Blackjack , also known as Twenty-one , Vingt-et-un (French for Twenty-one), or Pontoon , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. The standard game is played with one or more Anglo-American decks containing 52 cards. The basic rules of the game involve adding the value of an initial two card hand in hopes of being dealt a value of twenty-one. If a value of less than twenty-one is dealt, the player may choose to be dealt single cards until they either reach a value of twenty one, reach a value they feel comfortable to play, or reach a value that exceeds twenty-one. The winner holds a hand with a value of, or nearest to, twenty-one without exceeding it. The game is played in many variations at casinos with different table rules. Much of blackjack's popularity is due to the mix of chance, skill, and the publicity that surrounds card counting (calculating the probability of advantages based on the ratio of high cards to low cards). The casino version of the game should not be confused with the British card game Black Jack (a variant of Crazy Eights).
History
Blackjack's precursor was "twenty-one," a game of unknown origin. The first written reference is found in a book of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, and a gambler himself. The main characters of his tale "Rinconete y Cortadillo", from "Novelas Ejemplares", are a couple of cheaters working in Seville. They are proficient at cheating at "veintiuna" (Spanish for twenty-one), and stated that the object of the game is to reach 21 points without busting, and that the Ace values 1 or 11. The game is played with Baraja , that is without tens, which makes the game similar to the current Spanish 21. This short story was written between 1601 and 1602, so the game was played in Castilia since the beginning of the 17th Century or even earlier. Later references of this game are found in France and Spain.
When 21 was introduced in the United States it was not very popular, so gambling houses tried offering various bonus payouts to get the players to the tables. One such bonus was a 10-to-1 payout if the player's hand consisted of the ace of spades and a black Jack (either the Jack of clubs or the Jack of spades). This hand was called a "blackjack" and the name stuck to the game, even though the bonus payout was soon abolished. In the modern game, a "natural" or "blackjack" is simply an ace plus a ten-value card.
Rules of play against a casino
In casino blackjack, the dealer faces one to seven players from behind a kidney-shaped table. Each player plays his hand independently against the dealer. At the beginning of each round, the player places a bet in the "betting box" and receives an initial hand of two cards. The object of the game is to get a higher card total than the dealer, but without going over 21 which is called "busting", "breaking", or many other terms. Cards with a number 2 to 10 printed on them count as that value; the jack, queen, and king (also known as "face cards") count as 10; and the ace card can be either 1 or 11 at the player's choice. The player goes first and plays his hand by taking additional cards if he desires. If he goes over 21 points, he "busts" and automatically loses the hand and his bet. Then the dealer plays his or her hand. If the dealer busts, he loses to all remaining players who have cards whose values are equal to or below 21. If neither busts, the higher hand total wins. If a player ties with the dealer the hand is a "push" and the player's bet is returned. It is possible for the dealer to lose to some players but still beat other players in the same round.
Cards are dealt in three ways, either from one or two hand-held decks, from a box (known as a "shoe") containing four to eight decks, or from a shuffling machine. When dealt by hand, the player's two initial cards are usually face-down, while the dealer has one face-up card called the "upcard" and one face-down card called the "hole card." (In European blackjack, the dealer's hole card is not actually dealt until the players all play their hands.) When dealt from a shoe, all player cards are normally dealt face-up, with minor exceptions. It shouldn't matter to the non-expert player whether his cards are dealt face-down or face-up since the dealer must play according to predetermined rules. If the dealer has less than 17, he must hit. If the dealer has 17 or more, he must stand (take no more cards), unless it is a "soft 17" (a hand that includes an ace valued as "11," for example a hand consisting of Ace+6, or Ace+2+4). With a soft 17, the dealer follows the casino rules printed on the blackjack table, either to "hit soft 17" or to "stand on all 17's."
Normally, the highest possible hand is a "blackjack" or "natural," meaning an initial two-card total of 21 (an ace and a ten-value card). A player blackjack is an automatic winner unless the dealer also has blackjack, in which case the hand is a "push" (a tie). When the dealer upcard is an ace, the player is allowed to make a side bet called "insurance," supposedly to guard against the risk that the dealer has a blackjack (i.e., a ten-value card as his hole card). The insurance bet pays 2-to-1 if the dealer has a blackjack. Whenever the dealer has a blackjack, he wins against all player hands except those that also have a blackjack (which are a "push").
The minimum and maximum bets are posted on the table. The payoff on most bets is 1:1, meaning that the player wins the same amount as he bets. The payoff for a player blackjack is 3:2, meaning that the casino pays $3 for each $2 originally bet. (There are many single-deck games which pay only 6:5 for a blackjack.)
Player decisions
After receiving his initial two cards, the player has four standard options: he can "Hit," "Stand," "Double Down," or "Split a pair." Each option requires the use of a hand signal. At some casinos or tables, the player may have a fifth option called "Surrender."
- Hit : Take another card from the dealer.
- Stand : Take no more cards; also known as "stick" or "stay".
- Double down : After receiving his first two cards and before any more are dealt to him, a player has the option to "double down." This means the player is allowed to double his initial bet in exchange for receiving only one more card from the dealer. The hand played consists of his original two cards plus one more from the dealer. To do this he moves a second bet equal to the first into the betting box next to his original bet. (If desired and allowed by casino rules, the player is usually allowed to "double down for less," placing an amount less than the original bet next to it in the betting box, although this is generally not a good idea as the player should only double in favorable situations but should then increase the bet as much as possible. Adversely, a player cannot "double down for more" than the value of the original bet.)
- Split a pair : If his first two cards are a "pair," meaning two cards of the same value, the player can "split the pair." To do this, he moves a second bet equal to the first into an area outside the betting box of the original bet. The dealer separates the cards to create two hands, placing one bet with each hand. The player then plays two separate hands.
- Surrender : Some casinos offer a fifth option called "surrender." After the dealer has checked for blackjack, the player may "surrender" by giving up half his bet and not playing out the hand.
Hand signals are used to assist the "eye in the sky," a person or video camera located above the table but concealed behind one-way glass. This tool is used to protect the casino against dealers or players who cheat. It may also be used to protect the casino against card counters, even though card counting is not illegal.
The player can take as many hits as he wants as long as the total in his hand is not above hard-20. However, if he busts, he loses that hand. After all players have finished making their decisions, the dealer then reveals his hole card and plays out his or her hand according to predetermined rules.
Rule variations and the "house advantage"
The blackjack player will encounter many rule variations which affect the house advantage and therefore affect his chances of winning. Some rules are determined by law or regulation, others by the casino itself. Not all rules are posted, so the player may have to ask either beforehand or when the situation occurs. Over 100 variations exist.
The casino has a "house advantage" at blackjack just as it does at any other casino game. The primary house advantage in blackjack comes from the fact that if the player busts he loses, irrespective of whether the dealer subsequently busts. If a particular casino game has a house advantage of 5%, it means that - over the long run - the casino will win about 5% of any initial bet. As long as the blackjack player uses the best possible strategy (a strategy which is known as "basic strategy"), the house advantage in blackjack is usually less than 1%. This is very favorable to the player compared to other casino games. Of course, many blackjack players do not know basic strategy or do not follow it, so t
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