Blackjack is the most played casino card game in the world today. Blackjack is one of the very few ?beatable? casino games, meaning that if you know the rules and have a basic understanding of strategy than you can come out in the black, so to speak, over the house. The edge over the house can only be achieved if a player knows the rules and the strategy of the game. The rules are simple; the main purpose is to have a hand closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over. The strategy involves knowing the odds. Knowing whether to hit ? get more cards ? or stand ? stay with your current hand ? at 17 is where strategy starts to come in. There are amazing tools online today for a beginning player to learn the game. HitorStand.net (http://www.hitorstand.net/) offers an interactive blackjack tutorial that teaches the game as you play. This is a must for the novices. You can the upgrade to sites like Online-Casino.com (http://www.online-casino.com) that have free blackjack games versions. Try finding a site like this that has a no-download, completely free game version that you don?t have to register for. After you feel completely comfortable with the game and you decide whether you would want to play online for real money. Playing for practice, or free money, online is a great advantage for blackjack beginners today. Blackjack is one of those games where the rules are easy to learn but the strategy takes time to master. It is possible, though. Today, with the free versions online, all a person needs is perseverance and an Internet connection. The basic objective in the game of blackjack is to get the highest hand value to 21 points without going over. When learning the rules, the main factor a player needs to learn is how much each card is worth. Afterward, with the strategy, a player will need to remember the odds and statistics of the cards. The great thing about a blackjack strategy is that the more tips you learn, the better your game will get. Knowing a few tips can dramatically increase your game. The best advice for beginners is to find a site with a free version and start playing. The strategy will come with time. Once you know that you should never play with a casino that uses more than 6 decks at a time and to never, ever, take insurance, you?re well on your way to becoming a blackjack pro.