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Playing blackjack is fairly straightforward: it's you against the dealer, each vying to achieve the highest card total without going over 21 and busting. The innate disadvantage that blackjack dealers have is that they must adhere to predetermined rules, without flexibility. However, knowing specific blackjack rules and their variations will increases your options of choice and will help you get a leg up.

The bottom-line logic is this: if you know blackjack rules – which each have a direct impact on the house edge – you’ll therefore know which online casinos you should go to that offer online blackjack games that have rules that are most favorable to players.

Read on, to learn about those advanced blackjack rules that can make, or break, your game.

Blackjack Rules

Natural Blackjack
A “natural blackjack”, an initial two-card total of 21 consisting of an Ace and a ten-value card, is the game’s highest hand, and is an automatic winner. In the event that both a dealer and player hit a blackjack, the hand is considered a tie or “push”. The payoff for a player blackjack is 3:2.

Insurance
A player is allowed to make an insurance side bet whenever a dealer’s upcard is an Ace – the theory being that it safeguards against the risk that the dealer has a blackjack if his / her hole card is a ten-value card. If the dealer indeed does have blackjack, the insurance bet pays 2:1

Soft 17
Each blackjack game has a rule as to whether or not the dealer hits on a soft 17 (in the case of a hard 17, a dealer must always stand). In a “S17″ game, the dealer stands on all 17s, whereas in a “H17″ game, a dealer hits on a soft 17. A “H17″ game is statistically less favorable to the player.

Number of decks
The lower the number of decks used, the more favorable it is for the blackjack player. One reason is that a natural occurring blackjack is actually more likely to occur the lower the number of decks used in the game. If you get one 10 value card, for example, you’re slightly more likely to hit an Ace sooner if you were using a single deck, versus multiple decks. In the same vein, if a player does get a blackjack, a “push” is less likely to occur in a single deck game.

Surrender
A favorable option is the surrender option, allowing a player to give up half his bet without playing out his hand. In the U.S., this option is available after a dealer has checked his hole card for a blackjack. However, in several other countries, a more advantageous “early” surrender variation (i.e. before a dealer can check for a blackjack) can still be found, which is another reason why players should seek out European blackjack online.

Resplitting

Some casinos limit the number of times that a player can split a pair, noted as “resplit to 4″, for example. Your best bet is to find games that allow unlimited splitting. Ditto for Aces: the usual rule is that after splitting Aces, that’s it. Rule variations you should look for is the option to resplit and hit Aces.

Double After SplitThe option of allowing players to “double down” on each of the new two-card hands after a split is known as DAS, or “double after split”. Wherever you can find it, take it.

Reno Rules / Double on 9/10/11 or 10/11 onlyThis rule prevents players from full double down glory. Players are restricted from doubling down on anything other than an initial total of 10 or 11, or more common in Europe, a total of 9, 10, or 11. This is a less favorable rule for players.