Blackjack games account for a significant number of card games played online, second only to poker. This popularity is, in part, due to the simplicity of its rules, which are easy for the novice to pick up.
The objective of blackjack games is to have a hand that scores as close as possible to 21 without going over. The cards 2-10 take their nominal value, face cards score ten, and aces can be taken as one or eleven depending on what suits their context. The best hand is a blackjack, which is an ace and a face card, and it normally pays out at odds of 3 to 2 for the winner.
To begin with, players make an initial bet and are then dealt two cards visible only to them. The dealer then deals himself one card face up and another one face down. The player then has the option of doubling down, that is to say, doubling their bet if they are confident of winning after seeing their cards. Then the player must decide if they want to hit and accept another card, or stay and end their turn. If their initial cards are the same, the player can also split. Their original cards form the basis for two new hands, and two more cards are dealt to them. Once all players have had their turn, the dealer turns over their hand and takes a hit until they score 17 or over. If the dealer goes bust, all remaining players win at even odds. Otherwise, a comparison of scores is made to determine the winner.