Blackjack, or earlier ‘twenty-one’ (21) is the most popular, the most vastly played casino game of luck. The luck is mixed with skill here in blackjack. A card game with the same name was prevalent in old Britain. The game has its roots in an unknown origin.

A gambler named Miguel De Cervantes first described the game blackjack in his book titled ‘Don Quixote’ in the early 17th century. He has described the rules of the game and mentioned that it was played with Spanish deck, so it’s apparent that the game was prevalent in Spain at that time.

Blackjack does not have to contain a black card or a jack. When it first came to America, blackjack failed to gain popularity. The gambling houses then started offering bonuses in order to make it popular. Some types of blackjack include: Regular Blackjack, Spanish 21, Double Exposure Blackjack, Single Deck Blackjack and Blackjack Switch.

Players should follow a correct strategy to play and win blackjack. A good strategy can increase the chances of your winning the game. In casino blackjack, one to seven players can play on a single table excluding the dealer. Each one of them gets to play a hand against the dealer. A round begins when a player places a bet in the betting box. The dealer in turn gives two cards to the player. This is called the first hand. The objective is to get a higher total than the dealer, but not exceeding 21. Crossing 21 is called ‘busting’. If a player goes over 21, that is, if he busts, he loses the game. Then it’s the dealer’s turn to play, if he busts, he loses to the player. If none of them bust, the person with the greater hand total wins.

The dealer deals two cards to each player and keeps two cards to himself one faced up and the other faced down. For a player, after receiving the two cards, the rules are:

• Hit: this means that the player wants to take another card. A player can hit many times provided he doesn’t go over 21.

• Stand: this means that the player would not like any more cards. After a player says ‘stand’ the other players get to make their decisions.

• Bust: when the hand goes over 21, the player or the dealer loses the hand.

• Double down: the player gets an option to double the amount of his bet in exchange of one faced down card.

• Split: by saying ‘split’ the player can divide his bet into two equal parts and play them separately.