

1. Pick an online casino available in the US. The best options are featured on this page.
2. Find the registration button and fill out the registration form.
3. Log in to your account and go to the cashier section.
4. Select a preferred deposit option and make a deposit.

5. (Optional) Claim the welcome bonus offered by the online casino of your choice.
6. Find RNG or live dealer blackjack games you want to play and load one game.
7. Have fun!

If you want to test everything you’ve learned so far, check out our blackjack online guide. There you’ll find recommendations of places where you can play the popular game online.

Moreover, we also recommend reading about blackjack rules in detail, but bear in mind that there are many blackjack variants to take into account when doing so.

Finally, you might enjoy playing live blackjack, so we encourage you to read more about this option as well.