In this example, the hand would be called a 'soft 19'. A soft hand is a hand that contains an Ace and could be considered one of two values.įor example, if a player is dealt an Ace and an 8, the hand could be considered either 9 or 19 depending on whether you count the Ace as a 1 or an 11. Hands can be described as either 'soft' or 'hard' depending on whether or not they contain an Ace. The 'face' cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks) If you get closer to 21 than the dealer or the dealer goes over 21, you win!

If your score is over 21, you have 'gone bust' and you automatically lose your bet.

The aim of the game is to beat the dealer's hand by getting as close to 21 as possible without going over. The cards are scored based on their rank, with a couple of exceptions. Both of the cards the player receives will be dealt face up, and the dealer will deal themself one card face up (called the up-card) and one card face down. Once all bets have been made, the dealer will deal the cards one at a time to each player who has wagered, and to themselves. In the casino, you make your wagers with physical chips, but if you're playing online, this is replaced by digital representations of chips. When playing blackjack, you place your bets before you get any information on the cards you'll receive. Dealing the cardsīefore the game begins, players are required to make their bets if they wish to play. The cards are then placed into a 'shoe' which allows the dealer to easily deal the cards. It can be played with anywhere from 1 to 8 decks of cards (minus the jokers and the rules card), though the games you're most likely to come across will use at least 6 decks of cards.Īs a standard practice, all of the decks are shuffled together and a cutting card is then inserted into the deck at a specific position-usually between ½ and ⅚ of its total length-to ensure randomness and fairness in the dealing process. Blackjack is a card game that can be played at the casino or online.

Rules to black jack