How to Play Blackjack Online – Online Blackjack Strategies & Real Money Casinos

One of the most popular casino (and now online) games has long been the table game blackjack. Whether you’re just learning how to play blackjack online or in person, it’s important to always remember the basic rules and etiquette that come along with the experience. 

Today we are going to walk through the basics of how blackjack works, blackjack rules to remember, and some basic blackjack strategies you can deploy to improve your chances of going home (or logging off) a winner.

Let’s dive in. 

How Does Blackjack Work?

The ultimate goal of blackjack is to get your cards to sum as close to 21 as possible, without going over that number; all while having a higher sum (hand) than the dealer in front of you. If the dealer’s cards exceed 21, and yours don’t, you win the hand no matter what your cards are. 

While cards 2-10’s worth are self-explanatory, all face cards (Jack, Queen, King) are worth 10 points, while Aces can be worth one or 11 points, depending on what you need. 

Basic Blackjack Rules to Remember

Now that you know the basics of how the game works, below are some important rules to keep in mind as you begin to navigate playing blackjack online, or in person. 

• Hit
  • Once your initial two cards are dealt, you will be asked whether you want to “hit or “stand
  • By selecting “hit” you will receive another card
• Stand
  • By selecting “stand” you are indicating you do not wish to receive another card and are content with the sum of your cards that were dealt
  • Remember, the objective is to get as close to 21 without going over while beating the hand of the dealer
• Wins Pay 1:1
  • When your cards sum to higher than the dealer, or the dealer busts (cards sum to more than 21), you get paid out the amount you bet in winnings
• Blackjack Pays 3:2
  • When your cards sum to 21 on the initial draw, you “hit blackjack”, and you will get paid out 1.5x the amount that you bet
  • While there is some variation depending on where you play blackjack online, this is a good rule of thumb to remember
  • This also assumes the dealer does not also have blackjack
• A Push
  • A push happens when your hand and the dealer’s hand equal the same amount, in which case no chips/money is exchanged
• Dealer Must Hit 16 and Below
  • While this will also vary depending on where you play online blackjack, in the majority of cases, the dealer is required to hit when the sum of their cards to 16 or below

How To Play Blackjack Online?

When playing online blackjack, online casinos will often provide you with credit when signing up to entice you to play more on their site. If you win with the credit, it’s converted to real money in your account, while if you lose it is only the credit loss. 

Unlike real money casinos, however, you’ll want to make sure to do your proper research on reviews and payouts before depositing money to play blackjack online. 

Best Blackjack Strategies

There are plenty of in-depth blackjack strategy guides online for real-money casino blackjack that will convert well to online blackjack. One of the most common strategies is “playing by the book”, which simply means do what the house would do. 

As an example, if the dealer is showing a four card (they only show one card in the first round of betting) and you have a 16, a good strategy is to assume they have a face card face down (a 14) and stay. The general idea would be another face card is coming their way, putting them on the verge of a bust (going over 21).