When a hand includes an Ace valued at 1 it is known as a 'soft hand' and when it is valued at 11 it is known as a 'hard hand'. All of the face cards (Jack, Queen, King) are valued at 10, whilst the Ace can either be valued at 1 or 11, with the player deciding which. For example, the value of a card showing 2 would be two, the value of a 3 would be three and so on. The value of the cards numbered from 2 to 10 is their face value.
The game uses either a single or a number of standard 52 card decks with each of the cards having a value. The object of online blackjack is to hold cards whose value is greater than those held by the dealer, but without going over 21. Blackjack owes its popularity to the fact that it is a very simple game to learn and play. Originating in France over 200 years ago, blackjack is now played all over the world and is one of the most popular online casino games.
