Blackjack rules XII
When a player attains the hand value of 21 with the first two cards he is dealt, then it is known as a blackjack or a natural. So an ace card and any one of the four ten-valued cards – 10, jack, queen or card – thus constitutes a blackjack hand. However, the most important condition for a hand to be a blackjack is that the total must be achieved by aggregating the value of the first two cards only. So, if someone splits a pair of ace cards and then hits a ten-valued card, then the result is not a blackjack but simply a hand value of total 21. Similarly, a hand holding an ace and a 6 card if hits a 4 card as the third card, he is also not a blackjack hand but simply has reached the point value of 21.
This distinction between a hand of value 21 and a blackjack is significant because in the latter case the winner is entitled to a payout of 3-to-2. So, if he has betted $50, he stands to win $75. When a player hits a blackjack, he wins against the dealer even if he has a total of 21. Only if the dealer also has a blackjack to match the player’s hand, the hand becomes a tie or a push.
When a player hits a blackjack and reveals his hand, the dealer generally pays the winning bet instantly. Some casino houses, if the dealer’s face up card is a ten-valued card, defer payout till the hand of play is over so as to check if the dealer too has a blackjack or not. Other casinos wait to see the dealer’s hand if either of his face up cards is an ace or a ten-valued card.
It has been calculated that blackjack does not happen very regularly, maybe once in every 21 hands of play or rarer, and so a player hitting it definitely means he cannot lose from this point and has very high chance of winning the bet.
