Object of the game

Blackjack is nothing more than a contest between player and dealer. The winner is the player who holds the highest card total, with “21” being the upper limit. Any hand equalling 22 or above is “bust” and immediately loses.

A Blackjack consists of any 10-valued card in conjunction with an ace. This hand wins over any other hand that has more cards even if their value is “21”.

A player can win in one of two ways. Either he can beat the dealer by achieving a higher total that is still 21 or less, or he can have any valid total lower than 21 while the dealer goes bust.

If the dealer and the player tie when each of them have a total of 21 or less, neither party wins or loses. This is called a “push,” a term originating from the times when a dealer would push a players wager out of the betting area in the event of a tie.

The exception to this rule is when both the dealer and the player have 21, but where one hand is a blackjack and the other is a hand made of more than 2 cards, in which instance the blackjack hand wins.

Where both the dealer and the player have a blackjack, the result is a push, regardless of whether the hands comprise of an ace and a ten, jack, queen or king. In other words, Ace and King does not beat Ace and Ten.