Here are a few important terms that are used in the game.
A hand whose first two cards total 21; an instant win worth 150% of your wager
When the value of a hand exceeds 21; a losing hand
To double the initial wager and receive exactly one more card
To request another card to be added to the hand
A side wager of 50% of the original wager that the dealer has a natural 21 (aka blackjack) that is offered when the dealer's face up card is an ace. If the dealer has a natural 21 then the player is paid double.
When the value of the player hand and the dealer hand are equal, the original wager is returned to the player
When a hand starts with two cards of the same value (or rank) it may be split to form two independent hands
To stop adding cards to a hand
To give up half your wager to not complete the hand
In blackjack, each card is assigned a value.
The value of a hand is the sum of the values of each card in the hand.
The dealer must play his hand according to very specific rules. There are two basic rule variations that determine what hand total the dealer must draw to.
The dealer must continue to draw cards (hit) until the hand total is at least 17.
The dealer must continue to draw cards (hit) until the hand total is at least 17, except when the dealer has a soft total of 17 he must take another card. A soft total is one where an Ace card is counted as an 11.