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Blackjack is unquestionably the most popular card game played in the world today. Its main particularity is that there is no competition between or among the players; rather, each of them plays against the dealer. One should distinguish between classic Blackjack and Twenty-One. The two games differ in a number of rules. However, knowing how to play Twenty-One will facilitate mastering Blackjack skills.
History
Blackjack’s “great grandfather” is believed to be Twenty One, a game of uncertain origin. Interestingly enough, the earliest record of the Twenty-One game was made by Miguel de Cervantes, who authored the famous Don Quixote. In one of his short stories, Cervantes described the rules of the game called Ventiuna (Spanish for “twenty-one”), where the main objective was to reach 21 points. This short story was written in 1601, which makes the game at least 400 years old! At the beginning of the 17th century, Twenty-One was already known both in France and Spain. One hundred years later it was imported to the United States, Blackjack’s home country.
At the outset Twenty-One was not the most popular game in the US. Therefore, to provide an incentive for players to play it, casinos had to come up with creative marketing tools, offering, among other things, various bonuses in addition to the regular awards paid to the players. One of such bonuses was a payout of 10:1 for having a combination of an Ace of hearts and any black suit Jack (a Jack or hearts or a Jack of spades, that is). This combination became known as a blackjack; hence the name of the game although eventually the 10:1 bonus came into oblivion. Nowadays a blackjack winning combination is an Ace with either a 10 or any face card, irrespective of the suit.
Description
Both a single player and multiple players can play in Blackjack, competing against the dealer. The objective of the Blackjack game is to reach a score of exactly 21 points (or the highest score under 21). One or several (up to a total of 8) 52-card decks may be used in the game. Since the odds of making a blackjack are higher in a several-deck game than in a game with one or two decks, the larger the number of the decks, the lower the player’s edge. Prior to the beginning of the game, the players make bets. If a game is played in a casino, this is done by placing the chips in specially designated betting boxes on the semicircular Blackjack table before the cards are dealt. Once the dealing begins, one is not allowed to touch the chips.
The dealer deals two cards to each player, and one card to himself or herself (Note that in one of the variations of Blackjack, the dealer is dealt two cards, one of them face down). Each card is dealt face up so that both the dealer and the players can see its rank.
A player wins instantly if after the initial dealing a player has a blackjack a hand with an Ace with either a 10 or any face card in which case the automatic payout is 3:2. The only exception to this rule is when the first card dealt to the dealer is an Ace, a 10 or any face card, and thus there is still a likelihood that the dealer will have a blackjack too. Accordingly, in such a situation the player has two either to immediately collect his or her payout, this time at the rate of 1:1 only, or to wait until the dealing is over.
The players who have not had a blackjack after the initial dealing, may either take one more card or continue the game with the two initial cards only. The players who after taking the third card reaches a score in excess of 21, loses his or her bet to the house. If after being dealt two cards, the dealer has a blackjack, all of the players except for those having a blackjack, lose.
Rules
The main objective of the Blackjack game is to beat the dealer by either having a Blackjack combination or reaching the highest score under 21.
The cards have the following value:
- Number-cards (2-10): face value Aces:
- 11 points (if the a total score is not in excess of 21) or 1 point (if there is a ‘bust’)
- Jacks, Queens and Kings: 10 points
Determining a Winner and a Loser
- The dealer wins and the players lose if, after being dealt two cards, the dealer reaches a score of 21 points. An exception is made for those who have a blackjack combination: They recover their bets.
- In a situation where the score is tied (a ‘push’), players usually recover their bets although in some casinos the dealer still wins.
- A player who, after being dealt the initial two cards, has a blackjack, wins and receives the payout of 3:2 (except when the dealer also has a blackjack).
Additional Blackjack Rules
These rules apply when a player who has been dealt the two initial cards does not have a blackjack and chooses to take one more card (to ‘hit’).
(А) Double Down: A player may double the initial bet and take one more card. In some casinos tripling the initial bet is allowed.
(B) Insurance: A player may “insure” his or her bet against a situation where the dealer has a blackjack. This rule may be used if the first card dealt to the dealer is an Ace, and, thus, the dealer might end up making a blackjack combination. To reduce his or her potential lost, the player has an option of taking “insurance” and making an additional bet equal to one half of the initial one. If after being dealt the second card the dealer has a blackjack, the “insurance” bet pays at the rate of 2:1 to the player. Otherwise, the bet goes to the house.
(C) Surrender: If for some reason the player is not satisfied with the initial first two cards dealt, the player has an option of withdrawing from the game. Surrender is allowed only where the player has neither split nor taken the third card yet. By surrendering, the player loses 50% of the bet made.
Rules of Splitting
A player may split his or her hand into two if the initial two cards dealt to the player are of the same rank or face cards, thus, having the same value. To proceed with splitting, the player is required to place an additional bet, equal to the initial one. By using this rule, the player can build two hands and, accordingly, end up with two winning combinations, not just one.
