The aim of online blackjack is to get a hand with the highest total and not exceed 21. Cards with the numbers from 2 to 10 have the same value, face cards (jack, queen and king) are worth 10. An ace is worth 11 or 1 which is more suitable for a player. A hand with an ace that is worth 11 is a soft hand, and a hand where an ace is worth 1 is a hard hand.

The players do not play against one another, each of the sitting at the table plays only against the dealer. The player wins when is hand is higher than the dealer’s hand. If the player busts he loses, regardless of the fact whether the dealer busts or not. If the player’s hand is equal to the dealer’s one, this situation is called a “push”, and nobody wins or loses the bet. In spite of the fact that there are several players at the table each of them plays an independent game, during one hand the dealer can lose to some players while beating the others.

The minimum as well as the maximum bet is depicted on the table and it is different in every casino and may be different on different tables. After everybody at the table have placed bets, the cards are dealt by the dealer, from 1 or 2 hand-held card decks, called a “pitch” game, or usually from a shoe that has 4 or even more decks. Each player and the dealer get two cards. The dealer deals one of his two cards face up therefore every player can see it. The face-down card is called the hole card. In European blackjack, the dealer does not take the hole card until the players have played their hands. The players get face up cards from a shoe, but if it is a pitch game the cards are dealt face down.

If the hand has the total value of 21 and consists of two cards – an ace and a ten-value card then it is called a “blackjack”. Such a hand wins automatically if only the dealer has also a blackjack, then it will be a push). A player with a blackjack is paid 3:2 on the player’s bet. Not long ago some casinos started to pay 6:5 on blackjacks thereby reducing the payout and increasing the house edge up to 1000%. This tendency is highly criticized by experienced blackjack players.