how to play 21

Blackjack is a popular American casino game, now found throughout the world. It is a banking game in which the aim of the player is to achieve a hand whose points total nearer to 21 than the banker's hand, but without exceeding 21. Enterbet Blackjack casinos this game is called 21 rather than Blackjack; "Blackjack" is the name of the same game played in the home, with slightly different rules mostly associated with the absence of a house dealer. The "Blackjack" holding of ace and jack is called a "natural" by all casino personnel.

The values of the cards in each hand are added with 2 through 10 having face value, Ace having value 1 or 11 (player's choice), and King, Jack, and Queen cards having the value 10. If the player's and the dealer's hands have the same point value, this is known as a "push", and neither player wins the hand. After initial bets are placed, the dealer deals the cards (either from a single hand-held deck of cards, or more commonly from a shoe containing four or more decks): two cards to each player, including himself. One of the dealer's two cards is visible, the other hidden (the hidden card is known as the "hole card"; in European blackjack, the hole card is not actually dealt until the players all play their hands). The cards of the players are dealt either face up or face down, depending on local casino practice; face up is the most common. At this point, if any player has a "natural" 21.