The Blackjack game originated in France approximately 300 years ago and has since then become the most popular casino game worldwide. A player can master the basic rules quickly and fairly easily. The objective in blackjack is to have a hand which totals 21, or beats the dealer's hand by coming as close to 21 as possible without going over, or 'busting'. If your first two cards are an ace and a ten (or picture card), that's blackjack or 'a natural' 21. Blackjack always beats a hand that totals 21 by adding the values of more than the first
two cards.
A picture card is counted as 10, a card from 2-10 is counted at its face value, and an ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. A 'hard hand' is a hand that does not contain an ace or contains an ace that can only be counted as 1 so as not to bust.

In our Blackjack game you are competing either against a dealer (the house) as the Player or you can play the role of the Dealer and play against a Player. Our game is unique in that you choose to play against other live players as Player or as Dealer. In BeTheDealer Casino every game is naturally a Multi-player game since players play against each other. We feature private as well as public tables. On a public table there are up to two players simultaneously, one playing as the 'Player' and another playing as the 'Dealer'. In the private tables players play against an automated System dealer.

There are six decks and the rules are: Dealer hits soft 17, up to 3 splits allowed (when splitting Aces the player receives only one additional card for each hand, and if the additional card is a face card the hand is not considered as Blackjack), doubling down after split is not allowed, double down on any first two cards, no surrender option.

Our Blackjack game has a dealer and one player (as described above). The dealer deals from a shoe containing six decks of playing cards. Before the cards are dealt, the players place their bets by clicking on either the $1 chip, $5 chip, $25 chip or the $100 chip to reach the desired bet.

Once the cards are dealt the bets may not be changed. Buttons located on the lower right side of the screen will appear in order to facilitate betting. The minimum and maximum initial bets can be seen prior to entering the blackjack table.

Each player receives two cards face up and the dealer receives one card face up and one card face down (the 'hole card'). The player may request as many cards until he/she busts. If a player is dealt a Blackjack, which is a 10 or face card along with an Ace, he/she immediately gets paid 1.5 times the placed bet unless the dealer also has Blackjack in which case it is a 'push' (you neither win nor lose your bet).

After all the player's bets are completed, the dealer turns over his/her hole card and plays according to the rules of the game. If the dealer has sixteen or less, he/she must draw a card (hit), until he/she reaches seventeen or more. If the dealer's cards total exceeds 21 (bust), he/she must pay all players who are still in the game.

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There are different playing and betting methods:

Hit
You receive another card. For example, if your 2 cards equal 10 you have nothing to lose by requesting another card, since your total could not exceed 21.

Stand
This means that you have decided that your hand is good enough and you don't want to be dealt another card.

Double Down
After you have received your first two cards you have the option to double the initial wager. Once you have chosen to do this, click on the 'Double' button and you will be dealt a third card and that's it. Your hand will only consist of these 3 cards.

Split
If you are dealt two cards of identical value you can then split them (i.e. 8, 8 or 10, J). You would now be playing two separate hands of one card each. You will be dealt a second card to one of the hands. After this hand is played out, the second hand will be dealt a second card and continued until that hand is played out (when splitting Aces the player receives only one additional card for each hand). You may split your hand twice and a new wager equal to the initial wager will be placed for each split hand.
A split hand resulting in Blackjack pays out at a ratio of 1-1 rather than the normal 3-2. If it is possible to split two cards the 'Split' button will be highlighted to allow the player to split the cards. Simply click on the 'Split' button to facilitate the splitting of the cards.

Insurance
If the dealer's first card is an Ace, there is a possibility of a Blackjack. If you believe the dealer has Blackjack you can buy insurance to protect yourself. If you choose to insure yourself, you have to pay an amount equal to half your wager. If the dealer gets Blackjack, the insurance will pay 2 to 1, which corresponds to your original stake. If you have insured yourself and the dealer does not obtain Blackjack then you lose your insurance but retain your original wager.
Insurance is considered a game of its own within Blackjack, and gives you a chance to protect yourself from the dealer's Blackjack

Push
A Push refers to when the sum of the dealer's hand is equal to the sum of the player's hand. In this event the play is a draw, and no one wins nor loses.

Notes:

When a playing round begins a 'Timer' will appear (round circle in the bottom-right side of the screen). Should a player fail to place his/her bet within the Timer's time limit he/she will not take part in the current round. If the player fails to make his/her decisions (Hit, Stand, Split etc.) before the Timer ends, then his/her hand will continue without his/her participation as if he/she has decided to Stand.

Examples:

Your beginning hand is: Ace, 6. This hand can be either 7 or 17. If you stop there, you'll have 17. Let's say that you decide to 'Hit' and receive a '3' .You now have: Ace, 6,3. Your total hand is now 20, counting the Ace as 11. Let's backtrack and assume that you had instead drawn a third card which was an '8'. Your hand is now: Ace, 6, 8, which totals 15. Notice that now the Ace must be counted as only 1 to avoid going over 21.

If you split a pair of Aces, and then draw a ten-valued card on one of the Aces, this is not a Blackjack, but rather a total of 21. The distinction is important, because a winning Blackjack pays the player odds of 3 to 2.
A bet of $10 wins $15 if the player makes a Blackjack. A player's Blackjack beats any dealer total other than a dealer's Blackjack, including a dealer's regular 21. If both a player and the dealer make Blackjack, the hand is a tie or push.

A good example of Doubling Down is when you hold a total of 11 (a 5, 6 or a 9, 2) against a dealer's upcard of 6. In this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so you might as well increase your bet in this advantageous situation. You have to place an additional bet next to the original bet. The dealer will deal one additional card to your hand and you will not be able to take any more cards until the current round has ended.

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Table Limits

Table Type Minimum Bet Maximum Bet
I $2 $20
II $5 $50
III $25 $350

General Text Boxes
Message - This indicates whether 'You are the Player' or whether 'You are the Dealer'.

Opponent - This tells you the name (or nickname) of your current opponent.

Last Round - This tells you how much you've won or lost in the previous round.

Credit Points - This is your current Credit Points balance. As Player, you accumulate 1 Credit Point on every dollar you place as a bet. As Dealer, 1 Credit Point is deducted for every 1 dollar bet against you (see example below).

Fun Balance / Balance - This is your current Fun / Real-Money Balance (in US dollars).

Commission - When playing as Dealer, you pay a commission of 1.5% on the total bets placed against you (when playing as Player you do not pay commissions), see example below.

General Options
Back - Pressing 'Back' returns you to the Options Screen.

'?' (Help) - Pressing 'Help' opens the Help screen relevant to the room you're currently in. In this case, Blackjack.

'$' (Cashier) - Pressing '$' opens the Cashier screen.

Timer - This is the circle at the bottom-right corner of the screen. On every round, you have 45 seconds to make your decisions when playing as Player, and 35 seconds to make your decisions when playing as Dealer. The Timer indicates how much time you have left before reaching the time limit. If you haven't finished making your decisions during the specified time limit, you will exit the table.

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BeTheDealer Casino lets you play either as Player or as Dealer. Playing as Dealer is optional and is not mandatory. If you do not wish to play as Dealer, you can play the traditional role of the Player, knowing you can rely on the fairness and credibility of BeTheDealer Casino.

Blackjack Text Boxes
Card Labels - These labels appear to the left of the playing cards and inform you what is the current sum of the cards.

Bet Labels - These labels appear to the left of your bet and inform you how much money you have placed on the table.

Won / Lost Labels - These labels appear above the cards and indicate whether you have won or lost (bust).

Game Options
Game Chips: $1, $5, $25 and $100
With the Game Chips you make your bet on the table by creating a "Chip Tower". You may remove chips from the Chip Tower by clicking on the left mouse button while placing the cursor on the Chip Tower.

Deal
Once you've placed your bets on the table press 'Deal' to deal the cards.

Hit
When you press 'Hit' you receive an additional card. You can Hit as long as you didn't bust your hand.

Stand
Press 'Stand' when you've decided that you don't want to be dealt any more cards.

Double
Press 'Double' if you want to receive one additional card only. After you have received your first two cards you have the option to double the initial wager. Once you have chosen to do this, click on the 'Double' button and you will be dealt a third card and that's it. Your hand will only consist of these 3 cards.

Split
If you are dealt two cards of identical value you can then split them (i.e. 8, 8 or 10, J). You would now be playing two separate hands of one card each. You will then be dealt a second card to one of the hands. After this hand is played out, the second hand will be dealt a second card and will continue until that hand is played out.
You may split your hand twice and a new wager equal to the initial wager will be placed for each split hand.
A split hand resulting in Blackjack pays out at a ratio of 1-1 rather than the normal 3-2. If it is possible to split two cards the 'Split' button will be available to allow the player to split the cards. Simply click on the 'Split' button to facilitate the splitting of the cards

Insurance
If the dealer's first card is an Ace, there is a possibility of a Blackjack. Two buttons ('yes' and 'no') will appear and you will be asked if you wish to take insurance. If you believe the dealer has Blackjack you can buy insurance to protect yourself. If you choose to insure yourself, you have to pay an amount equal to half your wager. If the dealer gets Blackjack, the insurance will pay 2 to 1, which corresponds to your original stake.
If you have insured yourself and the dealer does not obtain Blackjack then you lose your insurance but retain your original wager. Insurance is considered a game of its own within Blackjack, and gives you a chance to protect yourself from the dealer's Blackjack.

Disconnections
Communication problems over the Internet may cause sudden disconnections. We have designed our software to cope with such incidents in a manner that our clients will be protected from unjustifiable loss, while eliminating the possibility of intentional disconnections and/or system abuse.

Should a disconnection or timeout occur after the Player placed his/her bet and before the Player pressed the 'Deal' button, the Player's bet will be returned to his/her Balance.

Should a disconnection or timeout occur after the Player placed his/her bet and the total sum of the Player's cards equals 12 or more, the round will continue as if the Player has decided to 'Stand'.

Should a disconnection or timeout occur after the Player placed his/her bet and the total sum of the Player's cards equals 11 or less, the round will continue as if the Player has decided to 'Hit'. Additional cards will be dealt to the Player until the total sum of the Player's cards equals 12 or more, in which case the round will continue as if the Player has decided to 'Stand'.

Should a disconnection or timeout occur after the Player 'Split' his/her cards, all split hands will be treated according to the rules explained above. For example, it the total sum of the Player's first hand equals 12 or more and the Player's second hand equals 11 or less, the first hand will be played as if the Player has decided to 'Stand' and the second hand will be played as if the Player has decided to 'Hit' until the total sum of the cards equals 12 or more, in which case the round will continue as if the Player has decided to 'Stand'.

After connection is re-established the Player can enter the "History" page and see the results of the last round ("History" is available for Money mode only).

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BeTheDealer Casino offers you the unique option of playing the role of the Dealer. This option increases your chances of winning, since you gain some of the favorable odds reserved for the casino. At the end of every round the casino takes a commission of 1.5% of the total bets bet against the Dealer.

Example
A Dealer chooses to play in Table III. This means that the Dealer meets the minimum requirements for playing in this table type: a minimum of 1100 Credit Points and a minimum balance of $1100. The system then matches a Player to the Dealer and after the Dealer 'Approves' the next round, the Player places his/her bets on the table. Notice that the view of the table has changed to that of the Dealer's. Let's say the Player places $137 and receives a 'K' and a '3' and the Dealer's upcard is a '7'. The Player decides to 'Hit' his/her hand and receives a 'J', and therefore busts. The Dealer's hole card is then revealed to show a '5'. The Player loses his/her bet and since the bet against the Dealer was $137 the casino takes a commission of
1.5%*137 = $2.06, which means the Dealer wins 137-2.06 = $134.94 on this round.
The casino's edge in Blackjack with these rules is approximately 2% (bear in mind that this percentage depends on the knowledge of the player in Blackjack. Also, this 2% is how the casino makes a profit on Blackjack) so as the Dealer you actually gain an edge of about 0.5%.

Minimum Credit Points and Balance
You can play as Dealer once you have accumulated enough Credit Points and in addition you need to have enough money in your Balance, according to the game's limits described in the Game Options page.

The Minimum Balance required is a bit higher than the total winnings of the Player in a given round, which are: 3 * (Maximum Bet) + (Casino commission = 1.5%) * (3 * (Maximum Bet) )

Game Options
"Approve" Button / 'Auto-Approve' Feature
When playing as Dealer, before each round commences you must 'Approve' the next round. After you approve the round, the Player can place his/her bets and play the round. The 'Auto-Approve' feature lets you automatically approve the next rounds, without having to approve every round individually.

Disconnections
Communication problems over the Internet may cause sudden disconnections. We have designed our software to cope with such incidents in a manner that our clients will be protected from unjustifiable loss, while eliminating the possibility of intentional disconnections and/or system abuse.

Should a disconnection occur after the Dealer pressed the 'Approve' button, play will continue until the Player has finished his turn. This has no effect on the Dealer, since the Dealer is played automatically according to the rules of the game.

After connection is re-established the Dealer can enter the "History" page and see the results of the last round ("History" is available for Money mode only).

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