Blackjack basics

Hiring a blackjack table for an evening’s entertainment can be a lot of fun, but you need to make sure you actually understand the game to really enjoy yourself.

Most people have probably played 21 at home – blackjack is not a lot different. The object is to score 21 points with your hand without going over. The closest hand to 21 without going above is the winner.

Pretty simple really, but there are a few other elements to blackjack that makes it just about the most popular casino game on the planet.

First of all, the dealer. In blackjack you play against the dealer, so you’re aiming to beat his hand without going over 21. The dealer faces the players behind a curved blackjack table and deals their cards.

To start, players place bets in a betting box – you cannot touch the bets once they’ve been made, although you can potentially increase it later by ‘doubling down’.

The dealer will then deal out two cards to each player face up, and one face up to himself. The second dealer card, the ‘hole’ card, can then be dealt face down, or sometimes will not even be dealt until all hands have been played.

Values: Ace can count as 1 or 11 – it’s up to you as a player to choose what suits your hand best. 10 and face cards all count as 10 and numbered cards their face value.

A blackjack is a hand with an Ace (11) and a face card. Originally the blackjack was a hand with an Ace of Spades and one of either the two black Jacks, clubs or spades. This hand often paid a bonus in casinos – the bonus doesn’t exist any more but the name stuck.

Each player considers their two cards and play in turn.

Player options:  Players can ‘hit’, which means to take another card from the deck, or ‘stand’, which sees their turn end as they are happy with the total. It’s common to stand if your hand values 17 or higher as the chances of going bust by taking another card are high.

Players may also ‘double’, which means they double their bet and take a single card and finish.

If the players has two cards of the same value it’s possible to split the cards and play two hands.

Once all players have finished their hands, the dealer reveals his second, or ‘hole’ card and plays, always doing so in a specific way with no choices. Usually they will stand on all 17s, meaning he will draw cards until his total is 17 or greater.