Blackjack is a casino card game in which each player competes against the dealer to collect hands that total closer to 21 than his/her dealer’s hand. When drawing cards, players have two choices when “hitting” (receiving more cards) or standing (stop drawing cards) according to predetermined rules; similarly, dealers must adhere to specific guidelines such as standing on 17s or splitting certain two-card hands.
Complexity in this game is increased further by side bets that increase the house edge for even seasoned players. These include insurance that pays out when the dealer holds an ace up, as well as various poker-style bets on whether he will bust or have a pair; all must be placed before cards are dealt out.
The standard game takes place on a circular table that seats anywhere from three to seven players (seven being most common). Dealers stand behind the table and chip rack while players gather around it. Each player is assigned one of seven numbers from 1-7; these correspond with circles on the table. Wagers, winnings, and remaining credits can all be seen on the lower section of the screen.
Once the bets have been placed, a dealer will distribute each player two cards face up. From here, players may decide either to “hit” for more cards or stand with their current hand and keep drawing more cards until all have decided either hit or stood; once all players have made their decisions, the dealer will reveal his face-down card; if this contains a blackjack, all original bets will be paid out immediately whereas otherwise all bets will remain unchanged, and play resumes another round.
Many casinos have introduced rules designed to make blackjack more appealing for players, such as decreasing its payout ratio from 8:5 to 6:5, thus significantly increasing the house edge and making it harder for them to beat it. They’ve also allowed them to switch cards between wagerered hands without incurring an additional cost and surrender any undesirable two-card hands without penalty.
At times, dealers in blackjack games will check their hole card before paying out any remaining bets, to make sure there isn’t a ten underneath which would give them a blackjack and give out at a higher rate than players’ wagers. While card counters might like this rule as it lowers chances for good hands.
