play black jack

Blackjack is one of the most popular card games in casinos around the world today, which continues to grow in popularity due to the fact that elements of skill are matched with luck. The following provides a history of blackjack, a terminology, as well as the basic rules of blackjack.
HistoryThe modern game of blackjack has its origins in the France of the early eighteenth century, where card games had taken off after being imported from the Islamic world via Chinese paper money games. Blackjack’s direct predecessor is Vingt-et-un (21), where the aim was to reach a ‘natural’ total of twenty-one cards, with cards being dealt in rounds followed by betting on each round. Other games from Italy and Spain are thought to have influenced blackjack proper, which first appeared in the US in the late 1870’s. Back then, bonus payouts were given to players who received a ‘black jack’ (either the Jack of Spades or Clubs) and Ace of Spades as their first two cards. The practice of giving bonuses for these cards was soon abolished, but the name stuck.
Modern RulesThe basic idea of blackjack is to get a hand value closer to twenty-one than that of the dealer, without going over. The cards are valued as follows; an ace counts as either 1 or 11, the cards from 2 to 9 are as indicated, while the 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10. If you go over 21 you ‘bust’. The game begins by all players placing bets. The dealer then deals two cards each, including to him/herself - cards which should not yet be touched. The dealer’s two cards are face-up and face-down (hole card). In the US, if the dealer's face-up card is an ace or a ten-value, the dealer checks their hole card to see if ‘blackjack’ is reached. If so, all players lose, apart from those who also have blackjack. A two-card hand of 21 (an ace plus a ten-value card) is called ‘blackjack’ or a ‘natural’, and wins automatically, unless the dealer has blackjack.
When playing his or her hand, a player’s options are to hit (take another card), stand (take no more), double down (double the wager, take one more, and then stand), split (double the wager and have each card be the first in a new hand - available only when both cards have the same value - or surrender, which is often not offered.
After all the players have decided, the dealer reveals his or her hidden hole card and plays the hand. If they bust, all remaining players win. Bets are normally paid out at the odds of 1:1, while players who push (tie) the dealer receive their original bet