Casino Blackjack , the video game, is a spin-off of the real game played in casinos the world over. Blackjack is popular as Twenty-one or “Vingt-et-un” in French. It is also known as Pontoon. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer and to score twenty-one points or as close as possible to twenty-one, but not more than that. Blackjack’s origins can be traced to the 1700s in French casinos albeit in a slightly different form.
Blackjack is immensely popular and complex. Each numbered card has a value equivalent to its face value. Aces have a value of eleven, and kings, queens and jacks have a value of ten. The ace is the only card to have a conditional value. If the player has an ace and it causes the player to go bust or exceed twenty-one points, its value is taken as one. A common term used with blackjack is “bust” – exceeding twenty-one points. When both players in a two player scenario get the same amount of points the game is a draw or a “push”. There is always a dealer dealing the cards in blackjack, and it is played on a semi-circular table.
The video game adaptation, on the PC platform, features a green table with four rectangular card shaped diagrams on the table. This is where the player’s cards are kept. The goal of the game is to have a higher number than the dealer’s non-busted hand. The PC version of the game offers the option of playing against other blackjack computer players or against other online players with the help of the multiplayer interface.
In the computer version, the game can be customized in many ways – the player can change the characteristics of the dealer or change his chattiness as the dealer makes comments on player’s moves and the cards dealt to the player. Other computer players add to the realism of the game by their comments on your hand of cards. The player can customize the number of decks played and the number of options within the game for an exciting game play.
Betting occurs upon who will get a blackjack or two cards totalling twenty-one points first. Initially each player is dealt two cards. If neither dealer nor player has a blackjack, the player then decides how he wants to proceed with his hand. The player can choose to “stand” and decide he is happy with his hand and take more cards. The player can “hit” and request additional cards until he/she is happy or goes bust. Alternatively the player can “double down” and after receiving his first two cards make an additional bet to the value of his first bet and take one more card. If the two initial cards are of the same rank, the player may “split” the cards into two hands and play out both hands independently. Once the player is happy with his hand, and assuming he doesn’t bust, the dealer then plays out his own hand. The higher hand wins – unless the dealer busts, in which case the player’s non-busted hand wins automatically. In the event that the player busted his hand, the dealer is not required to play out his own hand and wins automatically himself.
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