Page "Blackjack" Paragraph 10

The players ' object is to win money by creating card totals which will turn out to be higher than the dealer's hand, but without exceeding 21 (" busting "/" breaking ").

On their turn, players must choose whether to " hit " ( take a card ), " stand " ( end their turn ), " double " ( double wager, take a single card and finish ), " split " ( if the two cards have the same value, separate them to make two hands ) or " surrender " ( give up a half-bet and retire from the game ).

Number-cards count as their natural value ; the jack, queen, and king ( also known as " face cards " or " pictures ") count as 10 ; aces are valued as either 1 or 11 according to the player's choice.

If the hand value exceeds 21 points, it busts, and all bets on it are immediately forfeit.

After all boxes have finished playing, the dealer's hand is resolved by drawing cards until the hand busts or achieves a value of 17 or higher ( a dealer total of 17 including an ace, or " soft 17 ", must be drawn to in some games and must stand in others ).

The dealer never doubles, splits nor surrenders.

If the dealer busts, all remaining player hands win.

If the dealer does not bust, each remaining bet wins if its hand is higher than the dealer's, and loses if it is lower.

In the case of a tied score, known as " push " or " standoff ", bets are normally returned without adjustment ; however, a blackjack beats any hand which is not a blackjack, even with value 21.

Blackjack vs. blackjack is a push.

Wins are paid out at 1: 1, or equal to the wager, except for winning blackjacks, which are traditionally paid at 3: 2 ( meaning the player receives three dollars for every two bet ), or one and a half times the wager.

Many casinos today pay blackjacks at less than 3: 2 at some tables.