Most casinos in the United States use what is known as a “continuous shuffling machine” (CSM), which means that the blackjack deck or decks are shuffled after every hand. This is done to thwart card counters, who attempt to keep track of which cards have been dealt in order to gain an edge over the house.
The basic rules of blackjack are simple: The player tries to beat the dealer’s hand by either having a total that is higher than the dealer’s without going over 21, or by having the dealer “bust” (go over 21). In most cases, the player automatically wins if he has a blackjack (a natural 21, consisting of an Ace and any card worth 10).
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If both the player and dealer have blackjack, it is a “push” or a tie, and no money changes hands. If the player does not have blackjack, he may elect to “hit” (take another card) or “stand” (keep his current total).
Once all players have either busted or elected to stand, it is then the dealer’s turn.
The dealer must take hits until his hand totals 17 or more points, at which point he must stand. If at any time the dealer’s hand exceeds 21 points, he “busts” and all players still in the hand win.
Once the dealer stands, all hands are compared to his. If the dealer busted, all remaining players win; if not, all players with higher totals than the dealer win, while all players with lower totals lose. Blackjack typically pays out at 3-2 odds; thus, a $5 bet wins $7.
50 if the player wins. Some casinos offer “bonus” payouts for certain hands; for example, 5-card 21s may pay out at 2-1 odds instead of 3-2.
Players may also place side bets in addition to their main wager; for example, they may bet that they will be dealt a blackjack or that their first two cards will total 20 points. These bets typically offer very poor odds and should be avoided except as a source of entertainment.
