A player's score in blackjack is calculated by the accumulated value of the cards in his / her hand. Blackjack rules are very straight forward as all cards, 2 through 10 are worth their face value, but the Jacks, Queens and Kings are all worth ten points. The Ace can be one or eleven points depending on whether it will make the points total more than twenty one or not. The player loses if his / her score is more than 21 in which case they will bust.
Players play against the dealer only and not against other players at the same table. If a player busts, blackjack rules states that he / she is out of the game immediately, whether anybody else, the dealer included, busts or not.
The flow of the game is straight forward: All the players place their bets for the game. The dealer then deals two cards for every bet placed (at some tables, players can play more than one hands at once) from a shoe (card holder containing two or more virtual decks - to combat card counting). The dealer also deals two cards for him / herself with one facing upwards and the other one face down (called the "hole" card). The players then look at their hands (cards) and decide whether they want more cards from the dealer or whether they will stand with what they got. The dealer asks all the players at the table what they want to do and performs everybody's requests. After all players have either called to stand or busted, the dealer overturns the face down card dealt for him / herself earlier and pays out the winnings or collects the losses.
According to blackjack rules, a Blackjack automatically wins and pays out 3:2. Normal wins only pays out 1:1. This means that the player gets back what he / she put in and also makes a profit equal to what they wagered originally.
Following is the exact process flow after the dealer dealt all the first cards.
If the player has a blackjack, and the dealer doesn't, the player automatically wins.
If the dealer on the other hand has a blackjack and the player doesn't, the dealer automatically wins.
If both the player and the dealer have a blackjack, it's a push and nobody wins.
If neither have a blackjack, the play goes on starting with the first player who plays out his entire hand followed by the second player and so forth.
The dealer plays his hand out after all the players have finished.
Player options:
Hit (takes another card).
Stand (no more cards - the player finishes his / her hand).
Double down (double the bet and take only one more card).
Split (when the player has identical value cards such as 3,3, he / she can split it, place another bet and play each card as the first one of 2 different hands).
Surrender (the player surrenders and forfeits half of his / her bet. Most casinos don't offer surrender).
The player's turn ends when:
He / she stands.
He / she busts.
He / she doubles down and receives one more card.
After all the players have finished their turns, the dealer reveals the face down (hole) card. The dealer then has to hit until he / she gets at least 17 points. Sometimes the dealer even has to hit when they get a soft 17 (Ace and a 6). It will be indicated on the felt of the table, whether the dealer has to hit a soft 17 or not.