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The cards in a game of Blackjack are dealt from a casino contraption called a shoe, which can contain anything from one standard fifty-two card deck to eight such decks depending on the rules of the casino you’re playing.
You begin a hand of Blackjack by placing an initial bet, which must be at least the casino’s advertised minimum for that table, after which you are dealt two cards face up. The dealer always receives one card face up and (commonly) a second card face down. Once these initial cards are dealt you can make a decision about what you want to do next. The options are:
Hit – a further card is dealt to you from the shoe. You can ‘hit’ as many times as you like, but if the value of the cards in your hand ends up exceeding twenty-one, you’re ‘bust’ and lose the game.
Stand – you decide to stick with the cards you’re holding and their value is judged against the dealer’s hand.
Split – if your two cards are of the same value (e.g. two fours or two picture cards) you can choose to split the hand and duplicate your bet to play each of them separately.
Double Down – If the combined value of your first two cards is nine, ten or eleven you can choose to double your bet and receive one further card after which you then ‘stand’.
Insurance – If the dealer’s face-up card is an Ace you can take out an additional side bet, typically half your original wager, to insure against him achieving Blackjack (i.e. his second card has a value of ten, giving a hand of twenty-one with just two cards).
Once you have concluded your turn without busting, the dealer then plays their hand. At the conclusion of the dealer’s turn the hands are compared and the strongest wins. In the event that the final hands are equal in value there is a ‘Push’ with the dealer and you get your original bet back.
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