SPECIAL NOTE -  Smart Live Casino house rules currently state a 6 deck shoe is used. This is incorrect, and must be updated to reflect a recent policy change to 8 decks for live blackjack

[ VERBATIM FROM CASINO RULES PAGE...]

House Rules

1. We operate all games of blackjack with six decks, which are cut by the dealer. All the decks are thoroughly shuffled prior to arriving at the table, and a courtesy shuffle will then be done at the table by the dealer for the players' benefit.
2. All staff involved in both the shuffling and dealing process hold licenses with the Gambling Commission of Great Britain.
3. We allow players to split on any pair, and allow a maximum of three splits in any one hand.
4. We allow players to double on hard 9, 10 or 11 only.
5. We offer Insurance when the player has blackjack and the dealer's first card is an Ace. Insurance costs a stake of half of the players original bet, and will be deemed a winning bet should the dealer's second card have the value ten. This bet pays odds of two to one.

Introduction to Blackjack:

The essential object of blackjack is to accumulate cards with point totals closer to 21 than the dealer, but without going over 21. A player may stand on any number below 21 at any time.

When adding up points totals, face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) are worth 10. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever is preferable. All other cards are valued at the number shown.

If a player wins the hand then they will receive 1:1 on their money, as well as having their stake returned.

If a player is dealt an Ace and a card worth 10 ("Blackjack") in their first two cards, the player automatically wins at a payout ratio of 3:2, unless the house ties with a "blackjack" of its own. In either case, players will have their stake returned.

If a player loses, then any stake placed is lost.

If player and the House tie, it is known as a "push" and a player's stake is returned.

Betting:

At the start of a hand, you have 15 seconds in which to place your bet. Once the countdown clock reaches zero you will not be allowed to change the bet you have placed on a hand.

To place a bet, just follow these simple steps:

1. If this is your first bet of the session, click on the 'New bet' button
2. Click on the chip images you see in the bottom left hand corner of the screen to select a chip value.
3. Click again in the betting box at the bottom of the screen to place a chip.
4. Each extra time you click in the betting box, it will add another chip of the same value, so if you wanted to bet �15 you would select the �5 chip and then click the mouse three times in the betting box. Each time you click in the betting box you will see an extra chip added and your bet size increase by �5.

If have changed your mind about the bet you have placed then you can cancel either the last chip you placed by pressing "Cancel Last", or the entire bet by pressing "Cancel All".

Once you have placed your chips in the betting box there is no need to press confirm (in fact, there is no confirm button). Any chips in the betting box when the countdown reaches zero form the bet that you are placing.

You will only be allowed to place bets within the table limits, and you will find these minimum/maximum levels displayed clearly on the table.

Our Interface:

Our unique online interface allows you to play the hand your way while others play the hand differently. This means that while everyone will start with the same two cards, and the dealer will always start with the same starting card, the rest of the cards are not dealt to a particular hand.

The cards are dealt into the middle of the table and are then assigned to whichever hand is appropriate based on your decisions. You will see this represented in your web browser.

You will win or lose the hand based solely on the decisions you have taken; the decisions other people take will have no impact on your hand.

Game Play:

Once the countdown clock on the betting round has reached zero, the dealer will deal two cards to your hand, and one to himself/herself. It will then be your turn to make a decision. The options will appear at the bottom of the game screen. You will only ever be given the options which are appropriate to your hand. Simply click the icon of your choice, and the decision will be relayed to the dealer on your behalf. If your decision involves an extra bet being placed then this will be done automatically; you will not need to do anything with the chips.

The options are as follows:

• Hit - You will be given this option any time your hand adds up to twenty or less. 'Hitting' adds the value of the next card to your hand.
• Stand - You will be given this option any time your hand adds up to twenty or less. 'Standing' will keep your current hand value, and give the value of the next card to the dealer's total. No further decisions can be taken.
• Double - You will only be offered this if you have exactly two cards and they add up to 9, 10, or 11 (and do not contain an ace.) 'Doubling' doubles your initial stake in return for one more card. No further decision can be taken. If you subsequently win the hand, your winnings will be doubled.
• Split - Only available when your first two cards are a pair/the same rank (suit is irrelevant. 'Splitting' doubles your initial stake and splits your original hand into two new hands, each starting with one of the cards from your original pair. You will be dealt a second card onto each one of your original pair, and then you play the hands as independently from each other. (Please note that with split hands your hands will not be treated as Blackjack even if you get 21 in two cards).
• Insurance - When you have hit Blackjack, but the dealer holds an Ace, you may buy insurance to protect some of you stake in case the dealer hits blackjack too. If you choose to take Insurance you will place a bet of � your original stake that the next card dealt to the dealer will have a value of ten. If the dealer does get a ten on her second card (thus making blackjack) your insurance bet will win, and will pay out at 2 to 1. Otherwise your insurance bet will lose.

Each decision round will last 15 seconds and you will see the decision bar icon start to flash when you are down to the last few seconds.

If you do not make a decision during the given period, you will be automatically 'stood' on whatever total you currently hold, and the hand will proceed as normal from there.

After you have made your decision the dealer will deal the card. On the video you will see it goes to the centre of the table, but on your virtual table it goes to your hand or the dealers hand as appropriate to the decision you made.

You will continue to be given options appropriate to your hand until you either reach 21, go over 21 (bust) or choose to stand. The dealer will then play out the rest of the hand as appropriate.

Given that different people will play their hands in different ways, there will be times when you see a decision round occurring despite the fact that you have opted to stand, or cards still being dealt despite the fact that you have completed your hand and the dealer has more than 17. These decisions and cards will not affect the outcome of your hand.

Card Values:

Aces have a value of either 1 or 11. The first ace dealt to a given player/dealer will have the value of 11 unless at the end of the hand that would cause the score to be over 21 in which case it will have the value of 1. Any subsequent Aces dealt to a given player/dealer will have the value 1.

Face Cards have a value of 10

All other cards (2-10), have the value that is shown on the card.

Determining a Winner:

If you exceed 21 you will automatically have lost, regardless of the dealer's final score.

If you get blackjack and the dealer doesn't, you will have automatically won the hand, and will get paid at a ratio of 3:2.

If the dealer has blackjack and you don't then you have lost (even if you have 21 in more than 2 cards, as blackjack beats a normal 21.)

If both you and the dealer have 21 or below, then you win if your hand is higher, and you lose if the dealers hand is higher. If the hands are tied, then it is a 'push' and you get your stake back.

Disconnections:

• 7. i) In the event the there is a grand network disconnection during a hand which is the fault of SmartLive or one of its providers, every attempt will be made to restart the hand from the point of disconnection so that customers are able to complete the hand.
• ii) If this restart is not possible, then all bets for that particular hand will be refunded. The total stake will be returned whether a player's hand was winning in potential, tied in potential, or was already bust.
• 8. i) In the event that a player suffers a local disconnection during a hand due to a third party source, the software will automatically 'stand' a player at the point at which the disconnection occurs, and the hand will be played out as normal.
• ii) SmartLive Casino will not accept responsibility for any local disconnections which may occur due to a third party source, and subsequently any loss, or loss of profit in potential which may be suffered.

Misdeals:

• 9. In the event of a misdeal or mis-scan of a card during a hand, we will take the hand back to the point when the misdeal took place where possible. This will allow players to complete the hand. If this cannot be achieved, then all bets will be declared void and all stakes returned to players.
• 10. In cases where players have already made a decision, and the immediately previous card needs to be cancelled or changed due to a misdeal/mis-scan, we will always endeavour to give the players the option to make a new decision once the correct card has been dealt. Where this is not possible all bets will be void.
• 11. If there is a discrepancy between the card shown on the video screen with the live dealer, and that which is shown on your betting display, the correct card is that which is on the video screen (i.e. the number/face vaule of the physical card turned over by the dealer, not that which appears on your screen). Any hands with a discrepancy should be played as such by the player. We will always either change the hand on the virtual table to that shown on the video, and in instances where this is not possible we void the hand and refund all wagers to all players.
• 12. In the event that a misdeal is only noticed (or brought to our attention) after the completion of a hand, we will make every attempt to investigate and subsequently ensure that players are not deprived of due winnings.
• 13. In situations where a card is inadvertently dealt and shown to customers before its turn, this card will not be burnt. To preserve the integrity of the deck this card will be placed next to the shoe, face down, and will be dealt at the same stage it should have been, had it not been shown to the players.
• 14. In the event that a card is inadvertently shown face-up in the shoe, this does not count as a misdeal; the card and hand will still be played as normal.

Chat rules:

• 15. When using the chat function on the Live Dealer Blackjack product, you are implicitly agreeing to strictly abide by our chat rules.
• 16. You must not impersonate, harass, slander, or abuse any other person in chat. You may not use vulgar language, nor make racial, sexual or ethnic comments of any kind whatsoever.
• 17. Do not post anything that is, or could be construed as libellous.
• 18. You must not use the chat function to solicit any other players with requests for money, whether for yourself, or for companies, websites or charitable causes.
• 19. Smart Live Blackjack bears no liability to players for any activity occurring in the Chat Room which may cause any player to suffer loss, damage or distress of any kind.
• 20. We reserve the right to publish players' usernames, winnings and chat messages across any media platform at our discretion.
• 21. We reserve the right to edit or delete any and all chat messages which we consider to be in breach of these Terms.
• 22. We reserve the right to suspend, restrict or terminate your access to the service at any time without notice at our discretion where you are (or we suspect that you may be) in breach of these Terms.

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