Basic Blackjack questions from a beginner

[michaelwells]

Hey, I don't know much about Blackjack but learnt basic strategy anyway without ever having played a game of it. Now I look at the rules and have some basic questions, probably dumb ones.


I read that in Europe(I am in Europe) the dealer usually doesn't have a hole card, meaning he can't check for a possible blackjack. In my basic strategy chart it says that I always want to double down on my 11. Does that also count when the dealer has a possible blackjack?


Which leads to my 2. Question: On the sites I read up on it seems to say that the dealer only checks for a possible blackjack if he has an ace as his first card. Doesn't he check for the hole card if it's a 10?


3. I read about h17 and s17 games of blackjack. It says that the dealer either hits or stands on a 'soft' 17. If the dealer has a 9 and a 7 and then gets an ace, leading him to a hard 17, does he stand or hit at that point?


4. Does insurance work the same when there isn't a hole card?


As I said, not very smart questions, but I'm having trouble finding this information and would be thankful for answers from you.

uno online

[JohnGalt007]

Hey, I don't know much about Blackjack but learnt basic strategy anyway without ever having played a game of it. Now I look at the rules and have some basic questions, probably dumb ones.


I read that in Europe(I am in Europe) the dealer usually doesn't have a hole card, meaning he can't check for a possible blackjack. In my basic strategy chart it says that I always want to double down on my 11. Does that also count when the dealer has a possible blackjack?


Which leads to my 2. Question: On the sites I read up on it seems to say that the dealer only checks for a possible blackjack if he has an ace as his first card. Doesn't he check for the hole card if it's a 10?


3. I read about h17 and s17 games of blackjack. It says that the dealer either hits or stands on a 'soft' 17. If the dealer has a 9 and a 7 and then gets an ace, leading him to a hard 17, does he stand or hit at that point?


4. Does insurance work the same when there isn't a hole card?


As I said, not very smart questions, but I'm having trouble finding this information and would be thankful for answers from you.

Welcome to the forum! I'd be happy to answer your questions.

1. Hitting on a hard 11 is preferable to doubling down with a hard 11 if the dealer doesn't have a hole card (as in the European game). With games where the dealer has a hole card, the player can only make a decision between hitting and doubling down after the dealer checks his hole card and confirms that he does not have a blackjack. Thus, it is taken as a given on the basic strategy chart that the dealer does not have a blackjack when they recommend you double down instead of hit.

2. He checks the hole card if he shows an ace or a ten. If he has a ten, he checks immediately to see if he has an ace. If he has an ace, he offers insurance to the player before checking to see if he has a ten.

3. He would stand.

4. Insurance works exactly the same, except that the insurance bet is resolved after each player plays their hands, rather than before.

Hope this helps!