When walking through a casino, some of the games can seem daunting - they’re played quickly and the players seem to speak in a foreign language, using terms you don’t understand.

One of the easiest games to learn is Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one, and the only person you have to beat is the dealer, no matter how many players there are. The goal of the game is to get your cards to add up to twenty-one or as close as possible without going over and beating the dealer’s hand by the dealer either busting or not coming as close to twenty-one as you did.

The Cards:

Cards 2 through 10 are face value (their suit doesn’t matter).

Jacks, queens, and kings are counted as ten.

Aces are special and they can either be worth one or eleven depending on how it helps the player’s hand.

Playing:

Each player is dealt two cards face up, and the dealer is dealt one card face up and one face down. If you are dealt a 10 or any face card with an ace, that’s a blackjack.  Unless the dealer’s got one, too, you’ve automatically won. If you didn’t get a twenty-one, then you have to decide to “hit” or “stay”. Hitting means you want to be given another card to add to the ones you already have, but remember the closer you are to twenty-one the easier it will be to “bust”. Busting means that you’ve gone over twenty-one, you’ve automatically lost - for you it won’t matter if the dealer ends up busting or not. If you decide to “stay” that means you’ve decided you’re close enough and you are done with your turn. Then the dealer takes his or her turn, and you hope he or she either busts or your cards are higher so you can win.