How to Play Chinese Blackjack - Rules of the Game

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Let’s start with card values

How many points can each card of a deck give you? Well, actually the only card which has chances to confuse you here is an Ace. Depending on how many cards you have in your hand, an Ace can give you a different number of points. So:

• if you have 2 cards in your hand, an Ace = 11 or 10 points
• if you have 3 cards in your hand, an Ace = 10 or 1 points
• if you have 4 cards (or more) in your hand, an Ace = 1 point

As for other cards of a deck, their points are similar to their numbers (10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2).

Face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) give 10 points each.

Are there any special card combinations to know when learn to play blackjack?

Yes, sure, Chinese Blackjack has some specific card combinations which are better to be remembered if you do not want to miss your chance for winning. So, what combinations a player can get during a game?

Ban-ban = an Ace + an Ace. If you have ban-ban, your bet increases three times immediately and you win it in a case if a dealer does not have ban-ban as well as you. If a dealer has ban-ban, he wins your bet tripled immediately if only you do not also have ban-ban.

Ban-nag = an Ace + 10 (10’s, Jack, Queen, King). If you have ban-nag, you win your bet increased twice by a dealer if only he does not have also ban-nag or ban-ban. If a dealer has ban-ban, a player loses automatically and if a dealer has ban-nag, he wins a player’s bet doubled.

Next three combinations can be placed as rules of Chinese Blackjack by casinos:

A free hand = 15 points. If a player has a hand of 15 points, he has a right to choose whether he wants to continue this game or stop it. A dealer who has the same number of points (15) also has such a choice. If they decide to stop, all cards are re-shuffled and a new game starts.

Pairs. If a player has a pair, he wins his doubled bet.

7-7-7. If a player has two 7’s and he gets the third 7’s after hitting (asking for one more card), he gets 21 points and becomes a winner.

What decisions can I make during a game?

There are some decisions for a player which are the same with conventional blackjack’s ones: for example, you also can hit(ask for one more card) or stand(ask for no more cards). But Chinese Blackjack has also some more options for a player.  If your points are less than 16, you SHOULD hit, but you have a choice to hit or stand if your points are 16-21. If you have 5 cards in your hand and you do not exceed 21 with these cards, then you have 5-Dragon and you win your doubled bet from a dealer. If you have 5 cards and their points are equal to 21, you win your tripled bet from a dealer. If your 5 cards exceed 21 points, you bust.

What decisions can a dealer make during a game?

Actually, the decisions which a dealer can make during a game are practically the same with a player’s ones. A dealer also should hit if he has less than 16 points; he can hit or reveal some players’ cards if he has 16-21 points; and he busts and loses to players whose cards has not been revealed yet, if his points are more than 21. If a dealer has 5-Dragon(do not exceed 21 by having 5 cards in a hand), he wins from players their doubled bets; if he has exactly 21 points out of his 5 cards, he wins all players tripled bets.