Blackjack, also referred to as twenty-one, is a comparing card game between a dealer and player. The idea is to get a hand closest to the value of 21 without exceeding it. The player is dealt a two card hand, the player then has the opportunity to call for another card with the aim to get a higher value than the dealer.
Blackjack uses cards with the same value as their natural number; the face cards: jack, queen and king all representing ten, and the ace values being either one or 11. The suits in Blackjack make no difference to game play. The ultimate goal is to use the values of the cards dealt to reach a value as near to 21 as possible, with an ace and any face card being a blackjack.
In a standard blackjack game the dealer is at  a semicircle table with three players placing their bets in the betting box. Two cards are given to each player, dealt clockwise from the left of the dealer. Dependent on the rules the cards can either be dealt visible or face down for each player. Different versions of the game can also change the visibility of the dealer’s card. In some games the dealers first card is facing up and the second card faces down, with only the dealer able to see it. In other versions of Blackjack the dealer is only dealt one card and the second card is dealt after all players have played their turns.
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When the dealer reaches the turn of each player, where they decide their action, they have the following choices: hit – to take another card; stick/stand – to stay with the cards they have; double down – double their wager by receiving another single card; split – if two cards are the same value the player can split to make two hands; or surrender – (sometimes not playable dependent on Blackjack played) where a player forfeits the game losing only half their wager. If the player exceeds 21 all bets are immediately forfeit and the player is bust.
The dealer then plays his turn trying to beat the values of the players. Any hand that is higher than the dealers wins. If there is a tie bets are returned. Wins are paid out at 1:1, except for winning blackjacks, which are traditionally paid at 3:2.
Blackjack can provide a side bet which is called insurance, which can be achieved when a dealer’s up-card is an ace. Insurance is used to protect the player if the dealer has blackjack, it’s an assumption that the next card will be of ten value. The insurance is an additional half the wager of their existing bet box. If the dealer’s next card is a ten then the insurance is forfeit instead of the initially wager, if the dealer’s card is not ten then the original wager plus the insurance will be forfeit.
There are many varying rules in Blackjack, for example: the number of decks, dealers hitting soft 17 and re-splitting. These can all affect the house advantage, so it is always worth checking the rules of online play before wagering. There is a basic strategy to blackjack; if players follow this strategy they will have an advantage over the dealer.
