"OBO"...BJ Rules

[bubba22001]

What does this mean?

Thanks, Bubba

[KenSmith]

OBO means "Original Bets Only" are at risk to a dealer blackjack.
That generally means that the dealer will deal herself a hole card, and check underneath tens and aces to see if she has blackjack before continuing the hand. That's the typical rule in the US.

The alternatives are ENHC which means "European No Hole Card", and OBBO which means "Original and Busted Bets Only".

An example: You're dealt two eights against a dealer 10, and split. On the first hand, you draw a three and double down. You get a face card for 21. On the second hand, you draw a seven for 15, hit again, and bust. You've placed three bets.

With the OBO rule, if the dealer has blackjack, you'll only lose one of the three bets. (In most casinos in the US, the dealer would have peeked under the ten before you split anyway, so you'd never have even placed the other two bets. But there are a few casinos that use OBO without peeking.)

Under the ENHC rule, you'd lose all three bets if the dealer draws a blackjack. In most casinos with the ENHC rule, the casino doesn't draw a hole card at all. Instead, they have only one card until all the players finish their hands.

Under the OBBO rule, if the dealer ends up with blackjack, you'll lose the busted bet on hand two (which is removed from the table immediately upon your busting the hand), and also one of the two bets on your doubled hand.

Confusing, huh?
In the US, you don't need to know all this, since the dealer usually peeks first.