First played in France over 200 years ago, Blackjack is now played all over the world and is considered by many as the most popular casino card game. Blackjack owes its popularity to the fact that it is a very easy game to learn and play.

The main objective of Blackjack is to get the total value of your cards as close to 21 as possible without going over, known as going 'bust'. In order to win the game, the value of your cards must be greater than that of the dealers cards.

The value of the cards numbered from 2 to 10 is their face value. For example, the value of a card showing 2 would be two, the value of a 3 would be three and so on. All of the face cards (Jack, Queen and King) are valued at 10. With regards to an Ace card, it can either be valued at 1 or 11 with the player deciding which. When an Ace is valued at 1 the hand known as 'soft' and when the Ace is valued at 11 it is known as 'hard'. The ultimate hand in a game of Blackjack consists of an Ace, valued at 11, and another card valued at 10, with a total value of 21. This is known as a Blackjack hand after which the game is called. A two card Blackjack hand will always beat a hand valued at 21 using three or more cards.

The player must place a wager before the dealer deals any cards. Having placed their bet, the player is dealt two cards which are placed face up on the table. The dealer then deals their own hand of two cards. One is place face down on the table, known as the 'hole' card, with the other being placed face up. The dealers hole card remains face down, until all of the players have played their hands. On turning the hole card over, if the total value of the dealers hand is 17 or more they must 'stand'. However, if the total of the dealers hand is 16 or less, they must continue to take cards until the value of their hand is over 16, or they go bust (over 21).

During each game of Blackjack, the player has several options available to them. These are as follows:

Hit
This is when the player is dealt an extra card. Remember, if the total value of your hand is over 21 you are bust and have lost the game.

Stand
When the player is happy with the value of their cards, they stand. This tells the dealer that the player does not wish to be dealt another card. When all the players have reached this point, the dealer then turns over their hole card.

Double
After being dealt the first two cards, the player is always given the option to 'double'. If the player decides to double, they will be dealt one extra card and no more. Their final hand will consist of three cards.

Split
If the player is dealt two cards that are of equal value, they will be given the option to 'split'. On splitting the cards they become two separate hands, with a second card being dealt to one of them. When the player decides to split the cards, they must place a wager equal to that of the initial wager on the second hand. Once the player is happy with the value of the first hand, they can stand. They then proceed to play the second hand. All the options that available to the player when playing normal hands are available to them when playing split hands.

Insurance
If the dealers first card is an Ace, the player gets the option to buy 'insurance' against the dealer having a Blackjack hand (a hand valued at 21). If the player wishes to buy insurance, they must pay half the amount of their original stake. If the dealer shows a Blackjack hand, the insurance will pay out at 2 to 1. If the dealer does not have Blackjack, the insurance will be lost and the game will continue as normal.

Push
When the value of both the players and the dealers hands are the same, the players wager is returned. This is known as a 'push' bet. After a push, a new game will start as normal.