'Blackjack' is one of the oldest games played in United States of America. Generally it is believed that the game got its name from the manner in which it is played. When a player had a jack along with an ace of spade in the first hand, the player was paid extra money. So, in this game the black spades are as crucial as jacks. From this it was termed as 'Blackjack'. The origination of the game can be traced back to world war I, when the game was quite popular among the troops since it had the benefit to be played at any time and anywhere. Now the game has entered all the casinos and has a huge fan following. Blackjack beat Faro is largely adored and played in the casinos of Las Vegas and Reno.

The Game-

This game is played by more than a few players on a horseshoe kind of table. The base player is the one who is at the end to the dealer's right. The initial step will be the shuffling of the cards by the dealer. Later you are supposed to cut the cards with a card sized piece of plastic by sliding it between the deck of cards. The dealer will lift the cards above the plastic along with the plastic to place them below the deck. A cautious eye at the placement activity of dealer will be helpful in the game. Next, the top card is set aside by the dealer in order to avoid any kind of cheating in the game. This is known as the burning of the card. This is followed by the dealer's putting a colored card at about the third way from the bottom of the deck and placement of another card at the last place i.e. at the bottom of the deck.

If the table is full, it signifies an already commenced game. You ask for the chips to play the game and make a bet, which should match at least the minimum bet for the game. Its at the player's discretion to decide if he wants to with big or small bets and the table accordingly. The dealer deals each player a card face up. The final card that the dealer receives is face down and is known as the 'hole card'. Then each player is given a face up card as his second card. The value of this second card is the measure to decide whether to take further cards or not. After all players complete their hands ultimately the dealer selects the dealer card for completing the dealer's hand.

The winner-

The person who is crowned as the winner is the one who has a higher total than the dealer without braking 21. In other words, he comes closest to 21 without exceeding or lagging behind too much. The stand off situation is that when the player and the dealer have the same total and so there is no winner and so no loser.

When you bet, keep this strategy in mind that you have to get 21 on your first two cards. There are various pay off ratios like 2:3 etc. at different casinos. Similarly there are other features attached to the betting process like 'insurance' etc. It is advisable to have a prior knowledge of the rules of the game and its betting strategies.

Move into and explore the world of Blackjack?only as game for fun and not as an addiction.

Suresh Gupta writes about blackjack topics.