Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is one of the most popular casino card games in the world. Blackjack's precursor was vingt-et-un ("twenty-one"), which originated in French casinos around 1700.
In Blackjack a player competes against the Dealer. The goal of the game for a player is to beat the Dealer's hand by either getting a better hand without exceeding 21 or by the Dealer's hand going bust (going over 21). Both the player and the Dealer are dealt two cards, and from there, the player may request as many cards as he wants, as long as he doesn’t exceed the value of 21. After the player finishes with his hand, the same process occurs to the Dealer’s hand, after which the two hands are compared, bets paid or collected.
A Blackjack is a total of 21, when a hand contains an Ace and any ten-valued
card (Jack, King, Queen or Ten), but only in case these two cards are the first
two cards dealt to a player or Dealer.