Get close to 21. A quiet duel with the dealer.
Get your cards as close to 21 as you can. Go over and you bust. The dealer must keep drawing until reaching 17 — knowing that rule is the first step to winning. Play five hands; most wins takes it. There is no betting here.
It grew out of "Vingt-et-Un" (21) in 17th-century France, a favourite of Napoleon by some accounts. In America a bonus payout for particular hands gave the game the name Blackjack.
Read the dealer’s up card. If it shows 2 through 6, stand early — the dealer is likely to bust. If it shows 7 or higher, draw to 17. That one rule changes your win rate dramatically.
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