Blackjack is an extremely popular card gambling game both online and offline. The goal here is to beat the bank and get as close as possible to the number 21 with your own hand of cards without exceeding it. The origin of this card game cannot be traced back exactly. However, it is believed that people played similar card games as early as the 17th century, which also involved scoring 21 points. But how is Blackjack played in detail and what are the values of the individual cards?
The most charming thing about Blackjack is its easy to understand set of rules. The game is played at a semi-circular table, which seats up to six players and the Croupier, who represents the bank. First, the croupier deals two cards to each Player and himself. The first card is face up and the other is face down. In the following, each player must decide whether he wants to hold the existing cards ("stand") or optionally draw a third card ("hit"). Alternative courses of action are "double down", "split" or "surrender".
The croupier, as a representative of the bank, always acts last. He is required to draw another card if the hand is 16 or less, and to hold the current value if the hand is 17 to 21. As a player, you win if your own hand is higher than the croupier's hand. However, as soon as your own card value exceeds 21 in total, you have bust and lose the game. The same applies to the croupier.
In Blackjack, all cards count according to their face value. This means that a 7, for example, is counted as 7 points. Each face card (e.g. King, Queen, Jack) counts as 10 points and an Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11 points. For example, if you have a Jack and an Ace in your hand, you have a Blackjack and won the round. The suit of the playing cards has no relevance in Blackjack.
Especially in online casinos, there is now often a large selection of different blackjack versions. As an inexperienced Blackjack player, you should rather start with the standard version to familiarize yourself with the game principle. Other popular game versions include Double Exposure Blackjack, Pontoon Blackjack, Blackjack Surrender and Atlantic City Blackjack.
The house advantage in blackjack is particularly low when playing the game in the right way. Depending on the game version selected, the house edge can be well below 1%. In the meantime, Blackjack is also becoming increasingly popular in live casinos.