In a game of Blackjack the numbered cards are always counted at their face value. For example an 8 is valued at 8, a 9 is valued at 9, a 10 is valued at 10, and so on. Picture cards, the Jack, Queen, and King, are always valued at 10, and an Ace is always valued at 11 unless the hand totals more than 21, in this case an Ace is valued at 1. A hand that is made up of an Ace valuing 11 is known as a soft hand, and a hand containing an Ace valued at 1 is known as a hard hand.

Hand Totals

Unlike many other casino games in the game of Blackjack the cards suit (spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds) is not considered, each suit is of equal value.  Therefore the value of a hand is simply just the combined value of all of the cards.

If the first two cards dealt to a player consist of an ace and a card valuing 10, this is known as a Blackjack or a Natural and the player automatically wins, unless the dealer also has a Blackjack. Typically a Blackjack plays the player 1.5 to 1.