Blackjack at The Ridge Casino

Blackjack, also known as 21, is one of the most popular casino games, as it is a mixture of skill, smart decision making and luck. At The Ridge Casino, we have 3 Blackjack tables on our main floor and 2 Blackjack tables in our Salon Prive.

The minimum bet on the tables is R25.

How to play Blackjack

• Pick a table and sit down. They generally seat about 6 people.
• Place your wager. The amount of this depends on your discretion and the House rules.
• You will now be dealt 2 cards, face up. The dealer gets one card, face up.
• The main objective of Blackjack is to accumulate cards with a total points value of as close to 21 as you can get, without going over 21.
• Now you need to decide whether to stay or take more cards to try and get closer to 21.
• If your cards are worth more than 21 points, then you are said to have bust. If you bust, it is game over.
• Players who do not bust wait for the dealer's turn.
• When the players are done, the dealer must now deal him or herself cards until he or she has a total of 17 or higher. By rule, the dealer must continue to draw on 16 or less and stay on 17 or higher.
• The winner is whoever has a higher hand than the dealers total, but does not exceed 21.
• Face cards, in other words the King, Queen and Jack, are worth 10 points each. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever better suits your purpose. Other cards are the value of their number, for example an 8 is worth 8 points.
• To win, you need to beat the dealer without busting. If your total and the dealer's are the same it is called a push, or a tie, and you get your money back.
• Blackjack, or a natural 21, is a combination of an Ace and a ten or a face card (a total of 21 points) with the first 2 cards, and automatically wins the hand and one and a half times your wager, unless the dealer also has Blackjack, in which case it is a tie.
• All remaining players with a higher total than the dealer win an amount equal to their bet.
• Players with a lower count than the dealer lose their bet.
• If the dealer busts, all remaining players win.
• For the more advanced player, there are other betting options, namely Insurance, Surrender, Double Down, Even Money and Split.

Insurance

If the dealer's showing card is an Ace, the player can place a side bet of up to half the initial bet against the dealer having a natural 21. If the dealer has a Blackjack hand, insurance pays out at 2-1 odds. If the dealer does not have a natural 21, however, you lose your insurance money.

Surrender

You can give up your hand and lose only half of your bet.

Double Down

You can double your initial bet after the first 2 cards are dealt, but afterwards can only be dealt 1 more card.

Even Money

If you are dealt a Blackjack with the first 2 cards, and the dealer is showing an Ace, you can cash in your bet at a 1-1 payout ratio. This is just in case the dealer also has a natural Blackjack, in which case you lose.

Split

If you are dealt 2 cards of the same value, for example two 10's, you can split them into two separate hands with equal bets on each and play on with two hands, and twice the chance to win.