Blackjack

The rules of blackjack are simple, which is a major reason for the game's enduring popularity. The aim is to get a hand with a value as close to 21 as possible without going over. A hand that goes over 21 is bust. It’s that simple!

In blackjack, the suits have no meaning. Number cards have a value equal to their number, while all the picture cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings) are worth 10. Aces can be worth 11 OR one, whichever is more beneficial to the player holding the hand. For example, a hand with an Ace and an Eight is worth 19 (the Ace is valued at 11, known as a soft Ace). A hand with an Ace, a Four, and a Nine is worth 14 (the Ace is valued at one, known as a hard Ace, because if it were valued at 11 the hand would bust).

The player selects their bet value (you can play from as little as 10p) and then the first two cards are dealt face up, and the dealer deals himself one card face up. The player decides if his hand is close enough to 21 that it can beat the dealer's hand, based on the one dealer card he can see. If so, the player stands, and the dealer shows his cards. If the player wants to try to get closer to 21, they request a hit, and the dealer deals them an additional card.

There are a few extra options for the players at a blackjack table:
Doubling Down - After the initial deal, the player can double the amount of his original bet; but he must take an additional card (and only one card) from the dealer. If he wins, he wins a 2-to-1 payoff on the total amount of the doubled bet.
Splitting - If the player is dealt a pair in his opening two cards, he can split them into two separate hands. Any two cards that are each worth 10 (Tens, Jacks, Queens, or Kings) are considered a pair for the purpose of splitting. Both hands are played independently of each other, and a new bet equal to the original bet must be placed on the new hand. A split hand cannot become a blackjack, even if an Ace and a 10-value card make up the hand - it still counts as 21, but not as a natural blackjack.
Insurance - Whenever the dealer has an Ace showing, he offers the players the chance to buy insurance. Buying insurance is like betting that the dealer will have blackjack. If the dealer does have blackjack, the player is paid at 2-to-1 on the insurance bet, which can be up to half the amount of the player's original bet.

Mobile Phone Blackjack payouts Win pays 1-1 (evens- double your stake for that hand). A £1 win bet returns £2. Blackjack (natural) pays 3 to 2. i.e. £2 staked returns £5 Double pays 2 to 1. Insurance pays 2 to 1 on the Insurance bet.

Blackjack is the most famous and the most played casino game in the world.

The origin of Blackjack is somewhat covered in confusion and has several theories according to various historians. A popular theory is that Blackjack was born as an extension of the Spanish game Ventiuna, or Spanish 21’s. Ventiuna is a game that can be traced back to 1601 and is played with the Spanish Bajara deck which does not contain eights, nines or tens. The game Blackjack is believed to have been first introduced in 1710 in the United States of America where Gambling Houses who played Ventiuna, offered a bonus payout of 10-1 if the players hand consisted of both the Ace and Jack of Spades, resulting in a total of 21. This hand was called Blackjack and the name begun to stick and is how the game found its modern day name. In modern day blackjack, any Ace with any face (picture) card is regarded as blackjack and usually pays the odds of 3-2.

The British and French have also been locked in debate, both claiming Blackjack is rooted to their games ‘Pontoon’ and ‘Vingt et Un’. However, whilst the exact origin remains unknown, the game Blackjack has certainly started a revolution of its own and is showing no signs of slowing down. Blackjack remains one of the most popular casino games in the world today and long may this continue.