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Before any cards are dealt, the player must make a bet. He does this by placing the amount of his bet within the designated space within his table position. The dealer then deals two cards to each of the players, and two to himself (sometimes only one in online casinos, giving you better odds).

If the dealer receives two cards, one card is facing up and the other is facing down. If he only deals one card, it is the card that is facing up. The other card is then dealt after you've decided on your hand. When playing the game, face cards count as 10, an ace counts as 1 or 11 (players choice) and all other playing cards count as their face value.

Blackjack is achieved if the players first two cards are an ace and a 10 or a face card. The player automatically wins, unless the dealer also has natural blackjack, and then it would be a push. Therefore, the player would receive his initial bet, and a new hand would begin. A winning blackjack pays the player 3 to 2, and you can also win if you have 21 and the dealer does not.

Hit means to draw another card, and Stand means that the player doesn't require any additional cards. If the player hits and busts (goes over 21), he immediately turns his cards over and his wager is lost. The player is allowed to double the bet (double down) on his first two cards and draw one additional card only to improve his hand. When a player doubles down, he also doubles his initial bet, therefore risking a higher win or loss on the hand.

If the first two cards that are dealt to a player are a pair, he may split them into two separate hands, bet the same amount on each of the hands and play them separately. Aces will receive only one additional card per hand.

If the dealers first card is an ace, then the player has the option of taking insurance, which is a bet that does not exceed one-half of the players bet.
If the dealer has natural blackjack, the player wins 2 to 1 on the insurance, therefore getting his money back. Any other card means a win for the dealer.

To strengthen your chances at blackjack, you should follow a basic strategy. The dealers hand is on the top and the players hand is on the left of the box.

H is for Hit, S is for Stand, D is for double-down, and P is for split.

Hard Totals

Hard Totals	23456789T	A
8	H H H D DH H H H	H
9	DDDDDH H H H	H
10	DDDDDDDDH	H
11	DDDDDDDDD	D
12	H H S S S H H H H	H
13	S S S S S H H H H	H
14	S S S S S H H H H	H
15	S S S S S H H H H	H
16	S S S S S H H H H	H
17-20	S S S S S S S S S	S

Soft Totals

Soft Totals	23456789T	A
A 2	H H DD D H H H H	H
A 3	H H D D D H H H H	H
A 4	H H D D D H H H H	H
A 5	H H D D D H H H H	H
A 6	D D D D D H H H H	H
A 7	S D D D D S S H H	H
A 8	S S S S DS S S S	S
A 9	S S S S S S S S S	S

Pair Splitting

Pairs	23456789T	A
2 2	H P P P P P H H H	H
3 3	H P P P P P H H H	H
4 4	H H H DDH H H H	H
5 5	D D D D D D D D H	H
6 6	P P P P P H H H H	H
7 7	P P P P P P H H H	H
8 8	P P P P P P P P S	P
9 9	P P P P P S P P S	S
10's	S S S S S S S S S	S
A's	PPPPPPPPP	P

Multi-Deck Game

Hard Totals

Hard Totals	23456789T	A
8	H H H H H H H H H	H
9	H DDDDH H H H	H
10	DDDDDDDDH	H
11	DDDDDDDDD	H
12	H H S S S H H H H	H
13	S S S S S H H H H	H
14	S S S S S H H H H	H
15	S S S S S H H H H	H
16	S S S S S H H H H	H
17-20	S S S S S S S S S	S

Soft Totals

Soft Totals	23456789T	A
A 2	H H H D D H H H H	H
A 3	H H H D D H H H H	H
A 4	H H D D D H H H H	H
A 5	H H D D D H H H H	H
A 6	H D D D D H H H H	H
A 7	S D D D D S S H H	H
A 8	S S S S S S S S S	S
A 9	S S S S S S S S S	S