Hitting and Standing in Blackjack

When you play the game of Blackjack there are a couple of decisions that you will need to make with every hand and that is to decide whether you will hit or stand.  Even if you don’t know much about Blackjack you may be able to associate these actions with the game and that is because this is what the game is all about.  Deciding to hit or stand is something that many beginners struggle with, but with some practice the decision will become second nature and sometimes you will win and sometimes you will lose!

To Hit or to Stand To hit on a hand is to tell the dealer that you would like to draw another card to the hand and to stand means that you want to stop at your current total or stand.  Of course, the method that you use to communicate what you want, to hit or stand, with the dealer will depend on what sort of Blackjack game you are playing.

If you are playing a shoe game where the cards are dealt face up you will tell the dealer that you want to hit by simply tapping the table behind your cards with one finger.  The reason that you do this is to do away with any confusion that may come into play if you only communicate verbally.  For instance, people have been known to say “hit” and when the dealer deals the card the person will argue, saying that they did not say hit because they don’t like the card.  These hand signals make it much more straight forward for the dealer and the player and keeps everyone honest.  Of course, this is the method that works in a brick and mortar casino, with an online casino you will usually have to click on a hit icon.  On the other hand, if you decide to stand you simply need to wave your hand over your cards and the dealer will know that you do not wish for any more cards to be drawn to your hand.

Dealer	Player #1	100% Sign Up Bonus No Download No Pop UPs! Real Live Dealers! Click Here to Play Now!
	You've got 11 with the dealers card a 7 with possible 17. Taking another card is a good play. Possible 21 for a win.

In the example above Player #1 has 11 and the dealer has 7. The dealer has to stand on 17, which means that it is likely that he'll draw a face card or 10 which will force him to stand. In this case Player #1 should hit until he's over 17. When Player #1 has more than 17 then he should stand.

Simulated outcome of this hand:

Dealer	Player #1	100% Sign Up Bonus No Download No Pop UPs! Real Live Dealers! Click Here to Play Now!
	Player #1 draws a King (10) has 21 and WINS!

If you are playing in a face down game the whole process of hitting and standing is a little bit different.  You start out by holding the first two cards that are dealt to you with just one hand.  If you want to draw another card to the hand you will need to scrape the cards across the table lightly.  If you have never done this before you may be helped by watching those that hit before you.  When you do this the dealer will deal the cards, face up, right in front of you and you can add them to your hand total, but you’ll leave them on the table.  If you bust you simply need to put your cards on the table and your debt will be collected.  If you decide to stand on a face down game you will need to place your two cards face down under the chips that you have bet, but remember that you cannot touch the chips, so carefully slide the cards under the chips without disturbing them.  This takes a bit of practice and you may want to play around with this a bit before you head out to a casino.  Again, if you play online you will generally just need to click on a stand icon to let the dealer know what your intentions are.

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