Learning Blackjack doesn’t need to take years and years. Today, I’ll give you a very quick rundown of the game. Within minutes you’ll be ready to try your hand at Blackjack.

Part One: Cards

First, everyone, including the dealer, receives two cards. These two cards make up your hand’s count. All cards are worth their face value, so a nine of clubs is worth nine points. Face cards are worth 10 points and an Ace is worth one or 11-you choose.

Part Two: Basic Goal

The dealer is always the last to act, so it’s your job to determine what the dealer has and act accordingly. You can go up to 21 in your hand. If your hand ends up being 22 or more, you have busted and you lose. While some books might incorrectly state that the goal of Blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible, the goal is really to beat the dealer.

Part Three: Action Time

When it’s your turn, you’ll have a few actions you can perform. If you like the count of your hand, you can stand. Stand simply means that you pass and your turn is now over. If you’d like another card, you can hit. When you hit, one card is dealt to you. You can keep hitting until you are satisfied. However, if your hand reaches 22 or more, your turn is ended and you lose.

If you have two identical cards, such as two eights, you can split them into two hands. You’d then play two separate hands. But note, when you split hands, you must double your wager. Splitting can lead to greater profit or greater ruin. Act accordingly. Never split 10s or face cards.

Another action is doubling down. When you double down, you double your wager and take one final card-that’s it. Most people like to double down when they have 11. Some casinos will let you double for less too. So, if you had a $100 original wager, you could double down for say $50.

Part Four: Blackjack

Should your first two cards equal 21, you have a Blackjack. Remember, an Ace can be one or 11, so a Blackjack has one Ace and one 10 or face card. Also, a Blackjack pays 1.5x, so if you had a $100 wager on the table and received a Blackjack, you’d be paid $150.

Part Five: Wagers

This is real simple. Aside from a Blackjack, all wagers are paid even money, so a $100 wager is paid $100. Good luck and have fun playing Blackjack.

If ever there was a game that conjures up visions of rich players in rich evening attire gambling for rich bets it is baccarat. There are three common variants of the game but Punto Banco is the most popular variation found in North American casinos. A regular baccarat table is about the size of a craps table, is staffed by three casino dealers and can host about a dozen players.

Play revolves around to hands dealt for the ‘Banker’ and the ‘Player’. These names are titles for the dealt hands only and there is no real banker or specific player. Players place their bets on which hand they think will win. Hand scores are calculated by taking the face value for all cards worth less than ten, one for an ace and zero for tens and face cards. The value of hand is the total of the cards value but if it comes to more than ten you drop the first digit. For example, 8-ace-jack is worth 8 plus 1 plus zero = 9. But 9-5-5 is also worth 9 (9+5+5 = 19, drop the first digit = 9). The card suit makes no difference to value of the cards.

Players take it in turn to act as ‘dealer’ although this only involves turning over the cards. A player usually continues to act as dealer as long as the ‘banker’ keeps winning. The dealer starts by dealing two cards face down for the ‘banker’ and another two cards for the ‘player’. Depending on the totals the casino dealers may instruct the ‘dealer’ to deal another card. With all cards dealt winning wagers are paid out or losses collected.

A third card may be dealt to either the ‘player’ or the ‘banker’ depending on the following rules.

If either the Player or the Banker has 8 or 9 no further cards are drawn. If the Player has a total of 0-5, the Player hits a single card but stands on 6-7.If the Player did not hit, the Banker hits if he has 0-5, and stands on 6-7.If the Player drew a 2 or 3, the Banker hits if he has 0-4, and stands on 5-7.If the Player drew a 4 or 5, the Banker hits if he has 0-5, and stands on 6-7.If the Player drew a 6 or 7, the Banker hits if he has 0-6, and stands on 7.If the Player drew an 8, the Banker hits if he has 0-2, and stands on 3-7.If the Player drew an ace, 9, 10, or face-card, the Banker hits if he has 0-3, and stands on 4-7.

Essentially a game of chance, what it lacks in skill it makes up for in the size of the bets involved. In many casinos the minimum bet can start at $25 and dedicated players often wager hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a single game that gives baccarat its exotic atmosphere.