Game Play:
The goal of the game is to beat the dealer by gaining a higher card value total than the dealer without “busting out”. Each player and the dealer are dealt 2 cards. The dealer receives one card face up and one card face down. Jack, Queen, and King cards are worth 10. 2 to 10 cards are worth their face value. Aces are worth 1 or 11, players may choose as which suits their hand best. If the player and the dealer have the same card value, it’s called a “push”, or a tie. When this happens, neither dealer nor players wins that hand. Players play games individually against the dealer. Dealers can lose to one player, but still beat the other players. Players have the following options in a normal BlackJack round. A player can “hit” in which they will get dealt another card. A player can “stand” to stop receiving cards and keeping the current card value total. A player can “double down” which will double their bet, while receiving another card and then stand. Last, a player can “split”. A split is when both cards in a players’ hand have the same value and they wish to split the hand and double the bet. Each card becomes the first card in a new hand.

Basic Strategies:
If a player is dealt 21 on his/her initial hand, it is called a natural Blackjack. The player then receives 2.5 times his/her stake unless the dealer also draws a Blackjack. When a player has a high hand such as 17 or more, the ideal move is to “stand”, refuse anymore cards. They can also “hit” if the dealer draws a low card. The dealer is required to “hit” on hands that are 16 and lower. In this case, there is a good chance of the dealer going “bust” if the dealer draws a high card. If the player feels their hand is low, they may “hit” and accept as many cards as they like as long as their hand remains below 21. If the additional cards they receive take their hand above 21, it is a “bust” and they lose immediately. If a player’s first hand dealt is between 9-11, they may be able to “double”. If they have been dealt two matching cards, they could “split”. If the dealer’s exposed card is an ace, the player will be offered insurance.

BlackJack Terminology:

Anchorman – the player seated to the far right of the dealer which is always dealt last.
Blackjack – the natural total of 21 on the first two cards; also called a “natural”.
Bust – the hand totaling over 21 which automatically loses.
Dealer – the one who deals the cards, the one to beat.
Deck – the standard card amount of 52 cards used in blackjack.
Double Down – the option to double his/her bet.
Face Cards – the jack, queen, and king which are worth 10 points each.
First Baseman – the player seated to the far left of the dealer which is always dealt first.
Hand – the cards dealt to each player.
Hard Hand – any hand without an ace; also any hand with an ace where it must be counted as 1 to stop busting.
Hard Total – the total of a hard hand.
Head-to-Head – playing one-on-one with the dealer, no other players at the table.
Hit – drawing another card.
Hole Card – the dealers’ unseen card.
Insurance – an optional bet player can place when dealer draws an ace; a side bet that the dealer has a blackjack.
Natural – same as a blackjack.
Push – when both the player and dealer tie; no one wins or loses.
Round – when all players at the table completed acting on their hands.
Shoe – the dealer’s box containing a deck of cards designed to deal one card at a time.
Shuffle – mixing up the cards before they are dealt.
Soft Hand – a hand in which an ace can be counted as an 11 or as a 1 without the hand busting.
Soft Total – the total of a soft hand.
Splitting Pairs – the player’s option to split identical cards and play them as separate hands.
Surrender – choosing not to play the hand you’ve been dealt.
Twenty-One – another term used for blackjack.
Upcard – the dealer’s face-up card visible to players.