Pacific Blackjack

How to Play

1. Select your chips for betting at the bottom of the screen. Chip values may be mixed. Click the Clear button if you wish to change your stake at this stage. When happy with your bets click the Deal button.
2. Three cards are dealt to you and the dealer from the card shoe. Two to you and one to the dealer. All cards are dealt face up.
3. The value of your hand will appear alongside your cards. At this stage, if you have two cards of identical value you will be given the option to split them (see later). Should you have a two-card hand totalling 21 (Blackjack), the word Blackjack is displayed and no further action is required. If you have a Blackjack, and the dealer is showing an Ace, you may opt for Even Money, which pays evens (the amount won being the same as the stake) immediately.
4. If the dealer does not have Blackjack, you win 3:2 on your stake. If the dealer does have Blackjack, your original stake is returned to you and the game ends (a 'push').
5. If you do not have 21, you can either take more cards (a 'hit') or remain at your current total (a 'stand'). Should you decide to continue to take more cards, click the HIT button until you have either gone over 21 ('bust') or you wish to retain your card total and call a STAND. Depending upon your card values, you may also be offered options to SURRENDER, DOUBLE or SPLIT your hand – these options and others are discussed in more detail in the 'Special Plays' section.
6. Should you decide to Stand the dealer is dealt their second card. Whether the dealer can now draw any more cards depends on the total of their hand. If the dealer has fewer than 17, they must draw another card. If the dealer's hand equals 17 or over, they may not draw any more cards.
7. The dealer will continue to draw cards until the card value goes beyond 17, the dealer may go 'bust' should the next draw prove higher than 21, otherwise the players' cards and the dealers' will be compared to determine a winner.

Winning or Losing the Game

• If the dealer busts, you win the game.
• If your hand is higher than the dealers, without going over 21, you win.
• If the dealer's hand is higher than yours, without going over 21, the dealer wins.
• If you bust, a message will be displayed alongside your cards and you immediately lose the game, plus your bet.
• If your hand matches the dealers, it is a 'push' and your stake is returned to you.
• If your winning hand is a split hand, you win evens on your original stake. Blackjack cannot be called on a winning hand that has split.
• The highest possible hand is a Blackjack, meaning an initial two-card total of 21 (an Ace and a ten value card). If the dealer has a Blackjack and the player has a total of 21 with more than two cards, the dealer wins.
• On dealer Blackjack, all bets EXCEPT the original stake are pushed.
• If you have a Blackjack, and the dealer is showing an Ace, you may opt for Even Money, which pays evens immediately.

Winnings from correct bets will be credited to your account immediately. Losing bets forfeit the amount bet.

Rebetting

Click on a chip and click the DEAL button to start a new game.

Click the REBET button to stake the same value as your previous bet.

Click the REBET + DEAL button to stake the same value as your previous bet AND deal the cards for the next game.

Click the REBET + button to stake the same value as your previous bet, plus the value of the last chip placed in the current session.

Rules

• Player can double down on any first two cards.
• Player can split up to three times for a total of four hands.
• Player can double down after a split.
• Any 2 card 21 after a split is NOT treated as a Blackjack.
• Split Aces receive 1 card only – no further action by the player is allowed.
• Player can surrender on any first two cards.
• Player CANNOT surrender on a dealer Blackjack.
• Player can surrender after a split (unless split Aces).
• Player may insure ANY hand (pays 2:1).
• Player Blackjack pays 3:2.
• When the dealer shows an Ace and the player has Blackjack, the player may take even money – paying out to the player immediately.
• On any dealer Blackjack the player may only lose the original bet, all other wagers are returned to the player as a push.
• Played with 6 decks.
• Dealer stands on 17 (and over) and soft 18.
• Dealer receives 1 card only on initial deal.
• Insurance offered when dealer is showing an Ace.

Card Values

Card	Value
Ace	1 or 11. The strongest card in the game. You, the player, decide the value of the card and you may change its value at certain points in the game. For instance, if your hand consists of an Ace and a ten, the Ace has a value of 11, to call Blackjack at 21. However, if your hand shows a total of 19, and then you draw an Ace, it would be assigned a value of one to prevent a 'bust' and bring the value of your hand up to 20. If you draw two Aces as your first cards, they are assigned a total value of 2 or 12.
Court Cards: King, Queen, Jack	10
Number cards: 2–10	Face value. For instance, the three of clubs has a value of 3.

Special Plays

Special plays will appear as buttons during the course of the game, when you have the option to play them.

Insurance

If the dealer's first card is an Ace, you are given the option to buy Insurance before the dealer views the second card.

Insurance is effectively a side-bet of half the amount of your original stake, paid at 2:1. This means that if the dealer has a natural Blackjack (an Ace and a face card or 10 on your first two cards), you lose your original bet, but win 2 to 1, i.e. you win back three times the insurance bet value (equivalent to winning the insurance plus your original stake) – thereby limiting your loss.

Note: No Insurance will be offered if you have Blackjack.

Split

If your first two cards are of identical value, you may split them and place an additional bet (equal to your original bet) to play two hands instead of one. Each of the cards then becomes the start of a new hand. You can split up to three times (for a total of four hands). Note: Ten, Jack, Queen and King have identical value; any combination of these cards may be split (in addition to pairs).

If either of your hands beats the dealer, you are paid evens on your original stake. If you split a hand, Blackjack (3:2) cannot be called on that hand – a winning hand in this situation will be paid at evens.

When splitting two Aces, only one further card can be drawn for each hand in the split.

In order to identify which hand is to be played a small indicator will hover above that hand.

Double

This option enables you to double your bet and receive just one more card, forfeiting the opportunity to hit further.

In this version of Blackjack you may choose to select the "Double" option/button whilst playing a hand on your first two cards.

You may not hit and double down to split Aces.

Tip: "Doubling", or "Double down" is most effective when you have an edge on the dealer, for example, when the dealer's hand shows a weak or low card like a Four, Five or Six.

Double After Split

Once you have split your identical value cards into two hands and received a second card for each, you have the option to double down on those two hands. Each hand is played out separately and you can choose to double down on one, or both hands.

Doubling down after splitting (on two hands) follows the same rules as doubling down on a single hand and returns the same odds - double your stake – for each hand you win.

Two Aces

Unlike some other variants of Blackjack, if your first two cards are Aces, you do not win the hand. Instead, it forms a total hand of either 12 or 2 with the option to split them, but only once.

Soft

This is displayed alongside an Ace card when your hand is low enough for the Ace card to be assigned its higher value of 11 without going bust. For instance, where an Ace is the first or second card to be drawn. You can always draw at least one card to a soft hand without busting.

Other Rules

Surrender

Blackjack allows a player to surrender their hand. Surrender means giving up half your bet for the privilege of not playing out a hand, if for instance, you have a weak hand.

Surrender does not apply against a dealer Blackjack. Therefore, if the dealer is showing an Ace or ten value card, then the surrender can't be confirmed until the dealer has received a second card.

Game Results

After you have finalised your hand, the dealer will then finalise theirs. The results of the game are clearly displayed by each hand.