Values of the cards

The goal of blackjack is simply to beat the dealer by obtaining a hand that is as close as possible to 21 points but without exceeding 21. To do this you'll need to know the scoring rules of Blackjack. By making use of this knowledge, you can play a hand of Blackjack and be aware of what is happening with the dealer and the other players in the same multiplayer game.

Firstly, an Ace can have a value of either 1 or 11, whichever suits the situation of your hand best. A hand containing an Ace can be called either soft or hard. A soft hand is where a player can draw another card without risk of exceeding 21 points, or 'busting'.

Face cards 2 to 9 each bear their respective face value.

The 10 and all court cards (Jack, Queen and King) each have a value of 10. The total score of a hand is calculated by simply adding up the score of all cards that you have at hand.

The dealer is usually instructed to stand on 17. That means for a player who has 18 or above in his hand, they'll stand a good chance of beating the dealer. Of course the higher a player's hand's total, the higher the odds are that he'll beat the dealer.

If a player has two cards equal in points value, he may split them into two separate hands. This allows him to play two hands simultaneously, increasing his odds of at beating the dealer.