There are a variety of ways to play blackjack, and the variations can result in different numbers of decks being used. For example, in regular blackjack, each player starts with two cards face down. The player either turns over one card to see if they are eligible to receive a hand score, or they keep the card and draw another. In Spanish blackjack, each player starts with two face down cards. The first card is exposed and turned over by the dealer. The other card is kept by the dealer and not turned over. After both players have had a chance to make their decisions, the second card is turned over and used as the playing card for that hand. In French blackjack, each player starts with two face down cards.
The first card is exposed and turned over by the dealer. The second card is kept by the dealer and not turned over. After both players have had a chance to make their decisions, the third card is turned over and used as the playing card for that hand. There are also variants where some or all of the cards are face up. For instance, in double deck blackjack – where there are two decks of 52 cards – each player starts with two face up cards plus one hidden card. So, there are actually 54 cards in play at any given time in this game type.
