Dealer Soft 17: In this variation, two different dealer strategies are present. In soft 17 game, the dealer stands on all the values of 17. On the other hand, in the game of hard 17, the dealer will hit on soft 17.

Late Surrender: This is the condition, where the gambler may 'give up' and obtain half of his/her original bet, prior to making any action. In few games, surrender is available while, some casinos do not allow surrendering. In some cases such as 15 vs. 10, 16 vs. ace and 16 vs. 9, this is favorable to a small extent.

Early Surrender: When the face-up card of dealer is an ace, the dealer will look at the down card to know whether it is a 10 or completes the Blackjack prior to continuing with the game. Early surrender is a condition, wherein a player is allowed to surrender in the middle of the bet by the house rather than playing further before the dealer looks for a Blackjack. This is a good rule however, beginners may misuse this rule, as they are not experienced with its basic strategies.

Double Downs: Player will be highly benefited by this rule, as it reduces the advantage of house by 13%. It is advisable for the player to select casinos that provide doubling after splitting.

Re-splitting of Aces: It is common in many casinos for players to receive only one more card on each ace after splitting. However, if the player receives another ace, some casinos allow to re-split the resulting pair. This option cuts the house edge by 0.03%. It is rare to find a game that allows the player to draw more than one card to a split ace. This option cuts the house edge by 0.14%.

Double after Split: While dealing with cards of matching pairs, you may select this option to separate your hands and treat them as individual hands. For instance, if you are having a pair of cards consisting of 8 points, then the probability of winning is very less and the chances of being busted are very high. Thus, to improve the odds, you may opt for a double after split.

European no-hold-card Rule: In few instances of Blackjack, the dealer may not have a chance to check the hole card, however if later found that the dealer has a Blackjack, then the player will lose his/her initial bet also. However, with the European no-hold-card rule, player will not lose on other bets such as splits or doubles.

Altered Payout for Natural: Gamblers may have payouts on 1:1 or 6:5. This variation is among the most unfavorable for gamblers, as it increases the chances of house to be in profit than the gambler.

Five Card Charlie/Five Card Trick: This is the rule, where player wins the game by drawing five cards without being busted, unless there is a Blackjack on the table.

Dealer Wins Ties: It is one of the most disastrous Blackjack rules for a player. However, it is used rarely in most of the Blackjack games.

Insurance: In Blackjack, the dealer has to expose one of the two cards. Next, if the face up card is found as an ace, the gambler is offered an option to take insurance before the exposure of hole card by the dealer. While taking insurance, the gambler may place a bet that is half the amount of the initial bet. The placed insurance bet is separated on a specific portion of the Blackjack table.



The player undertaking insurance is betting on the dealer to have a 'natural' (having 21). If the dealer is found having a Blackjack, then the player wins the insurance bet. This rule can protect the initial bet of the player, if the dealer holds a natural. In this bet, the player receives the same amount of the original bet, if the dealer gains a Blackjack. There is possibility that the dealer may not have a Blackjack. In this situation, the insurance bet placed by player carries no value. Thus, the player may still win the Blackjack bet.

Experts recommend that players, who are not familiar with the facedown card have to avoid insurance bet, as it owns a house edge of around 2% to 15%, which is based on the cards having value 10 and the used number of decks. Generally, 4/13th of the total cards in a deck are face cards or 10s. On the other hand, an experienced player may have a good chance of winning the insurance bet, as he/she might have a good understanding of the deck face card or a ten-value card appearance after every third card.

In certain casinos, the dealer may check his/her hole card for a natural by sliding the facedown card above an electronic sensor or a mirror of small size on the top of the table. With the help of this method, the dealer may minimize the risk of exposing his or her hole card to the player.

The abovementioned guide will assist beginners to understand and learn the Blackjack game rules and to improve their playing skills to become professional players.