Blackjack is played with six decks of 52-card decks.

Aces may be counted as 1 or 11 points, 2 to 9 according to pip value, and tens and face cards count as ten points.

The value of a hand is the sum of the point values of the individual cards. Except, a "blackjack" is the highest hand, consisting of an ace and any 10-point card, and it outranks all other 21-point hands.

After the players have bet, the dealer will give two cards to each player and one card to himself face up.

If the dealer has an ace showing, he will offer a side bet called "insurance." This side wager pays 2 to 1 if the dealer's second card is any 10-point card. Insurance wagers are optional and may not exceed half the original wager.

Play begins with the player to the dealer's left. The following are the choices available to the player:

• Stand: Player stands with his cards.

• Hit: Player draws another card or more. If this card causes the player's total points to exceed 21 then he loses.

• Double: Player doubles his bet and gets one, and only one, more card.

• Split: If the player has a pair, or any two 10-point cards, then he may double his bet and separate his cards into two individual hands. The dealer will automatically give each card a second card. Then, the player may hit, stand, or double normally. However, when splitting aces, each ace gets only one card. If the player gets a ten and ace after splitting, then it counts as 21 points, not a blackjack. The player may keep re-splitting up to a total of four hands. Re-splitting aces is not allowed.

• Surrender: The player forfeits half his wager, keeping the other half, and does not play out his hand. This option is only available on the initial two cards.

After each player has had his turn, the dealer will take his second card. If the dealer has 16 or less, then he will draw another card. A special situation is when the dealer has an ace and any number of cards totaling six points, (known as a "soft 17") the dealer stands.

If the dealer goes over 21 points, then any player who didn't already bust will win.

If the dealer does not bust, then the higher point total between the player and dealer will win.

Winning wagers pay even money, except a winning player blackjack pays 3 to 2.