BLACKJACK
Blackjack first appeared in the French casino as 'Vingt-et-un' (twenty one) in the early part of the 18th Century. Blackjack is thought to have been developed from earlier card games such as Chemin de Fer and French Ferme.The predecessor to blackjack reached the USA around a century later as '21' but had a hard time fitting in with the established casino games like roulette and craps. Casino operators decided they needed to spice up their new game to convince punters to play, so they offered a bonus payout of 10:1 if your first two cards were the Ace and Jack of Spades. This led to the bonus two-card combo being nicknamed and as the years passed, the game of '21' also took on the name - blackjack.
OBJECTIVE OF BLACKJACK
The objective of blackjack is to beat the dealer by having a hand with a greater value than his, that is as close to 21 as possible and without busting (having a hand value greater than 21). All face cards are valued at ten and the cards from 2-10 weight at face value.BLACKJACK RULES
In blackjack the player bets blind, in that they place their bet before any cards have been dealt. The blackjack dealer then deals two cards to each player (both face up) and two to himself (one remains face down depending on the version of blackjack and is known as the hole card). The player assesses the value of his cards versus the blackjack dealer's up-card and has to make a decision.There are only four decisions that a blackjack player can make: Hit, Stand, Split or Double and you can use your basic strategy table to find out which is the most suitable for any given blackjack situation.
Once you and the other blackjack players stand or go bust it is the dealer's turn to play his blackjack hand. The dealer reveals his hole card and must continue to hit until his cards reach a total of 17 or more. If the dealer has not busted then he must stand when his cards reach a total of 16, irrespective of the cards you or the other players are holding.
If the dealer goes bust, all players left in the blackjack game win. If you play on a multiplayer blackjack table, you do not compete against each other, only against the house. A winning hand pays out in the ratio 1:1 unless you hold blackjack (an Ace and a 10-value card) which pays 3:2. A £10 bet would therefore return £15 if you had blackjack. If the player and the dealer have the same hand this is declared a push and your bet is returned to you.
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