21 Blackjack Games

At a casino blackjack table, the dealer faces between five and nine (commonly seven) playing positions from behind a semicircular table. At the beginning of each round, up to three players place their bets in the "betting box" at each position in play.

 The player whose bet is at the front of the betting box is deemed to have control over the position, and the dealer will consult the controlling player for playing decisions regarding the hand; the other players of that box are said to "play behind". Any player is usually allowed to control or bet in as many boxes as desired at single table, but it is prohibited to play on more than one table at a time or to place multiple bets in a single box.

Each box is dealt an initial hand of two cards visible to the people playing on it, and often to any other players. The dealer's hand receives its first card face up, and in "hole card" games receives its second card face down immediately (the hole card), which the dealer peeks at but does not reveal unless it makes the dealer's hand a blackjack.

Hole card games are sometimes played on tables with a small mirror or electronic sensor which are used to peek securely at the hole card. In European casinos, "no hole card" games are prevalent; the dealer's second card is neither drawn nor consulted until the players have all played their hands.

Cards are dealt either from one or two hand-held decks, from a dealer's shoe, or from a shuffling machine. Single cards are dealt to each of wagered-on position clockwise from the dealer's leftmost position, followed by a single card to the dealer, followed by an additional card to each of the positions in play.

Players with a blackjack may also take insurance, and in taking maximum insurance they commit themselves to winning an amount exactly equal to their main wager, regardless of the dealer's outcome. Fully insuring a blackjack against blackjack is thus referred to as "taking even money", and paid out immediately, before the dealer's hand is resolved; the players need not produce to place more chips for the insurance wager.

All things being equal, using fewer decks decreases the house edge. This mainly reflects an increased likelihood of player blackjack, since if the players draws a ten on their first card, the subsequent probability of drawing an ace is higher with fewer decks. It also reflects a decreased likelihood of blackjack-blackjack push in a game with fewer decks.