Blackjack Switch Strategy

Classic Blackjack Overview
Classic blackjack is a game of chance and skill whereby the player is against the dealer to try and form a hand as close to 21 as possible, without going over this number. The players are dealt two cards to begin with and after viewing their cards, they need to decide whether to stand, hit, split or double down. The skill of blackjack is balancing the attempt to get as close to 21 (blackjack) and not going bust (passing 21). In classic blackjack (as well as blackjack switch) players have the following choices:

Hit - Players inform the dealer that they want to be dealt another card. If they go bust after they are hit, the wager is lost.

Stand - Players indicate that they wish to remain with their dealt cards.

Pair Splitting - If players a dealt a pair they have the option of splitting these into two separate hands. Players are only allowed to split pairs of equal denominations – meaning that a Queen and a 10 cannot be split even though they have the same face value. Also, players can only split once per hand.

Double Down - Players have the option of doubling their original bet and in exchange, they are able to receive only one more card.

Insurance - Buying insurance gives a player the chance to protect their wager, in case the dealer may have blackjack. When buying insurance, the player places half of their original and if the dealer does not have blackjack, the player loses their insurance bet. If the dealer does have blackjack, the player receives a payout of 2 to 1.

Card Values
Cards are valued as their face value from 2-10; Jack, Queen, King are equal to ten; Ace is either equal to one or to eleven, depending on the need of the hand. A hard hand is a hand that contains an Ace valued at 11 and a soft hand is hand holding an Ace valued at 1.

Winning
In order to win at classic blackjack, a player’s total must be as close to 21 as possible. If their the player’s total is higher than the dealer’s total, and not past 21, then he wins the game. If the dealer’s total is higher than the player’s then the dealer wins. If either the dealer or the player goes over 21, the other automatically wins the round. The optimal hand is a score of 21 – blackjack.

Blackjack Switch
The basics rules are followed for this alternative version of blackjack, except for some slight changes which alter the entire balance in the game. In this version, a player is allowed to trade a card between two hands. The dealer uses six normal decks containing 52 cards each and the shoe of decks is shuffled before play.

1. If a dealer asks to be hit and his score results in a 22, the dealer is not considered ‘bust’ but rather the game ends in a push. This means that the player does not automatically win like he would in regular blackjack, but rather the bets are returned to the respective players and a new hand is dealt. This rule does not apply however, when a player has a blackjack. In this case, the player will win. It should be noted that this only applies to a dealer’s score of 22 and nothing higher.
2. If a dealer and the player both receive a blackjack, the dealer’s blackjack will win.
3. The switch blackjack dealer will always play the ‘Soft 17’ rule whereby he draws another card if he has a 17 with an Ace.
4. Blackjacks only pay even money, and not 3:2 as in regular blackjack.

Splitting Rules

1. A player may split any pair dealt.
2. If a player splits a pair of Aces and the next card drawn has a value of 10, the hand is not considered a blackjack, even though the total amounts to 21.
3. A player may not resplit on any of the split hands.
4. If a pair of Aces is split, a player is dealt only one more card to each pair and thereafter, the player has to stand.

Double Down Rules

1. A player may only double down on the first two cards.
2. The value of the double down bet must be equal to the amount of the player’s original bet.
3. A player is allowed to double down once he has split.
4. A player may not double down on a blackjack.
5. Once a player has doubled down, only one more card will be dealt and thereafter the player has to stand.

Insurance Rule
If a dealer is showing an Ace, the player has the option of taking an insurance bet. The insurance bet totals to half of a player’s original bet and pays out at 2:1. If the dealer ends up not holding a blackjack then the insurance bet is forfeited.

Other Rules

1. A player must make two equal bets for both hands.
2. All cards are dealt face up in blackjack switch.
3. Dealers must hit on a soft 17.
4. 6 card decks are used.

Conclusion
Blackjack in any shape or form is a classic game enjoyed by millions. There are not many people in the world who have not heard of blackjack and most people have probably tried their luck at the game a couple of times. With the spread of online gambling over the past decade, even more people have been exposed to this brilliant game.