All cards are at face value, except for the King, Queen and Jack which count as 10. An Ace will have a value of 11 unless that would give a player or the dealer a score in excess of 21; in which case, it has a value of 1. The dealer starts the game. Every player gets 2 cards, face up.

In Blackjack, everyone plays against the dealer. Players receive all cards face up and the dealer's first card is face up and the second is face down. The object of the game is to get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over 21. If a hand goes over 21, it is called a bust  or break  and the wager is lost.

In fact, the value 16 is said to be the worst hand one can have in blackjack. Since sixteen of the other fifty cards have a value of 10 and four have a value of 11, there is a strong chance of getting at least an 18 with either or both split cards. A hand totaling 18 or 19 is much stronger than having a 16.