Blackjack is a card game that was originally called "twenty-one", and where it actually came from is unknown. The first written reference to the game can be found in a short story written by Miguel de Cervantes titled "Rinconete y Cortadillo", who was also the author of the book Don Quixote. Cervantes was also a big gambler himself.
 

The main characters of his tale are a couple of con men working in Spain. They are expert con men who cheat at the game of twenty-one.  In the story it is stated that the object of the game is to reach 21 points without going over, and that the Ace card has values of either 1 or 11, just like the game we play today.

The game is played with the Spanish deck, which does not have any tens in it. This also makes the game similar to the current Spanish 21. This short story was written between 1601 and 1602, so the game was played in Spain since the beginning of the 17th Century or possibly even earlier. Later archives of this game can be found in both France and Spain.

When 21 was first made known in the United States it did not catch on and was not very popular. In an attempt to get players to the tables, gambling houses tried to offer different bonus payouts.

One such bonus was a 10-to-1 odds and payout if the player's hand consisted of the ace of spades and a black Jack. Red jacks did not have the same payout, only the black Jacks. Even though the bonus payout was eventually abolished, this hand was called a "blackjack" and the name stuck to the game.

As the game is currently played, a "blackjack" may not necessarily contain a jack or any black cards at all, but any two cards totaling 21. This usually pays 3-to-2. A very old saying when a player is dealt a blackjack is “Winner winner, chicken dinner”.

In casino blackjack, the dealer, who is standing, faces one to seven players from behind a kidney-shaped table. Each player plays his hand separately against the dealer only and not against the other players at the table.

Prior to the cards being dealt, the player will place his bet in the "betting box" and then he or she will be dealt two cards face up. The idea of the game is to have a higher card total than the dealer without going over 21. This is called "busting" or "too many."

The dealer deals one card down and one card up for themselves. Not knowing what both of the dealers cards are ads to the strategy of the game.

The cards count as face value in cards 2 through 10, and jacks, queens, and kings count as ten as well, an ace can be either 1 or 11.  The players go first and they play their hands by either taking additional cards if they want to or holding. This means that the player wishes to play only the two cards which were dealt to them.  If they go over 21, they bust, and they lose automatically, even if the dealer busts as well. Once all of the players have played their hand, then the dealer plays their hand. If the dealer goes over 21 and busts, they lose to all of the remaining players who did not bust. If neither the player or the dealer busts, the higher hand total wins the game. In case of a player and the dealer ending in a tie, no one wins and the hand is a "push." However, the dealer can lose to some players at the table but still beat other players in the same round.

After being dealt their first two cards, a player has four standard options to choose from. They can "Hit," "Stand," "Double Down," or "Split a pair." Each option requires the use of a hand signal. To avoid cheating, at most casinos, players are not allowed to touch their cards at any time. This is also why their cards are always dealt face up. At some casinos or tables, the player may also have a fifth option called "Surrender."

Hit: Take another card. The player signals the dealer by tapping his fingers on the table.

Stand: Take no more cards, also known as "stick" or "stay". The player signals this by waving his hand over the cards.

Double down: After the first two cards are dealt, the player may "double down". This means they can double their bet and receive only one more card. The player signals this by moving a second bet that is equal to their first bet into the betting box next to his original bet and pointing one finger in the air.

Split a pair: If the first two cards dealt are a "pair," or two cards of the same value, the player can "split the pair." The player signals this by moving a second bet that is equal to their first bet into the betting box next to, not on top of, his original bet and pointing two fingers in the air.

Surrender: Some casinos offer another option which is called "Surrender." After the dealer has checked his own cards for blackjack, which is an automatic win for the dealer against all players that do not also have blackjack, the player may "surrender" by only surrendering half of their bet and not playing out their hand. There is no signal for this, just tell the dealer you want to surrender.

The reason that most casinos require hand signals is to assist the "eye in the sky". This is a video camera located above the table that is constantly monitored by someone to protect the casino against dealers or players who cheat. It can also be used to protect the casino against card counters, even though card counting is not illegal by law. More on that subject later.

A player can take as many hits as he wants except on a "double down" during each round. However, if they go over 21, they bust, and lose that hand. After all the players have finished making their decisions, the dealer then reveals their hole card and plays out their hand.

Now I will get into card counting. In blackjack, rounds are continuously played until the deck runs out and cards already used are set to the side. This enables players to count the cards in order to increase their chances of winning by remembering what cards have already been played in that particular deck or decks.

By keeping track of the cards that have already been played, it is possible to know when the cards that are still in the deck could be advantageous for the player.

Card counting can create two favorable circumstances. 

1. The player can make larger bets when he has the advantage. For example, the player can increase their bet if they know that there are a lot of aces, face cards, and tens left in the deck. This of course will improve their chances of hitting a blackjack.

2. The player can use the information they know about the remaining cards to improve the basic strategy for hands played. For example, if they know that there are a lot of tens left in the deck, the player can double down in more situations since they know there is a better chance of making a strong hand.

Card counting is usually not actually counting the individual cards and keeping track of them. This would require a photographic memory and could get extremely confusing. Usually, card counting is a point system that is established for the value of the cards that have been played so far. The player will keep track of a simple point count as the cards are played out from the dealer.

For example, in the movie “21” they used a system which gave particular groups of cards a plus or a minus value. Cards between 2 and 5 were given a value of +1, cards between 6 and 9 are zero, and 10 through ace are -1. If you can keep track, and you have to concentrate, you can keep a standing count of what face values have been played so far. If you have a –(minus) count, a lot of high cards have been played, where if you have a +(plus) count, there are still a lot of high cards in the deck and you should bet high because the chance of being dealt high cards and getting a blackjack or a 20, is very good.

In the movie, they had a team that made this system work very well. One player would sit at a table while always betting the minimum and counting the cards. We will call them the “player”. Once the deck was in a high plus count, the player would nonchalantly signal another player, who we will call the “bettor,” who would be given the card count using a key word through normal conversation, and then the bettor would bet heavily. For example, let’s say that the word “sweet” meant plus 15. The player would casually take a sip of their drink and say that it was very sweet. This would let the bettor know that the current card count is plus 15. He would begin to bet heavily and continue to keep track of the count as well. 

Depending on the particular blackjack rules in a given casino, basic strategy reduces the house advantage to near 0 with some single-deck games, and less than 1% in a multi-deck game. Card counting, if done correctly, can give the player an advantage, typically ranging from 0 to 2% over the house.

To counter card counting, many casinos now use multiple decks instead of just one deck per round. The cards are also dealt out of a container known as a "shoe" rather then the dealer actually hand dealing the cards. This prevents the dealer from cheating as well. A good dealer cannot actually cheat in order to win money from the game, but he could have a friend playing the game and deal him good hands and get a percentage of the winnings that way.

In the United States, for the most part, card counting is legal and is not considered cheating. However, most casinos have the right to ban players, with or without cause, and players suspected of card counting will usually be banned from playing anymore at that particular casino. Most of the time, the casino host will simply tell the player that they are no longer welcome to play at that casino.

Players must be careful not to signal the fact that they are counting. The use of any electronic equipment or other counting devices is illegal and will not be tolerated.

Blackjack, even without card counting, does have the best odds of winning over any other casino game. Nevertheless, the overall odds are still in the favor of the casino.

It is a lot of fun to play and you can win at blackjack, but it is still a game and more often then not, you will lose. I always say that if you cannot afford to lose, don’t play!

Good Luck!