Blackjack is among the most popular casino games, and continues to fascinate players from all over the world. Although it looks simple at first sight, blackjack is a very sophisticated game that requires deep knowledge to be played in a professional way. Playing blackjack without a proper strategy is pure suicide.

Blackjack game has its roots in a 16th century French game called "twenty one". It is played with one ore more decks by 1 to 7 players against the house. Both dealer and player are dealt two cards. The player can see only one of the dealer's cards. Each card holds it's value, except the jacks, queens and queens which count as 10 points. Aces value one or eleven points depending on what is needed. The winner is the one with the highest total, as long as it's not higher than 21. Exceeding 21 means "busted" and the hand is lost. Hitting 21 with only two cards means "Blackjack", the best hand.

The variation of blackjack rules is huge, but the essence is the same: hitting 21 or less, but more than the dealer. If both player and dealer have the same total it's called a "push" and the pot splits.

The blackjack player has five options:

Stand - Don't take any more cards.

Hit - Take one more card.

Double - Double the initial bet and take one card.

Split - Play two hands from the starting one. It applies only for two cards of the same value. The bet doubles and each card counts as the first card of a new hand.

Surrender - Give up the hand losing only half of the initial bet.