What Does a Sideways Card Mean in Blackjack?

A blackjack player is dealt a sideways card in some casinos as a house Rule. The sideways card means the player cannot see the value of the card, and must rely on the dealer to tell him what the value is.

The player may not double down or split pairs with a sideways card.

The value of a sideways card can be 10, Jack, Queen, King or Ace. If the player has a 10-value card and an Ace-value card as his first two cards (a blackjack), he may not split them if one of the cards is sideways.

In this case, he must play his hand as a regular blackjack, and hope that the dealer does not have a blackjack as well.

Some players believe that getting a sideways card is bad luck. Others believe that it is better to have a sideways card than an Ace, because they can still get 21 with a 10-value sideways card and an Ace. The truth is, it all depends on what the rest of the cards in the deck are.

If there are more low cards left in the deck, then getting a sideways 10-value card is actually good luck, because it gives the player a better chance of getting 21. But if there are more high cards left in the deck, then getting a sideways Ace is actually better luck, because it gives the player a better chance of getting blackjack.

Blackjack is a game of chance, and there is no way to predict which way the cards will fall. So ultimately, it doesn’t really matter whether or not a player gets a sideways card.

The important thing is to play smart and to always try to get as close to 21 as possible without going over.