The Basics of Blackjack

Blackjack is a casino game in which two people face off against the dealer. Each receives two cards and can request additional ones according to a set of rules; your goal should be to create a hand of cards which comes as close to 21 without surpassing it.

There are various blackjack strategies designed to increase your chances of victory and boost your bankroll. While using these techniques may help you beat the dealer and expand your bankroll, some rules remain universal across all blackjack games that should be observed by every player and any casino which does not abide by these regulations should always be avoided.

When playing blackjack, the key to winning is coming closer to 21 than your dealer does – known as a natural or blackjack and paid at 6 to 5 or 3 to 2, depending on which variation is played. Ace and picture card combinations of 10 are also considered naturals that pay one and a half times their original bet; tie results are considered standoffs or pushes and your original bet remains on the table.

The dealer plays their hand much like players do, except they look at their hole card before making decisions. When presented with a face-up card that contains a ten, this indicates an existing pat 17 hand that should not be hit upon. With two or three value cards present on their hand, they may split their hand because there are more ten-value cards than any other rank and thus it will cost less in terms of long-term losses by splitting instead of hitting.

Once a dealer has checked his hole card, players may purchase insurance if desired. Payout ratio for insurance is 2:1 on original wager, making it potentially profitable in certain scenarios. If the dealer reveals an ace beneath, this constitutes a blackjack which will pay out all original bets (except those who purchased insurance) plus any winning insurance wagers collected.

Typically, when facing off against a dealer holding seven cards with soft hands (i.e. 16 or less), hitting can be effective and standing can be better when facing hard hands (17+). There may be circumstances where splitting may be beneficial: such as facing off against one dealer who usually holds 17.

One effective strategy for beating the dealer is counting cards. This can be accomplished by keeping track of both running count and true count – which takes into account how many decks remain – of how many cards have been dealt out of the shoe, respectively. Doing this will allow you to know when it’s best to hit when holding a soft 17 against their 2 or when standing when having a hard 18 against their 3.