24 Insurance wagers
(1) If the first card dealt to the dealer is an ace, each player may make an insurance wager which wins if the dealer’s second card is a king, queen, jack or 10 and loses if the dealer’s second card is an ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9.
(2) If subsection (1) applies, the dealer must call for insurance wagers by calling ‘insurance’.
(3) A player may make an insurance wager, immediately after the second card is dealt to the player and before any additional card is dealt, by placing on the insurance line an amount not more than half the amount staked on the player’s blackjack wager.
(4) However, the insurance wager may be more than half the amount staked on the player’s blackjack wager by 25c to ensure an even dollar payout, if the insurance wager wins.
(5) All winning insurance wagers are paid at odds of 2 to 1.
(6) All losing insurance wagers must be collected by the dealer immediately after the dealer draws a second face up card for the dealer’s hand and before the dealer draws any additional cards.
25 Doubling down
(1) If the point count of the first 2 cards dealt to a player or the first 2 cards of a hand made by splitting cards totals 9, 10 or 11, the player may elect to make an additional wager of not more than the amount of the player’s blackjack wager (to double down) on the first 2 cards dealt to the player or the first 2 cards of a hand made by splitting cards.
(2) However, only 1 additional card may be dealt to the hand on which the player has elected to double down.
(3) The additional card must be dealt face up and placed sideways on the layout.
(4) An ace in the first 2 cards of a double down has a value of 1, not 11.
(5) If the dealer obtains blackjack after a player doubles down, the dealer may collect only the amount of the player’s blackjack wager and not the additional amount wagered in doubling down.
26 Splitting cards
(1) If the first 2 cards dealt to a player are identical in value, the player may elect to split the hand, making each card the first card of a separate hand.
Example—
If a player’s hand consists of a queen and a 10, the 2 cards may be split, making the queen the first card of 1 hand and the 10 the first card of a separate hand.
(2) However, the player must wager on each hand the amount wagered on the original hand before it was split.
(3) When a player splits cards, the dealer must deal a second card to the first of the hands formed and must complete the player’s decisions about the hand before proceeding to deal cards to the second hand.
(4) After a second card is dealt to a split card, the dealer must announce the point total of the hand and the player must indicate
to the dealer whether the player wishes to stand, draw or double down but—
(a) a player may not split cards again; and
(b) a player splitting aces may have only 1 card dealt to each ace and may not elect to receive additional cards; and
(c) a player splitting aces or 10 point value cards can not achieve a blackjack.
(5) If the dealer obtains a blackjack after a player splits cards, the dealer may collect only the amount of the player’s blackjack wager and may not collect the additional amount wagered in splitting cards.
27 Additional cards for players
(1) A player may elect to draw additional cards if the player’s point total is less than 21.
(2) However—
(a) a player electing to double down may draw only 1 additional card; and
(b) a player splitting aces may have only 1 card dealt to each ace and may not elect to receive additional cards.
(3) A dealer may direct a player to draw an additional card if the player’s point total is not more than 11, other than if—
(a) the total includes an ace that has been given a value of 1; or (b) section 25 or 26 applies.
28 Additional cards for dealer
(1) A dealer must draw additional cards to the dealer’s hand until the dealer has a hard or soft total of 17 to 21 after which the dealer must not draw any further cards to the dealer’s hand.
(2) A dealer must not draw additional cards to the dealer’s hand, regardless of the point total, if decisions have been made on all players’ hands and the additional cards would have no effect on the outcome of the round of play.
29 One player for each box
Subject to section 30 and part 7—
(a) only 1 player may play on a box at a blackjack table; and (b) the dealer must not allow a player to place a wager on
another player’s hand.
30 More than 1 player for a box
(1) A casino operator may permit up to 3 players to place a blackjack wager on 1 box at a blackjack table.
(2) The casino operator may direct that either—
(a) the total of all players’ wagers on 1 box must not be more than the table maximum; or
(b) the separate wagers for each player must not be more than the table maximum.
31 Relationship between players placing blackjack wagers on the same box
(1) This section applies—
(a) if more than 1 player places a blackjack wager on a box; and (b) to each player who places a blackjack wager on the box.
(2) The dealer must decide the player who controls the box.
(3) The dealer must ensure the wager of the player who controls the box is in the part of the box closest to the dealer’s side of the table.
(4) Only the player controlling the box may make decisions about the cards to be dealt to the box and all other players must place their wagers immediately behind and in a straight line with the wager of the player controlling the box.
(5) All players may make an insurance wager.
(6) If the player controlling the box doubles down, the other players may also double down but—
(a) are not required to do so; and
(b) only 1 additional card may be dealt to the hand involved in the double down.
(7) If the player controlling the box splits cards, the other players must either make an additional wager to cover each split card or specify to which of the split cards they wish their blackjack wager to apply.
32 Circumstances when a player may wager on more than 1 box (1) A player may be permitted by a casino operator to place a
blackjack wager on more than 1 box at a blackjack table with the understanding that, when there are not enough seats in the casino to accommodate patron demand, a player wagering on more than 1 box must give up a box or boxes to accommodate other players.
(2) If a player is permitted to place a blackjack wager on more than 1 box at a table, the player must make at least the minimum wager on each hand played.