Blackjack is a casino game that is played with a single deck of 52 cards. The object of the game is to score as many points as possible by taking cards to make totals of 21, including any Basic Blackjack, or higher.
In order to win at Blackjack, the player must have a positive total at the end of the hand, which includes any bonus given for a high hand.
The player starts by selecting one of the five cards that are face up in front of them. This card is known as the “upcard.” The remaining four cards are placed face down in front of the player and are known as the “stock.” The player then looks at their upcard and decides whether they will take it as their first card or hold onto it.
If they take the upcard, they receive two new cards from the stock and replace their upcard with one of those new cards. If they choose to hold onto their upcard, they receive one new card from the stock and keep their upcard.
After taking their first card, players may either keep playing or hit. Hitting means that the player replaces their original card with another from their stock and stands (puts money into the pot). If there are no more legal plays (i.e.
, if all five cards in front of you are face down), then you “run out” and lose your bet (unless you have a blackjack). When players hit, dealer turn over another card and compare it to what was just hit (the current against-the-odds ratio), adding it to whatever was on the player’s current hand, and then playing another round of hands as usual.
In Blackjack basic or standard play, each hand has 21 points value assigned to it (plus any bonus given for a high hand). Aces count as 1 point, 2s through 10s count as 2 points each, Jacks count as 3 points each, Queens count as 4 points each, Kings count as 5 points each, and Aces high (2 through 10) count as 6 points each.
In order to win at Blackjack, players must have a positive total at the end of each hand – this includes any bonus given for a high hand. For example: if someone has a basic blackjack (a total of 21) with an Ace showing on their upcard and another Ace showing on the second card from the stock (a total of 2), they would receive a total of 23 points – two more than needed for a win.
