Blackjack’s objective is to have a hand totally 21, or a hand that beats the dealer’s hand, by coming as close to 21 as possible. If you go over, it is called a ‘bust.’ If you are holding two cards, and one card is an Ace and the other a Ten, you have a “natural” Blackjack, which means you win the round. A “natural’ Blackjack always beats a hand that totals 21, since it adds value over the first 2 cards.

Picture cards count as 10, any card from two to 10 counts as a face value, and Aces count as a picture card, yet it differs since the Ace could be counted as a 1 or 11. Thus, a ‘hard-hand’ does not contain an Ace, or contains an Ace that could only be counted as a one…i.e. not busting. Dealers Ace always counts as 11 in Blackjack.

During the game Blackjack, you will become familiar with the term “HIT” When a player pushes the HIT button, thus he is asking the dealer to give him another card. We now can consider STAND, DOUBLE DOWN, SPLIT, Insurance, etc.

Hit - Give me another card

Stand - Standing from the table, do not give me more cards

Double Down - Give the player ONLY one card, and double the players bet.

Split - Splitting the cards in Blackjack is essential to comprehend. When the cards are split in Blackjack the player splits up a two-hand card match, which holds the same value. Player’s will then play Blackjack split hands and initial wagers, betting on one hand, and a second wager of equal value on the second hand.

If the player splits two Aces, the player will only receive one card per hand wagered. On the other hand, if the player splits two Aces, and one-hand totals 21, it is not considered a Blackjack, rather the hand equals 21…still you cannot split a split hand.

Insurance - If the dealer is holding an up card, which is an Ace, the player will have the option of placing a side-bet, known as insurance. Once the dealer exposes his Ace, he is considered to have a good chance of having a Blackjack. If the dealer does not hold a Blackjack hand, thus the insurance pays out 2 to 1, i.e. corresponding to the amount of the wager. If the player purchases insurance and the dealer are not holding a Blackjack hand, thus you lose your insurance.

The initial bet is settled by comparing the player’s card with the dealer’s hand. If both you and the dealer are holding a Blackjack hand, thus you have a PUSH.