Blackjack Rules

The rules of blackjack are very simple and easy to understand. The players are against the dealer and the tables accommodate up to seven players. Casinos are playing with a single or double deck, or four to eight decks of cards in a shoe.

If they use one or two decks, dealers usually deal from their hands by pitching the cards to each player face down. If they use multiple decks, usually four to six, they deal from a shoe and all cards are dealt face up.

After the cards are shuffled and cut by a player, the dealer removes one (or more in some casinos) of the top cards and places it face down into the discard tray. This is called the "burn" card, and players are prevented from seeing it. Sometimes you can, and you should make every effort to do so. The reason the dealer burns cards is to make the life of card counters more difficult.

When you sit at a blackjack table, the dealer starts dealing the cards from his left to his right. Each card has a point value. Queens, Jacks and Kings are worth ten points each, the Ace can be either one or eleven. All other cards are face value. The object of the game is to beat the dealer by obtaining a total of 21 points or as close to 21 as possible, without exceeding it. If you exceed 21, it is called a "bust" and you automatically lose.

If you don't bust and your total is higher than the dealer's total, you win even money, e.g., if you bet $2 you win $2. If your total is the same as the dealer's, it's a tie or "push" and you neither win nor lose.

If your first two cards are a 10 value card and an Ace, you have a natural blackjack, a total of 21, and you automatically win unless the dealer also has a natural blackjack. In that case, it's a push. However, if you win, the payoff is three to two. A $2 bet wins $3.

When a player is dealt the first two cards, he can stand (take no more cards) or hit regardless of its point value. So if you are dealt 13 with the first two cards and you are afraid you might bust your hand if you hit it, you can stand on 13. The dealer doesn't have that option.

If the dealer is dealt a natural blackjack (10 value card and an Ace), everyone loses immediately, unless someone else also has a natural blackjack, which is a push.

There might be some slight variations to the basic blackjack rules at different casinos. You just have to ask the dealer when you sit down to play and read the signs on the black jack table.