poker side bets

To win you need to beat the dealer without busting. You bust when your cards total to more than 21 and you lose automatically. The winner is whoever has closest to a total of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards.

The ace in blackjack is unique because it counts as either 11 or 1. Here’s how this works: Always count the ace as 11 as long as your hand totals 21 or less. If you draw a card to your hand that totals it over 21, then count the ace as 1. For example, ace-4 is soft 15. If you draw a 9 you can count the ace as 1 to total 14 (but the hand is no longer soft). In the rare case that you wind up with two aces in your hand, you count one ace as 11 as long as your hand totals 21 or less. For example, if you were dealt an ace-6 (soft 17) and you hit and draw another ace, your hand now totals soft 18. The key point is that you can never bust a soft hand with a one-card hit. This is why the playing strategy for soft hands is different compared to hands that don’t contain an ace counted as 11.