Blackjack is a card game in which the objective is to beat the dealer by drawing cards that total close to 21, without going beyond it. The name comes from this fact – winning hands in blackjack typically consist of two-card combinations totalling 21 that pay out 3 to 2, but beating them doesn’t guarantee victory – the house holds some advantages that can be minimized by understanding how many decks are being used in play.
Most casinos use six to eight standard playing card decks when playing blackjack. Once players have placed their bets, the dealer shuffles the cards before dealing each player two face down cards face down while himself receiving one face up card in return. He then checks his hole card to see if he has blackjack; if so, he pays out any winning players and removes their bets from the table.
Once all other players have left, those remaining have three options for dealing their two cards: hitting, splitting, or doubling down; surrendering for half of original bet; standing out or leaving table altogether.
If the dealer possesses a blackjack, all original bets will be returned back to them; otherwise if he does not, players may win by default if their higher valued hands surpass his. A higher value hand comprises two 10s or picture cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) plus an Ace.
At casinos with fewer decks, your odds of getting a blackjack are increased due to fewer tens and picture cards in play; some casinos therefore make adjustments in these games to maintain or decrease the house edge or discourage play altogether – including disallowing doubling on soft hands after splitting or resplitting, and setting a higher minimum bet requirement.
Even with these issues, blackjack still boasts a low house edge if players adhere to basic strategy. One way to reduce this house edge is through card counting; an illegal but effective technique used when turning over each card in a deck of cards – although traditional live tables may benefit from this practice too. Online blackjack generally doesn’t need this method since cards are automatically shuffled after each deal via random number generator; however traditional live tables still benefit from its application.