What you have to remember about blackjack is that the other players at the table do not really matter. The important play happens between you and the dealer, as this is the person that you have to beat and the person against whom your bets are made. If you manage to get a score on your cards that is closer to twenty one than the dealer’s then you will win the hand – this is why the game is sometimes called 21. You will find that most of the cards are valued at the number they represent, with a few exceptions: the picture cards all stand for ten, while you can also choose to have the ace stand for either one or eleven. The best hand you can get is a jack plus an ace, an instant twenty one score, and this is why the most common name for this game is blackjack.
However, there would not be much fun in learning how to play blackjack if this was the only part of the game! Once you have been dealt your hand and it comes to your turn to play, you have a number of options as to what you can do next. If you believe that you have a strong enough hand to be in contention, which most players would consider to be seventeen or above, then you can choose to stick, or in other words accept your hand with no alterations and see if the dealer can beat it.
If you have less than seventeen, it is generally recommended instead to twist or hit, both of which are different terms for the same move: to have another card from the pack added to your total to see if you can achieve a higher score. However, there is something to watch out for here: if you go over a combined total of twenty one, then your hand will be deemed bust and you will have lost your bet no matter what happens.
The next stage of how to play blackjack is to see what the dealer can do. Once everyone at the table has been given the chance to hit or stick, the dealer will take his turn and try to beat the scores of all players. If he can beat you, you lose your bet; if he cannot, you have won, and you can collect your new chips.