How to play the Blackjack game

Blackjack is played with one to eight decks of card. The value of face cards or the queens, kings and jacks is 10, the aces can have either one or 11 point value depending on the decision of the player. The value of the aces may be determined even midway through the game. All the other cards have the same value as their face value.

The objective of the blackjack game is to get as close to 21 as possible and at the same time beat the dealer. The blackjack player beats the dealer if his cards have a total point higher than the dealer’s hand. It does not matter if the player scores only 8 or 15 just as long as his cards are higher than the dealer’s. Blackjack is not a competitive game between players. The players compete with the dealer and the dealer alone.

Blackjack starts by first placing your bets to the dealer. The dealer then distributes one card face-up to each player and to himself starting from the “first base” or the player farthest to the left of the dealer. He repeats this until all players including him have two cards.

From this point on, the player can either “stand” or stop from receiving anymore cards and wait for the dealer’s play or he can “hit” which means adding more cards to his hand until he reaches his desired total. Be reminded though that players cannot exceed the 21 total or else he “busts” or automatically loses. Aside from hitting and the standing, a blackjack player can also “double down”. This means the player doubles his original bet and receives one more card. This happens when the player is very confident that he will beat the dealer.

If for example the blackjack player receives 2 identical cards he has the option of “splitting” the cards into two separate hands with two separate bets equal to the initial bet. All the other options apply. In blackjack, dealers offer the option of “surrender” wherein the player admits defeat and loses half of his bet. This maybe before the dealer checks for blackjack or after.

A blackjack is when the player or the dealer receives a 10 and 11 on the initial 2 cards. Blackjack yields a 3 to 2 win. In a regular play, the winner gets only what he bets. In blackjack a player can increase his bet in mid-play if he thinks he has a good chance of winning.

The dealer offers insurance or a side bet equal to half of your original bet if he gets an ace. If the dealer gets blackjack you lose your original bet but win 2 is to 1 payoff. If the dealer does not have blackjack, you will lose your insurance and continue on playing your original hand.

Finally, a “push” is when both the player and the dealer have the same value of cards. This would mean the blackjack player would only get what he originally wagered.