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.
The objective of the game is to beat the dealer in one of the following ways:
Get 21 points on the player’s first two cards (called a “blackjack” or “natural”), without a dealer blackjack;
Reach a final score higher than the dealer without exceeding 21; or
Let the dealer draw additional cards until their hand exceeds 21 (“busted”).
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Cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever is more beneficial to the player. Kings, queens and jacks are each worth 10. The suits of the cards do not matter in blackjack. Only the numerical value matters.
The value of a hand is simply the sum of the point counts of each card in the hand. For example, a hand consisting of a 7 and an 8 would be worth 15 points (7 + 8 = 15). A hand consisting of an ace and a 6 would be worth 17 or 7 (1 + 6 = 17), whichever is more beneficial for the player in that particular situation.
The first step to playing blackjack is to place a bet. Betting occurs in rounds and these “rounds” are independent of each other. That means that if you lose your chips in one round, you cannot use them again in that same round and you must wait until the next round to try again. Blackjack betting limits are typically lower than limits found in other games such as roulette or craps, because blackjack is generally considered a game for “average” players who are trying to win some extra money while enjoying themselves at the casino.
Once all bets have been placed, each player and the dealer will be dealt two cards each. The player’s cards will be dealt face up so that all players can see them, but the dealer will have one face down card (called the “hole card”) and one face up card. All face up cards dealt to players are called “upcards.” All face down cards dealt to either players or dealers are called “hole cards.
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After all players have received their initial two cards, play proceeds around the table clockwise until each player has had an opportunity to act on their hand. On a player’s turn, they may choose to either:
Stand: Take no more cards from the deck (“stand pat”). This option is only available when it is mathematically advantageous for the player to do so; for example when they hold 12-16 points and think that drawing another card will put them over 21 (bust). Stand signals that they believe they cannot improve their hand any further with another card;
Hit: Take another card from deck (“draw”). This option is only available when it does not put them over 21 (bust); otherwise they automatically lose by going “bust”. When choosing to hit, they take another card from deck and add its point value to their total score;
Double down: After being dealt their initial two cards, they may elect to double their bet and receive only one additional card (“double down”). This option is only available on certain starting hands when it mathematically advantageous for them to do so; for example when they hold 11 points and think that taking another card will give them 20+ points which gives them a good chance of winning against most other starting hands held by other players or dealers. Double down increases their bet but they only receive one more card; they cannot take any further action after doubling down;
Split: If they have two cards of equal point value (“pair”), they may elect to split those into two separate hands by placing an additional bet equal to their original wager on top of their original wager (“split”). They then receive an additional card for each resulting hand created by splitting (up to four hands total). Splitting can be done multiple times but not more than four hands can ever result from any one split because after splitting twice there would only be two remaining cards which could not be split again into four separate hands; also note that Aces can only be split once for a total of two hands (since there can never be more than three Aces in any given Blackjack hand). After splitting pairs, play proceeds around table clockwise until each resulting hand has had an opportunity to act on its own; note however that some casinos do not allow splitting Aces at all while others only allow it under certain circumstances such as when holding a 10-point Ace (“soft” Ace) which still gives them an excellent chance at getting 21 points with their next card since it cannot possibly be valued at 11 points anymore (since this would put them over 21); also some casinos do not allow Aces to be re-split even if holding multiple 10-point Aces giving them multiple chances at getting Blackjack with just one more card since this would give players too much of an advantage over casinos.
Surrender: Some casinos offer this option which allows players who think that their chances of winning are slim (“faded”) to surrender half their bet instead of playing out their hand according to normal rules and potentially losing all their chips; this effectively cuts their losses in half while still allowing them half chance at winning what they originally wagered instead of nothing if they were to just let their hand ride out under normal circumstances where there would be no turning back after making decisions about drawing additional cards; however some casinos do not offer this option at all while others only offer it under certain circumstances such as before drawing any additional cards (‘early’ surrender) or after drawing additional (‘late’ surrender). Note that even if offered, few players actually choose surrender because it effectively reduces their chances at winning anything at all from 50% down to 25% since after surrendering half their bet they still have half chance at winning whatever remains of it instead of nothing if they were just allowed to let their hand ride out under normal circumstances where there would no turning back after making decisions about drawing additional cards – even if those decisions were not very favorable ones.
In conclusion, blackjack is a comparing card game between usually several players and a dealer where each player tries to beat the dealer by getting 21 points on their first two cards (called a “blackjack” or “natural”), by reaching a final score higher than the dealer without exceeding 21, or by letting the dealer draw additional cards until their hand exceeds 21 (“busted”).
