If you’ve seen the 2008 movie ‘21′ directed by Robert Luketic, then you might have had developed a liking for online blackjack. A true story about a group of MIT students who used card counting techniques to beat their blackjack opponents all over the world, the movie ‘21′ proved that one can win blackjack through skills and strategies that anybody can master.

Needless to say, the film ‘21′ propelled the already popular blackjack to greater heights. The term ‘twenty-one’ is actually another term for blackjack, since the objective of the game is to reach a hand which totals 21, or at least garner a total score closest to it. It is interesting to note that blackjack originally came from France, under the name ‘vingt-et-un’ (French term for ‘twenty-one’), but it was only when it was introduced to the American market that it was christened the name ‘blackjack.’ The Americans coined this name due to the fact that they added a bonus payout to the game: a 10-to-1 payout if the hand consists of the ace of spades and one black Jack, either the Jack of spades or Jack of clubs. Much later on, this bonus payout was abolished, but the name blackjack persisted on.

The rules for playing blackjack in land-based casinos and online are basically the same, and these rules are simple and easy to understand, so that learning online blackjack can be a breeze. Online casino games, like online keno and online slots, are generally easy to learn once you get the hang of them.

Just like in real blackjack, online blackjack involves competing one-on-one with the dealer, with the goal of earning a hand total as close to 21 as possible. It is very important to remember that in order to win, you must not go over 21, or else your game becomes “busted.”

Cards 2 to 10 are worth their face values, while face cards are worth 10 each. An ace can either be 1 or 11, as long as the value does not cause the player to bust. Hence, if the first two cards of the player is a ten and an ace, then that is called a blackjack or a natural 21. A ‘soft hand’ is an ace counted as 11; since it cannot be busted if the player gets another card. On the other hand, an ace counted as 1 is a ‘hard hand.’

Like what was mentioned above, strategies and skills are the keys to winning a game of online blackjack. This does not hold true to other online casino games, such as in the case of online roulette, since these other games mostly rely on sheer chance. Some of the strategies involved in online blackjack include hitting, which means taking another card; standing, or keeping the cards that you have at hand; splitting, meaning dividing your pair into two hands with two different wagers; double down, which gives the player one more card and doubles his bet; and insurance, which counters the dealer’s chances of having a natural 21. Of all these strategies mentioned, online blackjack experts generally advise against insurance.

If this perked up your interest of playing online blackjack, then there are a lot of recommended online casinos offering online blackjack and other online casino games, like online poker. Some of these online casinos are Europa Casino, 888 Casino, Casino Tropez, Windows Casino, and Eurogrand. Just keep on practicing and wagering progressively higher amounts, and who knows, you might end up being as skilled and as rich as the MIT students from the ‘21′ flick.