High Limit Blackjack

During a round of high stakes online Blackjack, everyone at the table is dealt two cards to begin with. The player is dealt both of their two cards face up, and the dealer receives their first card face up and their second card face down. Players must evaluate the strength of the dealer’s hand as well as their own hand in making decisions in high stakes online Blackjack. Note that the dealer will draw to 16 and stand on all 17s. Insurance pays 2 to 1 as in other standard Blackjack variants.

To win, the player’s cards must add up to as close to 21 as possible without going over. Players can continue to draw cards into their hand until they either decide to ‘stay’ - decide to take no additional cards - or ‘bust’ - exceed the 21 limit. If a player busts, their hand is immediately over and their wager lost, no matter what hand the dealer has. When you bust, the dealer will announce that you have lost the hand. High limit games like this one are invariably more captivating since they require players to be more focused on the cards dealt and betting decisions. As always, you have the option to change your wagers after each hand that is dealt to you.

At any time during a hand, a player can choose to stay and take no more additional cards. Once a player chooses to stay, this action cannot be undone and it is then the dealer’s turn to reveal their two-card total and draw additional cards if necessary. A dealer must have a total of at least 17 in their hand before they can stay. Once they have a total of 17 or greater, the dealer will be forced to stop drawing cards. If the player has a higher hand total than the dealer without having gone over 21, the player wins the wager. With high stakes Blackjack games, you can employ winning strategies or you can simply play with your gut instinct.

Card Value

2 through 9 are face value
Jack, Queen or King are worth 10
Aces are worth 1 or 11 (player’s choice)

Important Blackjack Terminology

Hit – Draw additional cards to your hand.
Stay: Take no more cards and end your hand.
Bust: Get a hand total over 21 and lose automatically.
Hard Hand – A hard hand in Blackjack is a hand that either has no ace or has an ace with a value of 1. A queen and an 8 would be a Hard 18, while an Ace, 7 and 9 would be a Hard 17. 
Soft Hand – Soft hands are hands where the Ace is valued at 11. If your first two cards were an Ace and a 6, you would have a Soft 17.
Double Down – When the player receives their first two cards and knows their initial total, they may choose to “Double Down”. By doubling down, a player doubles their bet and draws one more card to their hand, face up. After a player does a double down, no more additional cards may be drawn to their hand. If a player has performed a split, a double down can be performed on both pairs of hands.
Split – If a player is dealt a pair as their first two cards (such as 66, 99, QQ), they can choose to “split” the pair into two separate hands. An additional bet equal to the original wager will automatically be placed on the new hand, at which point both hands will then be played separately of each other. Each separate hand can be played like a regular hand of Blackjack. When splitting Aces, the player is no longer eligible to score a Blackjack (21 instant payout) on either of the two new hands. If you split Aces and receive a total of 21 on one or both of the hands and the dealer then gets a Blackjack with an Ace and face card or a 10, the player’s 21 will be declared the loser.
Insurance – Players can protect themselves from a possible dealer Blackjack by placing insurance on their hand. This is typically done when the dealer’s face card is an Ace. When insurance is selected, a bet equal to half the amount of the original wager is made that protects the original wager against the Blackjack. If the dealer does hit a Blackjack with their second card, the player wins double the insurance bet amount. If the dealer doesn’t get a two card Blackjack, the player loses their insurance bet total.
Push – When the dealer and player’s hands are of equal value of at least 17, the hand ends in a draw. The player’s bet remains on the table and a new hand is dealt.

RULES

In high stakes online Blackjack, all cards are dealt from a shoe that contains a total of six decks, with each deck comprised of 52 cards. After each round the cards are shuffled. By using the $1, $5, $25 and $100 chip buttons on the screen, players can choose their wager total. Once the amount has been selected, click on the table to place the bet, and then click ‘Deal’ to begin the hand.

Bet amounts cannot be changed for any reason after hands have been dealt. However, extra wagers such as double-downs, splits and insurance bets can be by the player throughout the hand. The buttons needed to make these wagers appear when they apply. For example, players will not see the ‘split’ button if they do not have a hand that can be split.

Before the dealer reveals their face down card, players must finish drawing their own cards and either stay or bust. If the player and dealer each hit Blackjack at the same time with their first two cards, the hand is automatically considered a push. The player’s wager will be left on the table and the next hand will commence. If the dealer goes over 21 while drawing cards, all players still active in the hand win their wagers.

Other high stakes Blackjack information

• Minimum and maximum betting amounts apply to every game played and may only be surpassed by options including double-down, split and insurance.
• If a player has not placed their wager within the default time limit, the hand will continue without them.
• If a player places their bet but does not click the ‘Deal’ button before the time limit expires, their bet will remain active and two cards will be dealt to them.
• If a player cannot click the ‘Deal’ button due to a disconnection, disconnection rules apply.
  
  

For the full and official game instructions go here.