The Objective
Although many players may play in a single round of blackjack, it's fundamentally a two-player game — the player versus the dealer.
The aim of the game is to accumulate a higher point total than the dealer, but without going over 21. You calculate your score by adding the values of your individual cards. The cards 2 through 10 have their face value, J, Q, and K are worth 10 points each, and the Ace is worth either 1 or 11 points — your choice.
The Deal
The dealer shuffles a deck of 52 playing cards and deals one card to each player clockwise face up, beginning with the player to their left, and then one card face up to themselves. Another round of cards is then dealt face up to each player, but the dealer takes their second card face down. Thus, each player except the dealer receives two cards face up, and the dealer receives one card face up and one card face down.
The Play
Naturals
If a player's first two cards are an ace and a ten-card (a picture card or 10), giving them a count of 21 in two cards, this is a natural or blackjack. If the dealer's face-up card is a ten-card or an ace, they look at their face-down card to see if the two cards make a natural. If the face-up card is not a ten-card or an ace, they do not look at the face-down card until it is the dealer's turn to play.
Drawing
The player to the left of the dealer goes first. They must decide whether to stand (not ask for another card) or hit (ask for another card in an attempt to get closer to a count of 21, or even hit 21 exactly). Thus, a player may stand on the two cards originally dealt them, or they may ask the dealer for additional cards, one at a time, until they either decide to stand on the total (if it is 21 or under), or go bust (if it is over 21).
Dealer's Play
When all players have finished their turns and have either decided to stand or have busted, the dealer turns over their hidden card. If the total is 17 or more, the dealer must stand. If the total is 16 or under, the dealer must take a card. They must continue to take cards until the total is 17 or more, at which point the dealer must stand. If the dealer has an ace, and counting it as 11 would bring their total to 17 or more (but not over 21), they must count the ace as 11 and stand.
Splitting Pairs
If a player's first two cards are of the same face value, they have the option to split the hand in two. They may place another bet of the same size as the original bet and play on with two hands. The player first plays the hand to their left by standing or hitting one or more times. After they have either stood or gone bust on that hand, they can then play the hand on the right.
Doubling Down
Another option open to the player is doubling their bet when the original two cards dealt total 9, 10, or 11. A player will usually take this option if they think they will beat the dealer. When the player's turn comes, they place a bet equal to the original bet, and will be dealt one more card face down. This bet won't be settled until all the other players are dealt with.
Betting and Winning
Each player decides how much to bet on a hand before the deal.
If the dealer goes bust, all players who are left in the game win. Otherwise, players with higher point totals than the dealer win, while players with lower totals than the dealer lose.
Players with a blackjack win a bet plus a bonus amount, which is normally equal to half their original wager. A blackjack hand beats any other hand, also those with a total value of 21 but with more cards.
Each hand will result in one of the following events for the player:
Lose – the player's bet is taken by the dealer.
Win – the player wins as much as they bet. If you bet $10, you win $10 from the dealer (plus you keep your original bet, of course).
Blackjack (natural) – the player wins 1.5 times the bet. With a bet of $10, you keep your $10 and win a further $15 from the dealer.
As described above, if the dealer has a blackjack, players with blackjack make a push, while all other players lose.