Decks and value of the cards
Blackjack is played with five decks of 52 cards. The cards have the following values:

• Ace: worth either 1 or 11, whichever the player chooses
• Face cards (king, queen, jack): worth 10
• Cards from 2 to 10: worth their face value.

Aim
Get 21 or as close as possible to it without going over. If you go over 21 you go “bust”, losing immediately. “Blackjack” is when the player is dealt a two-card combination of a 10 or a face card and an ace, while “21” occurs when a player reaches that number with three or more cards.

How to play
You play against the bank, represented by the croupier (dealer). After shuffling, the banker deals the first hand of two cards. During his/her turn, the player can ask for one or more cards, aiming to get closer to 21, or simply decide to “stick”.

While every player can choose his/her own strategy, the dealer is obliged to follow the rule stating he/she must take a card if the score is lower than 17 and stick if it is higher.

If the dealer gets blackjack he wins, unless any other players also have blackjack. If no one gets blackjack, the winner is the player with the highest score out of everyone, including the dealer.

If you get 21 with three 7s, you automatically win a dinner for two.

A new option for blackjack is the Perfect Pair, available on the gaming tables at Casinò di Sanremo.

The Perfect Pair occurs when two cards of the same value are dealt in the first hand. If both cards in the first hand are of the same value, (e.g. two 3s, two queens, etc.), the player wins and will be paid according to the pay-outs indicated below, by suit or colour of the cards. The list of pay-outs are as follows:

• Mixed Pair: 5 – 1
• Coloured Pair: 10 – 1
• Perfect Pair: 25 – 1

If the first two cards of a hand are not a pair, all bets placed in the Perfect Pair box for that hand will be lost.

The Perfect Pair game will not affect how the player chooses to play the hand, following the rules of blackjack as indicated in this section.

A Perfect Pair bet can be placed only if the player has also placed a standard initial blackjack bet for that particular hand.

All Perfect Pair games are completed immediately after the first hand is dealt, before any other decisions are taken or further cards are dealt in the main blackjack game.