Blackjack is a game that is popular all around the world
although you may know it by one of its alternative names.
Blackjack is also known as twenty-one or pontoon although
almost all casinos refer to it as blackjack. Online casinos
certainly do. The rules of the game are simple and can
be learnt in only a couple of minutes but mastering the
game and techniques that will help you make a small profit
can take many years.
Blackjack is a game of cards. Each player is dealt
two cards with which you take on only the dealer, or
the house. You do not compete against the other players
around the table. If you beat the house hand then you
win your bet regardless of whether other people have
better hands than you.
The aim is to get as close to twenty-one as you possibly
can without going above it, otherwise known as going
bust. If you get higher than the dealer without going
bust you win. The house has the advantage that if you
both draw on the same hand the dealer wins.
In blackjack, the players bet against the casino rather
than against each other. The values of the cards in
each hand are added with 2 through 10 having face value,
Ace having value 1 or 11 (player's choice), and King,
Jack, and Queen cards having the value 10. If the players
and the dealers have the same point, this is known as
a "push", and neither player nor dealer wins
the hand.
Blackjack is the best hand available in the game and
consists of a picture card and an ace. This beats any
other hand of twenty-one that the dealer has unless,
of course, he also has a blackjack.
After initial bets are placed, the dealer deals the
cards: two cards to each player and to himself. One
of the dealer two cards is able to be seen, the other
hidden ("hole card"). The cards of the players
are dealt face up or face down, depending on the casino
system. If any player has a "natural" 21,
often called a "Blackjack", he is immediately
paid 3:2 for his bet, unless the dealer also has a natural,
which is a push. If the dealer has a natural, all players
without a natural lose immediately.
If the dealer does not have a natural, then one by
one the dealer gives each player the option of request
for more cards ("hitting") or staying with
his current cards ("standing" or "holding").
The player may continue to ask for more cards, until
he has either gone over 21 ("a bust"), or
he is pleased with the cards that he has. If the player
busts (takes a hit that put him over 21), he immediately
loses the bet.
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