How Do You Play Blackjack Wikipedia?

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is a comparing card game between usually several players and a dealer, where each player in turn competes against the dealer, but players do not play against each other. It is played with one or more decks of 52 cards, and is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. Blackjack is a member of a large family of traditional card games played recreationally all around the world.

The game is popular in casinos worldwide in part because its rules are relatively simple and easy-to-understand. However, blackjack offers casino players some of the best odds in the house.

The objective of the game is to beat the dealer’s hand by either having a total hand value higher than the dealer’s, or by having the dealer go bust (i.e., exceed 21).

If both player and dealer go bust, it is a push (tie). Blackjack has been featured in numerous films and television shows over the years.

The game is played with one or more standard 52-card decks, with each denomination assigned a point value: the ace (A) is worth 1 point; 2 through 10 are worth their face value; and the king (K), queen (Q), and jack (J) are each worth 10 points. suits have no meaning in blackjack. The value of a hand is simply the sum of the point values of the individual cards.

For example, a hand containing an ace and a ten-value card is called “soft” because it cannot be busted by taking another card; 11 points plus any other number will always total 21 or less. A hand containing an ace that can be counted as either 1 or 11 points is called “hard”.

Players are each dealt two cards face up. The dealer receives one card face up and one card face down (the hole card). After all players have made their decisions, the dealer reveals his hole card and resolves all player hands clockwise around the table according to standard blackjack rules:

If the dealer has blackjack (i.e., an ace plus a ten-value card), all players lose except for those who also have blackjack, in which case it is a push (tie).
If the dealer does not have blackjack, then any player who has blackjack immediately wins an amount equal to his bet (i.e., 3:2 on a $5 bet), unless another player also has blackjack, in which case it becomes a push.

If neither player nor dealer has blackjack, play proceeds as follows:
Each player first decides whether to “stand” (not take any more cards) or “hit” (take another card in an attempt to improve his hand). It is then up to the dealer to resolve all remaining hands according to strict rules written on every table: hit on 16 or less and stand on 17 or more; hit on soft 17; split pairs but not Aces; double down on 9, 10 or 11 only; no re-splitting of pairs; surrender allowed only on certain totals; insurance offered only when dealer’s upcard is an Ace.
Once all hands have been resolved according to these strict rules, any money left in each player’s “betting box” belongs to him/her alone; it does not get added back into the pot for further betting rounds like most other casino games.
A basic strategy chart can be used to make decisions about whether to hit or stand.