The basic principle behind playing Atlantic City blackjack is the same as regular blackjack: players want to get as close to 21 with their cards without going bust. In the past, you had to travel to New Jersey to play this great blackjack variation. Now you can play Atlantic City blackjack in an online casino from anywhere in the world.

Although sometimes Atlantic City blackjack uses 4 decks of cards, this great Microgaming version is even more exciting and offers 8 decks of cards. To win the game (getting the strongest possible hand in Atlantic City blackjack), your hand must have the Ace and another card with the value of 10. Atlantic City blackjack is basically a variation of regular blackjack.

When you start learning the rules of Atlantic City Blackjack, you will come across some new terms that you might not be aware of, or understand. Some of these will be explained through this article, but below is a list of the most common ones, with the most basic explanations for your convenience:

Push - this is the same as tie. A tie or a push means that you and the dealer have the same cards in numerical value. i.e. you both have 19; you may have a 10 and a 9 and he may have a jack and a 9. In this case you don't win, but get the money back from your wager.

21 - This is the magic number. When you get 21, you win. If you go over 21, you "bust" and you lose. The aim of Atlantic City Blackjack is to get to 21 the quickest.

Blackjack - This means you have gotten to 21 in two cards, by any card equaling 10 (10, jack, queen, king) and an Ace. This is also known as a "natural."

Bust - You have gone over 21.

Denomination - What the cards give you. From 2-10 it's simple, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, etc. But 10, jack, queen, king, equal 10 and Ace equals 1 or 11, depending on what suits you better.

Double down - Making a "double down" bet is placing a bet that says that your cards will beat what the dealer has with the next card you get. Placing this wager costs the same as your initial bet in the game. And then if you win, you get paid "double" the amount of your first bet, meaning it's four times your original bet.

Hit - You take a hit when you see that your hand is not as strong as the dealer's. What this means is that you ask for another card from the shoe, and you are dealt one more card. A "shoe" is just where the cards are dealt from.

Hole card - players in Atlantic City blackjack are all dealt two cards, both face up. The dealer however, gets two cards, one face down. The card facing down is known as the hole card.

Insurance - Players might decide to take out insurance if they see that the dealer has an Ace. The insurance cost is half of the player's original bet.

Split - There is splitting and in some games, re-splitting. If you get two cards with the same numerical value, you may want to "split." This means you in effect have two hands to play with.

Stand - The player has decided that he or she is satisfied with his or her cards and thus decides to stand and not take any more cards.

Surrender - The player looks at his or her cards and is not confident about winning, so gives up half their original betting amount and does not have to play out the hand.

Value - The numerical value of a card; i.e. jack, king, queen, is 10; ace is 1 or 11; the rest of the cards maintain their face value.

In Atlantic City Blackjack, the dealer deals the cards and then checks to see if he has a Blackjack. If he has a value of 10 (a 10, Jack, Queen or King) or an Ace (value of 1 or 11), the game is over and the dealer wins. Players can take up to 11 cards, so long as the total (in numbers on the cards) does not go over 21.

Before players start getting cards, they must place a wager. If they are playing in an online casino, they do this by clicking their mouse pointer in the betting circle on the virtual blackjack table. Then they are dealt two cards, which everyone at the table can see (face up). The dealer however, only has one card facing up initially. Players check their cards. If they have gone over 21, they bust and quit. If not, they await the dealer who then turns up the card that has been faced down.

The rule is that if the dealer's cards total 17 or more, he has to stay; 16 or lower he has to draw. There are different options you can take in playing. Once the player has seen your initial hand, you may be able to "double down." "Doubling down" means the player can double their original bet. This will appeal to players who see that they have a good hand. Players should be able to do this if their first two cards add up to 9, 10 or 11. Once the player has decided to double down, the dealer will give them only one more card. He will then take enough cards to complete his own hand. Another option available to players is "splitting pairs."

In this situation, the first two cards the player gets dealt have the same value (for example, a pair of fives). Because of this, the player decides to "split." This means in effect, that he and she will be playing two hands. At this point the player then places another wager, equal to the original one. Then the player is henceforth playing two completely different hands, which act independently from each other. Some games enable players to "re-split," should the same situation arise again in the additional new hand. It should be noted that there are different rules in Atlantic City blackjack (and all other forms of blackjack) when players decide to split Aces. In such a case, players only get one more card, and if the player then reaches 21, it is not considered a "blackjack."

There is another option players can take when playing Atlantic City blackjack. One can take out "insurance." What this means is that once the players have had access to the dealer's cards, if they see that one card is an Ace, they can take out insurance, which is priced at half of their original wager. By doing this, if the dealer then gets a "blackjack", the insurance bet will pay 2 to 1. So if your initial bet was $100, and you then see that the dealer has an Ace, you can take out insurance on a bet for $50 so that if the dealer does get the "blackjack" you will lose your original $100 but break even as you will get the $100 back on insurance. Even better, if the dealer doesn't end up getting a "blackjack," you lose the $50 insurance wager and then continue playing a normal game of blackjack.

One way of winning Atlantic City blackjack is hoping that the dealer goes bust! If the dealer's hand exceeds 21 (i.e. he goes bust), then you, the player, have automatically won. Otherwise, there are two other ways of winning. The first is often termed a "natural." This means that the first two cards that have been dealt make up a blackjack, which is a ten (ten, jack, king or queen) and an Ace (using it as 11). This is called a "blackjack" and that hand automatically "stands." Standing means that you cannot be beaten (but you can be matched, i.e. a tie). But if however, you do beat the dealer's hand by getting a "blackjack" then you get paid 3:2 which means forever 2 dollars you wager, you get 3 in return. Another way to win blackjack is the same principle of your cards making up 21, but it has not happened after the first round of cards have been dealt. So you might have a 5 and a 6, for example and then you keep taking cards until you get to 21, without going over. You still get money for this, but you do not get as much as you would, had you have gotten the first 2 cards, making up 21. You still win just not as much money.

If you tie with the dealer, then this is a "push." In this case, the money you placed on your wager is returned to you. (This is the case for a "blackjack" - natural, or any other combination of winning).