Blackjack Table and Odds

The Blackjack Table

The blackjack table is a semi-oval shape. At the flat end of the half oval the shoe will be placed. This holds the cards that will be used in the game and will typically hold between one and six decks, but can hold as many as eight. On the table you will find the minimum and maximum bets for the game, the payouts for insurance bets and blackjack and the basic house rules of when the dealer must hit and stand. Around the curved side of the oval will be squares in which the players will hold their cards.

Dealer and Player Positions around the Table

The dealer will be located behind the flat end of the half oval and the players will be seated around the round side of the oval in front of one of the marked sections on the table. Blackjack tables typically have 5 to seven spaces for players. The seat to the dealer’s immediate left is known as first base as this is the player to play first and the player seated to the dealer’s immediate right is known as third base and this is the player who plays last.

Odds in the Game

The house edge in a game of blackjack is as high as 5.5%, but by playing with optimal strategy you can reduce the house edge to as low as 0.5%. When you play your turn you need to decide whether to hit and receive another card or stand and end your turn. You need to aim to achieve a hand of closer to 21 than the dealer without going bust. It is important to understand the odds of going bust if you hit so that you can make an educated decision of how to play a hand. The odds of you going bust if you hit, are in correlation to how low your hand total is. If you hold a total hand value of 20 and you hit, the odds of you going bust are 92%. If you hold a total hand value of 12, the odds of you going bust if you hit are only 31%. It is generally recommended that you stand on a hand value of 16 or 17. If you hit on a hand value of 17, you have odds of 69% of going bust and if you stand on 16, the odds of you going bust are 62%.