Scoring the Hand
The object of blackjack is to beat the dealer. The winner is whoever has closest to a total of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards. Tens and face cards are worth ten points, the other cards count as their numerical values, and Aces are worth one or 11, at the discretion of the player.
For example, an Eight of clubs and a Seven of hearts is 15. A King of spades and a Queen of diamonds counts as 20. An Ace of hearts and a Five of hearts can count as 16 or six.
You determine the valuation of the Ace, and can decide to change it in mid-hand. In the last example, for instance, say you draw an Eight to the Ace and Five. That would “bust” your hand if the Ace was counted as 11, so you drop it to a one. In that situation, you count it as one, and you’ve got 14.
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| A “soft hand” is a hand that contains an Ace. |
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| A “hard hand” is a hand that does not contain an Ace. |