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Online gaming is increasingly popular with even some of the leading offline bingo operators and sports betting sites now offering casino games, take well established sports betting company Pinnacle Sports, who now offer a pretty comprehensive online casino complete with all the games you’d expect to find. Of these games the most popular is blackjack, a relatively straightforward game once you grow accustomed to playing it. The rules of the game are not set in stone and vary from game to game depending on the house. Have a look at http://www.blackjackinfo.com/blackjack-rules.php for a set of rules.

You will though need to be familiar with a basic range of terminology when playing either in a casino or online.

Stand: The decision to not take any more cards from the dealer. If the player is satisfied with his hand he may stand. In real casino gambling you wave your hand as if to wave the dealer away to signify you wish to stand. In a single deck game, place your cards face down beneath your bet.

Hit: Being dealt an extra card from the pack to add to the initial hand. If the player wishes to take another card he may continue to do so until he either stands or busts. The player taps the table with their finger to signify they wish to hit. In a single deck game, the cards are scraped lightly against the felt.

Double: This option is only offered on the first two cards, and sometimes on the first two cards after splitting. If the player feels he needs one and only one more card then he may double his bet and be dealt an additional card. To indicate to the dealer that you wish to double, place another bet next to your original wager of equal value. When playing a single deck, place your cards face up by your bet.

Split: The option to split identically valued cards to play each card as a separate hand. In this event the player must also make another wager, equal in value to the first, for the second hand. Splitting after splitting is allowed; however, re-splitting aces is often an exception. You may usually split up to 2 or 3 times if additional splitting opportunities arise. Doubling after splitting is usually but not always permitted. To signify you wish to split put the additional wager next to the original bet. When playing a single deck, place your cards face up by your bet.

Surrender: Surrender is a playing option in blackjack that is offered by some but not all casinos. After a player receives the initial two cards, the player may, at his discretion, surrender the hand. Some hands, such as 16 vs. dealer's 10, are regarded as so bad that surrender is seen as statistically less costly than playing the hand.

If you decide to surrender you can indicate this to the dealer either by verbally telling the dealer you want to surrender or by using a surrender hand signal (place your finger on the layout and move it from right to left). The dealer will remove the player’s cards from the table and 50% of the player’s bet is forfeited.

There are two varieties of surrender, early and late, which differ only in the way a dealer blackjack is handled. In an early surrender game, a player chooses to surrender before the dealer checks his cards for a blackjack The much more common variation is late surrender, where the dealer checks for blackjack first, and then only if he does not have blackjack will allow players to surrender their hands. Bear in mind that because early surrender offers a healthy advantage to the player it’s rarely offered.

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