The objective of blackjack is to draw as close to 21 as possible without going over. (Drawing a hand over 21 is referred to as going bust, and is an automatic loss.) To win, the player must make a higher hand than the dealer. If the dealer busts, the player wins. If the player busts, or the dealer shows a higher hand, the player forfeits his bet.

To play a game of blackjack, the player places a bet on the table in the designated spot. Each player at the table is dealt two cards, face up. The dealer also deals two cards for himself; one facing up, the other facing down.

Cards have the following values in Blackjack. Simply add the card values together to determine your hand. Disregard suits, only the card values matter:

• Ace = 1 or 11
• King, Queen, Jack = 10
• 2-10 = Face value

Any hand where an Ace is counted as 11 is called a soft total. All other hands, including those where an ace counts as 1, is called a hard total. For example, an Ace-7 can be either a soft 18 or a hard 8.

The player then proceeds to indicate to the dealer whether they want to hit, stand, double down, or, if dealt a pair, split.

• To hit, the player indicates that they want another card. Players can keep hitting until they decide to stand, or until they bust.
• To stand, the player indicates they want no more cards, and will play the hand at it's current value.
• To double down, the player places another bet, up to double the value of their initial bet. The player is then dealt just one more card. No further action can be taken on the hand.
• If dealt a pair (two cards with the same value), the player can choose to split the hand into two separate hands by placing an additional bet equal to their initial bet. The dealer then splits the pair into two hands and deals a second card for each hand. Split hands play just like regular hands, and can (usually) be doubled down or even re-split.
• Players cannot double down or split after they've decided to hit for a third card.

Once all of the players have decided to stand (or have gone bust), the dealer plays his hand. The dealer's second card is turned over. If the dealer's hand is less than 17, he hits until he gets 17 or higher, or goes bust. Some tables have a rule where the dealer hits on soft 17. This rule increases the house advantage slightly.

If the dealer doesn't bust, any players with better hands on the table win 1:1 on their bet. If the dealer busts, any players with hands still in the game win 1:1. If a player has the same hand as the dealer, the player receives his initial bet back. This is called a push.

When a player (or dealer) is dealt an Ace-10 (soft 21) as their first two cards, this hand is called a blackjack. A player that is dealt a blackjack wins 3:2 on their initial bet. A blackjack beats all hands, even a hard 21. For example, if the player holds 21 and the dealer holds a blackjack, the player loses. If both the player and dealer hold a blackjack, the hand is a push. Note that a split hand with Ace-10 counts as 21 instead of blackjack.

If the dealer's face up card is an ace, the house may offer insurance against a dealer blackjack. Do not take the insurance bet – it has a high house advantage and is rarely in the player's favor. (The exception would be when the player is counting cards, and can determine whether there are enough aces in the deck to make the bet profitable.) Another variation on this is even money, where the house offers a 1:1 payout on a blackjack if the dealer is showing an ace. Again, do not take this bet.

Some tables may offer the player the option to surrender after the first two cards are dealt. By surrendering, the player gets half of their initial bet back. In late surrender, the most common variation of the rule, the dealer checks to see if he's holding a blackjack before accepting surrender. Surrender offers a slight player advantage and should be taken in the proper situations. See the basic strategy chart below.