Playing as Player
BeTheWinner 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 BeTheWinner 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.
Game Options
Game Chips: $1, $5, $25, $100 and $500 - 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.
Rebet - After you've placed bets and played the first round, you have the option of repeating the same bet from the previous round. Pressing Rebet places the same bet you've placed on the previous round. After it you can change it or press 'Continue' to deal the cards.
Continue - Once you've placed your bets on the table press 'Continue' 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. 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 - Press 'Stand' when you have decided that your hand is good enough and you don't want to be dealt another card.
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 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. 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.
Even Money - If the player has a Blackjack and the dealer's up card is an Ace, the player can choose take 'even money'. Even money means that the player will be paid at a ratio of 1-1 on his bet, instead of 3-2, no matter what cards the dealer receives. Taking even money means the player believes the dealer's hole card is a ten or face card.
- If the player chooses not to take even money and the dealer reveals a Blackjack, both hands push.
- If the player doesn't take even money and the dealer doesn't have Blackjack, the player is paid at the normal ratio of 3 to 2.
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.
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.
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 Real Money mode only).
Playing as Dealer
BeTheWinner 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
You choose to play in Table III. This means that you meet the minimum requirements for playing in this table type: a minimum of 1100 Dealer Points and a minimum balance of $1100. The system then matches a Player to the Dealer and after you 'Approve' 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 you win 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) so as the Dealer you actually gain an edge of about 0.5%.
Minimum Dealer Points and Balance
You can play as Dealer once you have accumulated enough Dealer 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) )
'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 Real Money mode only).
Pressing 'Exit Table' returns you to the Options Screen.
Pressing 'Lobby' returns you to the Lobby.
Pressing 'Help' opens the Help screen relevant to the room you're currently in.
Pressing 'Chat' opens the Chat window.