Basic Blackjack Rules
The basic rules of blackjack are very simple. Whoever gets closer to 21 points, without going over 21 points wins the hand. Winning the hand pays you $1 for every $1 you bet, meaning if you bet $10 and win the hand, you'll get your original $10 back, as well as $10 in winnings.
But, to truly understand the game, you should know a couple other things, including hand values and how the game is actually played.
Hand Values: They are pretty easy to understand. Any card with numbers of it counts at the face value, i.e. a 9 counts as 9 points, a 4 as 4 points. Jack, Queen and Kings count as 10 points. Ace counts as either 11 points or 1 point, whichever brings you closer to 21 points, without bringing you over 21 points, i.e. if you hold an Ace and a 9, the Ace counts as 11 points and you have 20 points, while if you hold an Ace, a 9 and a 2, the Ace counts as 1 point and you have 12 points.
Starting the hand: Before anybody gets any card, every player has to place their bet. This bet can be any amount within the table limits, which vary from table to table and casino to casino. After everybody has placed their bet, each player, as well as the dealer will receive 2 cards. The cards of the player are usually shown face up, so that everybody can see them. However, only one card of the dealer is shown face up.
If any player shows a card valued at 10 points, as well as an Ace, they have 21 points with 2 cards and therefore blackjack. Unless the dealer also has a blackjack, the player will automatically win the hand and immediately receives his winnings. Winning a hand with blackjack has a higher payout than winning the hand regularly. However, the payout depends on the casino. Originally, it was $3 for every $2 bet, but some casinos are now switching to paying out only $5 for every $3 bet. The payout for the casino you're playing at will be shown on the table.
Next, each player that doesn't have blackjack will make the decisions about their hand, meaning they have to decide if they want another card to get closer to 21 points, or if they think that their hand is good enough to beat the dealer. Should a player get more than 21 points on his / her hand, he / she will automatically lose the hand and the dealer will collect their bet.
After all the players have made their decision, the dealer will draw cards. The dealer never has a choice about drawing or not drawing. The rules are set. Usually, the dealer has to draw when his / her hand has 16 or fewer points and the dealer must usually stand when he / she has between 17 and 21 points (The exception to this rule might be that if the dealer has a "soft 17", which means that he has 17 points including an Ace counting at 11 points, he / she has to continue drawing). Obviously, the dealer can also get more than 21 points, in which case the dealer busts and all the players that have not busted win their hand.
In the end, the hand values of the dealer and the players are compared. Whoever has a higher hand value wins the bet. Should both the dealer and the player have the same hand value, the bet is a push and the player receives his / her original bet back.
These are the basics of blackjack. There are also some "advanced" options available, but these are not as important. However, they are explained below:
Splitting Pairs: If your first two cards have the same hand value, you can choose to split the cards and play two hands, starting each hand with one of the first two cards. This will allow you to play two hands, but also means that you have to place another bet of equal size of your original bet. It also means that you can lose twice as much as originally, or win twice as much as originally.
Doubling down: If you think that you only need 1 more card to beat the dealer, you can double down. This means that you place another bet of equal size to your original bet and then get only one more card. Should you end up beating the dealer, you'll get paid $1 for each $1 bet on both bets. This bet is generally only recommended when you as the player have a starting hand value of 9, 10 or 11. In addition, I only place this bet when the probably of the dealer busting is also high, which means that the one card the dealer is showing has a value of either 5 or 6.
Insurance: Should the dealer show an Ace as the card that is shown to everybody, players have the option of purchasing insurance. Basically, you can bet up to half the amount of your original bet and win if the dealer has blackjack. Should you win the insurance bet, you'll get paid at $2 for each $1 of your insurance bet and basically break even on this hand because you'll lose your original bet, unless you also have a blackjack. I don't recommend ever placing the insurance bet, as the edge of the house is significantly higher on this bet compared to the other bets in blackjack.
Now, you know all the basics of blackjack. Next, I recommend you read through the blackjack strategy section to learn about exactly when to take another card and when to stand in order to minimize the edge that the casino has over the players in blackjack.