What is Black Jack?
Blackjack is a card game played between a player and a dealer. The goal of the player is to get a total of 21 or come close to it without going over, beating the dealer’s hand. The value of cards is determined by their number and suits, with aces counting as either one or 11, and face cards as 10. A hand that counts 21 on the first two cards is called a “natural” or a “blackjack”.
Players are dealt two cards before the dealer receives his/hers. The dealer then has the option to stand (stop taking cards for the rest of his/her hand) or draw (request more cards) based on a set of rules. The player may also double down on the initial two cards, or split pairs of cards of the same rank by doubling their bet and receiving an additional card for each. Some games restrict doubling after splitting to only 10s or 11s, while others allow it on all hands.
Some games offer side bets on the dealer’s up-card, such as “insurance”, which pays if the dealer has an ace. Other side bets, such as “Dealer Match,” pay when the player’s two cards are equal to the dealer’s up-card. Some games even permit the player to make an additional side bet on a blackjack, with an increased payout for a blackjack over an ace-up.
Novice blackjack players often miss opportunities to maximize their wins. They tend to play defensively, hesitating to hit when they should and failing to double down and split pairs as frequently as they should. They also shy away from hitting 16 against the dealer’s 7, or split a pair of 2s against a dealers 4, giving up a lot of money to the house by doing so.
Expert blackjack players exploit every opportunity to gain an edge over the dealer, playing offensively and maximizing their wins. They will hit when they should, and stand when they should, and split and double down more often than novices. They will also be willing to risk their own bets by taking more risks and betting more money when they are confident that they have a better chance of beating the dealer’s hand.
Black Jack is a compassionate man who cherishes life, having been brought to the threshold of death himself early in his life and saved only by the skin donation of a friend. He regularly saves lives that a regular doctor would have ruled out, and takes on cases that people are too embarrassed to take to mainstream doctors. He’s not without his own personal problems, however; he’s constantly running from the law and has an underlying emotional problem that he tries to hide from everyone. Despite these troubles, he’s still a highly skilled surgeon who never hesitates to save the lives of others. His skills are used countless times throughout the series, and he’s known as one of the best surgeons in Japan.