Blackjack is a casino card game played between a player and a dealer. Players win by creating card totals higher than the dealer’s, without exceeding 21. Number cards count as their face value, the jack, queen, and king (“picture cards”) count as 10, and aces can be counted as either 1 or 11 depending on whether counting it as an 11 would make the hand bust. Blackjack is one of the few casino games in which a player can achieve a substantial profit by employing skill.

In a typical blackjack game, the dealer deals two cards to each player and himself. The player may choose to stand (not draw any additional cards) or hit (draw one or more cards). If the player’s total is closer to 21 than the dealer’s, the player wins even money. The dealer must stand on a soft 17 and double on any two cards, but is not allowed to split aces.

To play blackjack well, a player must learn the etiquette and strategy of the game. A basic knowledge of card values, rules of the game, and a few simple tips can help a novice become a master blackjack player in no time. The game is less complex than poker and more engaging than slot machines, making it a favorite among casino gamers.

A player can also improve their blackjack skills by learning the game’s mathematics and probability theory. Some experts even suggest a system of card counting, which can significantly reduce the house edge. Although this method is not foolproof, it can give the player a significant advantage.

The unique features of blackjack make it an ideal setting for studying regret in decision making. In a standard blackjack game, the dealer’s play must conform to a prescribed strategy that is known in advance to all players. As a result, there is no scope for players to hold beliefs about the dealer’s strategy that deviate from one another. This allows researchers to study the impact of expected regret and omission bias in the absence of other influences.

Another feature of blackjack that makes it attractive for studying regret is its fixed bet structure. Before the players begin to play, they must place their bets on the table. This gives the researcher an opportunity to determine the amount of their initial bet, which is a good proxy for the initial investment they made in the game. As a result, a player’s choice of a course of action in blackjack can be measured with confidence intervals that exclude the possibility of an error. This is important for studying regret in decisions where the consequences of the decision can be highly variable. Such an experiment can be challenging outside of an experimental setting.