Blackjack, formerly known as Black Jack and Vingt-Un, is the oldest American member of an international family of card games called Twenty-One, which has roots going back to the earliest European game of Cherenno. In Blackjack, there are many different possible hands, some of which are also used in gambling, such as the Ace-King, King-Queen, Jack-10, Queen-8, Royal-9 and Ace-King. There are two different ways to play in Blackjack, namely four-suit or full-suit. One way is known as Caribbean style and the other is straight up style. With this in mind, we can also talk about four-suit, where there is a single suit that is spread out into four distinct categories.
Most casinos use the Caribbean style of play, wherein the dealer stands six to seven feet away from the table, facing the group of players. In Caribbean style, the dealer stands so that one or more of the players may reach out and touch him. The dealer then deals the first twelve cards face down, counting the ace, king, queen, Jack and ten of the ace, and then dealing the last twelve cards face up. In straight up, the dealer stands between the group of players facing the dealer, making it difficult for any player to reach the dealer. If a player touches the dealer, he has to either hand over a card, or leave the card on the table face up, which allows the dealer to call.
When a player calls, another player may either raise or fold. When the dealer has dealt all the cards, the blinds are called. Players may then bet or fold; depending on the value of the cards. A player can call a deal if the cards dealt are higher than what the group of players collectively bet on, or fold, when the cards dealt are lower than what the group of players collectively folded on.
After the blinds have been called, the dealer reveals the first two cards, one card past the dealer’s position. In a seven-card blackjack hand, these cards are known as the flop, because they determine the first card in the hand which lands on the board–called the blackjack side. If this card lands on the board, then the player that raised has “called”, meaning that his bet has won. In a full eight-card blackjack hand, the dealer reveals the third card. This is known as the turn, and the player that raised has “called”, meaning that his bet has lost.
In a four-card blackjack hand, the dealer reveals only the first two cards, known as the flop. On the flop, if there is a suit called “suit” that is raised, that suit will be revealed as well. This is to make it easier for the players to find out whether or not the hand has the potential to win. The dealer then deals three cards, referred to as the four of a kind, and the blinds are turned back.
After the blinds are turned back, the dealer places three cards face up in the center of the table. These are called the “up-cards” and are used to signify the starting hand for the second card– “the hand of”. If anyone has raised the bets during the pre-game round, the dealer then calls the “turn”. When the dealer calls the turn, there is a slow count of one, two, three, or four–where the number of “ups” is compared to the number of “outs” to determine the hand result. Aces are valued higher than aces and vice versa.