Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one,
Vingt-et-un (French for Twenty-one), or Pontoon, is the most widely
played casino banking game in the world.[1] The basic rules of the game
involve adding the value of an initial two card hand in hopes of being
dealt a value of twenty-one. If a value of less than twenty-one is
dealt, the player may choose to be dealt single cards until they either
reach a value of twenty one, reach a value they feel comfortable to
play, or reach a value that exceeds twenty-one. The winner holds a hand
with a value of, or nearest to, twenty-one without exceeding it. The
game is played in many variations at casinos with different table rules.
Much of
Blackjack's popularity is due to the mix of chance, skill, and
the publicity that surrounds card counting (calculating the probability
of advantages based on the ratio of high cards to low cards).
In casino blackjack, the dealer faces one to seven players from behind a
kidney-shaped table. Each player plays his hand independently against
the dealer. At the beginning of each round, the player places a bet in
the "betting box" and receives an initial hand of two cards. The object
of the game is to get a higher card total than the dealer, but without
going over 21 which is called "busting", "breaking", or many other
terms. (The spot cards count 2 to 9; the 10, jack, queen, and king count
as ten; an ace can be either 1 or 11 at the player's choice). The player
goes first and plays his hand by taking additional cards if he desires.
If he busts, he loses. Then the dealer plays his or her hand. If the
dealer busts, he loses to all remaining players. If neither busts, the
higher hand total wins. If a player ties with the dealer the hand is a
"push" and the player's bet is returned.[clarification needed] It is
possible for the dealer to lose to some players but still beat other
players in the same round.
After receiving his initial two cards, the player has four standard
options: he can "Hit," "Stand," "Double Down," or "Split a pair." Each
option requires the use of a hand signal. At some casinos or tables, the
player may have a fifth option called "Surrender."
signal: (handheld) scrape cards against table; (face up) touch finger to
table or wave hand toward himself
- Stand: Take no more cards, also "stick" or "stay".
signal: (handheld) slide cards under bet; (face up) wave hand
horizontally
- Double down:To "double down" means the player is allowed to double his
initial bet in exchange for receiving only one more card from the
dealer.
- Split a pair: If his first two cards are a "pair," meaning two cards
of the same value, the player can "split the pair."
