Blackjack is a game in which players try to get a total card value of 21 or come closer to it than the dealer. Each player is dealt two cards and must decide whether to hit (request more cards) or stand (stop drawing cards) based on predetermined rules. The dealer must also hit or stand based on a combination of his own cards and the player’s decisions. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer, and if you do this you win. The name of the game is derived from the black Jack of spades, which was traditionally the flag flown by pirate ships.

The game is played with one or more 52-card decks. Each card has a numerical value, with face cards worth 10 and aces worth 1 or 11 depending on the type of card. A hand of an ace and a 10 is known as a blackjack, which wins the game immediately. There are four aces and eight tens in every 52-card deck, so there are 16 possible blackjack hands from the initial deal.

To begin the game, the dealer will shuffle the deck and deal two cards to each player. Players may then decide to make a bet by touching the wager circles on the table. The bets and winnings can be viewed in the bottom left of the screen.

Once the bets are placed, the dealer will check her hole card for a ten. If she has a blackjack, the game ends and all players lose their original bets (except for those who took insurance). However, if the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack, everyone pushes-in other words, they get their original bet back. This is why it is important to know the game rules before playing.

In the game of blackjack, it is recommended to split any pairs of Aces and never split tens or 8s. When splitting aces, it is important to note that you can only hit each hand once. The best time to hit is when the dealer’s face-up card is a 7 or higher. You should stand when your hand value is 17 or higher, and double down when the dealer’s face-up card has a count of 12-16.

Side bets on blackjack have become popular in the last couple of decades, with a number of different types available. These bets can include insurance, betting on the dealer’s blackjack, and more. These bets can be placed at the same time as a player’s main wager, and often have very different payoff structures than the standard game of blackjack. This makes them a great way to increase your bankroll while playing the game. However, it is important to understand the risks of these bets before making them. This is particularly true for beginners, who should avoid all side bets until they have a solid understanding of the game’s strategy.