Blackjack Rules

The objective of blackjack is to get the total value of your cards as close to 21 as possible, while still beating the value of the dealer's hand.

All cards numbered 2-10 are worth the face value on the card.  All "picture" cards (Jack, Queen,  or King) are worth 10.  All aces are worth either 1 or 11 at the player's discretion.

After the player makes his bet, the player receives two cards face up and the dealer receives two cards, one face up and one face down ("hole" card).

The player, upon looking at the value of his two cards and the value of the dealer's one card that is face up, has the option to take another card ("Hit") to try to get closer to 21, or leave the hand as it is ("Stay" or "Stand").  The player can "Hit" as many times as he/she wants and has the option to Stay after any "Hit."  If the player hits and the value of his/her cards exceeds 21 the player "Bust," and loses their bet.

Once the player has made the decision to "Stand," the dealer then turns over the "hole" card.

If the dealer's hand total is between 17-21, the dealer must "Stand."  If the dealer's hand is 16 or less, the dealer must keep hitting (taking cards) until either his hand is greater than 16 or the dealer "busts."

If the dealer "Busts," the player wins regardless of the value of his/her hand (pays 1:1 odds).

If the dealer "Stands" with a hand total between 17-21, the dealer's hand is compared to the players hand, and the higher total wins.  If the player's hand and the dealer's hand are the same value, it is a tie ("Push")

A blackjack is an ace and any card valued at 10 (10, Jack, Queen, or King), which totals 21 (pays 3:2 odds).  A blackjack always beats a 21 made up of 3 or more cards.

Additional Blackjack Betting Options and Actions

"Double Down" - the player is allowed to double his initial bet after seeing his first two cards, but only receives one more card after choosing to "double down."

"Split" - if the player is dealt two cards of identical values, the player has the option of splitting those cards into two separate hands.  An additional bet equal to the initial bet must be made for the second hand.  Now that the cards are split into two hands, the player receives one more card on the first of the split cards.  The player now has the option to "Hit" or "Stand" on that hand.  When the first hand is complete, the player receives a card on the second of the split hands and the player again has the option to "Hit" or "Stand."  When splitting aces, the player will only receives one additional card on each of the split hands.

"Insurance" - when the dealer's face up card is an ace, the player has the option of making an additional insurance bet of up to one-half of the initial bet.  If the dealer's hole card is any card with a value of 10 giving the dealer blackjack, the player's insurance bet wins (pays 2:1 odds).

"Surrender" - Some casinos may offer the player the ability to "Surrender" his hand. A "surrender" will give the player half of his bet back. However, if the dealer has blackjack, the entire bet is lost.