BLACKJACK

Rules of play against a casino

In casino blackjack, the dealer faces one to seven players from behind a kidney-shaped table. Each player plays his hand independently against the dealer. At the beginning of each round, the player places a bet in the "betting box" and receives an initial hand of two cards. The object of the game is to get a higher card total than the dealer, but without going over 21 which is called "busting", "breaking", or many other terms. The player goes first and plays his hand by taking additional cards if he desires. If he busts, he loses. Then the dealer plays his or her hand. If the dealer busts, he loses to all remaining players. If neither busts, the higher hand total wins. If a player ties with the dealer the hand is a "push" and the player's bet is returned.[clarification needed] It is possible for the dealer to lose to some players but still beat other players in the same round.
Example of a Blackjack game. The top half of the picture shows the beginning of the round, with bets placed and an initial two cards for each player. The bottom half shows the end of the round, with the associated losses or payoffs.

Cards are dealt in three ways, either from one or two hand-held decks, from a box containing four to eight decks called a "shoe," or from a shuffling machine. When dealt by hand, the player's two initial cards are usually face-down, while the dealer has one face-up card called the "upcard" and one face-down card called the "hole card."  When dealt from a shoe, all player cards are normally dealt face-up, with minor exceptions. It shouldn't matter to the non-expert player whether his cards are dealt face-down or face-up since the dealer must play according to predetermined rules. If the dealer has less than 17, he must hit. If the dealer has 17 or more, he must stand , unless it is a "soft 17" . With a soft 17, the dealer follows the casino rules printed on the blackjack table, either to "hit soft 17" or to "stand on all 17's."

Normally, the highest possible hand is a "blackjack" or "natural," meaning an initial two-card total of 21 . A player blackjack is an automatic winner unless the dealer also has blackjack, in which case the hand is a "push" . When the dealer upcard is an ace, the player is allowed to make a side bet called "insurance," supposedly to guard against the risk that the dealer has a blackjack (i.e., a ten-value card as his hole card). The insurance bet pays 2-to-1 if the dealer has a blackjack. Whenever the dealer has a blackjack, he wins against all player hands except those that also have a blackjack .

The minimum and maximum bets are posted on the table. The payoff on most bets is 1:1, meaning that the player wins the same amount as he bets. The payoff for a player blackjack is 3:2, meaning that the casino pays $3 for each $2 originally bet. 

Player decisions

After receiving his initial two cards, the player has four standard options: he can "Hit," "Stand," "Double Down," or "Split a pair." Each option requires the use of a hand signal. At some casinos or tables, the player may have a fifth option called "Surrender."

* Hit: Take another card.

signal:  scrape cards against table;  touch finger to table or wave hand toward himself

* Stand: Take no more cards, also "stick" or "stay".

signal:  slide cards under bet;  wave hand horizontally

* Double down: After receiving his first two cards and before any more are dealt to him, a player has the option to "double down". To "double down" means the player is allowed to double his initial bet in exchange for receiving only one more card from the dealer. The hand played consists of his original two cards plus one more from the dealer. To do this he moves a second bet equal to the first into the betting box next to his original bet. 

signal: place additional chips next to original bet

* Split a pair: If his first two cards are a "pair," meaning two cards of the same value, the player can "split the pair." To do this, he moves a second bet equal to the first into the betting box next to his original bet. The dealer splits the cards to create two hands, placing one bet with each hand. The player then plays two separate hands.

signal: place additional chips next to original bet.

* Surrender: Some casinos offer a fifth option called "Surrender." After the dealer has checked for blackjack, the player may "surrender" by giving up half his bet and not playing out the hand.