Blackjack is a casino game in which players make bets on the outcome of a hand by placing stakes. It is played on a table, with rules varying across casinos but always adhering to its core principles. Even novice players can easily learn this addictive hobby!
A blackjack dealer must make fast and accurate decisions quickly and keep pace with the number of bets placed per round, while also being able to spot cheating attempts quickly and appropriately respond. A dealer should understand all rules and procedures of the game in order to make informed decisions that best serve both themselves and their customers.
At the first step to becoming a blackjack dealer is attending an orientation meeting with casino staff. Here, they will receive all pertinent details relating to their shift – for instance which dealers are providing breaks or the table where their shift begins.
Once training is complete, a new dealer will join a blackjack table with five to seven seats available (unless a coat or chips have temporarily blocked one for someone). They will be introduced to all other players at the table as well as provided with an orientation of its rules.
Once a player receives two cards, they have several options when handling them: standing, hitting or splitting pairs. Splitting involves splitting an original two card hand into two separate hands before playing each independently; depending on the game being played, some casinos limit which cards may be split and require that an additional bet be placed when splitting pairs.
Once a player has made their decision, the dealer will reveal their own card. If there’s a ten underneath theirs then that counts as blackjack and will pay back one and a half times their original bets to players as payout. They’ll also collect any insurance bets before continuing play as normal.
Edward Thorp outlined in his book Beat the Dealer how simple strategy can help win at blackjack – never bust and take advantage of any up cards from dealers, when possible – can reduce house edge to between 2%-11%. Thorp’s strategy relied heavily on card counting; modern systems can be even more efficient thanks to computer programs like Julien Braun’s Hi/Lo count. Together with his card counting theory, this software program makes it much simpler for players to take down the house; however, beating any casino requires hard work, dedication and a bankroll capable of handling wild fluctuations; otherwise they’ll never succeed at beating it!