BLACKJACK

The object of the blackjack game is to beat the dealer without busting. You bust when your cards total to more than 21 and you lose automatically. The winner in blackjack is whoever has closest to a total of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards. Face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) are worth ten points each, the other cards count as their numerical values, and Aces are worth one or 11, whichever is preferable.

If you make a total of 21 with the first two cards (a 10 or a face and an Ace), you win automatically. This is called a 'Blackjack'. Here you can play free blackjack online with free chips.

Blackjack is a popular American casino game, now found throughout the world. It is a banking game in which the aim of the player is to achieve a hand whose points total nearer to 21 than the banker's hand, but without exceeding 21.

Marvin L. French reports that in Nevada casinos this game is called 21 rather than Blackjack; "Blackjack" is the name of the same game played in the home, with slightly different rules mostly associated with the absence of a house dealer. The "Blackjack" holding of ace and jack is called a "natural" by all casino personnel.

Confusingly, the name Black Jack is used in Britain for an entirely different card game which is essentially the same as Crazy Eights.

The basic premise of a blackjack game is that you want to have a hand value that is closer to 21 than that of the dealer, without going over 21. Your hand is strictly played against the hand of the dealer. The rules of blackjack play for the dealer are strictly dictated, leaving no decisions up to the dealer. Therefore, there is not a problem if anyone at the table sees the cards in your hand. Indeed, if you're playing at a shoe game, the player (i.e. your) cards are all dealt face up. In playing blackjack, the cards are valued as follows: An Ace can count as either 1 or 11. The cards from 2 through 9 are valued as indicated. The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10.