Your first game of Blackjack

Set up

You play against the dealer, not against the other people at the table. Choose a bet in points, from 10 to 500 in steps of 10. You and the dealer each get two cards. Yours are face up. One of the dealer’s is face up and the other is face down. Our table uses six decks shuffled together.

Your first hand

Add up your cards. Numbers count as written, jacks, queens and kings are 10, and an ace is 11 or 1, whichever suits you. You want a total closer to 21 than the dealer’s, without going over.

Hit to take another card, or stand to stop. Going over 21 is a bust, and a bust loses the hand at once. Two more choices: double down to double your bet and take one last card, and split a pair into two hands. Our table also lets you surrender a first hand you don’t like and keep half your bet.

How a round ends

When you stand, the dealer turns over the hidden card and keeps drawing until the total is 17 or more. At our table the dealer stands on a soft 17, a 17 that counts an ace as 11. Then the hands are compared. A higher total wins and pays 1 to 1. A tie, called a push, gives your bet back. A blackjack, an ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards, pays 3 to 2.

A short example

You are dealt a 10 and a 6, a total of 16, and the dealer shows a 6. A low card for the dealer often means a bust, so you stand. The dealer turns over a 10 for a total of 16, which means drawing again. The next card is a 7, and the dealer’s 23 is a bust. You win the hand.