Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one, Vingt-et-un (French for Twenty-one), or Pontoon, is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. The standard game is played with one or more Anglo-American decks containing 52 cards. The basic rules of the game involve adding the value of an initial two card hand in hopes of being dealt a value of twenty-one. The player may choose to be dealt single cards until the total value of the hand reaches twenty-one (the best hand) or exceeds 21 (a 'bust', immediately losing), or until they are satisfied and do not wish to draw any more cards. Kings, queens and jacks and tens all contribute a value of ten towards hand totals, and any of these cards may be referred to as a 'ten' or a 'picture' in a blackjack context. Aces count as 1 or 11 at the player's discretion. The game is played against a dealer, who follows the player in drawing cards. The winner holds a hand with a value of, or nearest to, twenty-one without exceeding it. The game is played in many variations at casinos with different table rules. Much of blackjack's popularity is due to the mix of chance, skill, and the publicity that surrounds card counting (varying one's wager and playing strategy to take advantage of knowledge of the cards yet to be dealt). The casino game should not be confused with the British card game Black Jack.