Introduction to Blackjack

• What is Blackjack?

The ever-glamorous Blackjack, known as twenty-one or Pontoon, is the one of the most popular casino banking games in the universe and is played with at least one or up to 8 American decks, each containing 52 cards. The rules of blackjack are quite simple; a player has to add the value of two cards given so the total amount would come up to twenty-one.

Should the initial two cards falls short of the target number, the player can ask for one card at a time until the value of twenty-one is achieved, or if they have a reached a comfortable number, or has gone over the twenty-one value. The ultimate winner has two cards valued at twenty-one, or the nearest to that number. The player exceeding the twenty-one value, naturally folds and loses. Most casinos offer many Blackjack variations and rules. This game is highly dependent on chance, skill and perhaps, the ability to ‘count’ cards, a feat not easily attained.

• History

Blackjack’s history has a dubious origin. The initial written reference on blackjack was discovered in Miguel de Cervantes’s 1601 story (the writer of Don Quixote) Rinconetey Cortadillo, which tells of a couple of cheaters employed in Seville. In the story, these two men were excellent at cheating at’ventiuna’, which is Spanish for twenty-one, and informed people that the main goal of the game is to achieve twenty-one points without compromising the ace values1 or 11. The game was played using the Spanish ‘baraja’, which is missing eights, nines and tens. Much later references were discovered in both France and Spain.

When Blackjack was first initiated in America, it did not take off immediately, so what casino owners did was to entice players with many bonus payouts to lure gamers to the tables. One popular bonus was a 10 to 1 bonus payout if the player has the ace of spades and a black jack, clubs and spades both accepted. This particular combinationwas thus known as ‘blackjack’ and has stuck since.

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• How to Play

In the first place, a player must decide how much to bet by placing chips into a little container on the blackjack table which is known as the betting circle. After this, two cards are dealt and the dealer takes two for himself. The objective is to see which one (whether player or dealer) can get the closest to twenty-one without exceeding. Face cards are valued at 10, aces 1 to 11, depending on the player.

The player is allowed to peek at one of the dealer’s card, and then surmise to take one of his own; this is known as a hit. If a player is satisfied with his hand, it is called a stay or stand. To signify requesting a hit, the player must tap the table gently. For a stand signal, wave the hand once over cards. Hand signals are very important; the wrong ones would cause losses.

If a player hits, he receives another card and again faced with the same choice. A player can ask for as many cards as he wants, although unless very unlucky, it will not take that many to get twenty-one. Once a player decides to stand, the dealer will open his cards. The dealer too has house rules to abide by; if his two cards come to 16 or less, he has to hit, and if it’s 17 or more, the choice is to stay.

To put it simply, whoever comes nearest to twenty-one wins, if there is a tie, no money is exchanged and if both parties go over twenty-one, it is a bust.