Twenty-one

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Vingt et un \Vingt` et` un"\ [F., twenty and one.]
     A game at cards, played by two or more persons. The fortune
     of each player depends upon obtaining from the dealer such
     cards that the sum of their pips, or spots, is twenty-one, or
     a number near to it; -- also called {blackjack}, or
     {twenty-one}.


  
     Note: There are several variations (such as {Caribbean
           blackjack}). In the most common variation played in
           casinos, there is one dealer who plays for the house,
           and up to seven players. The players and dealer each
           receive two cards, the dealer's cards usually being one
           face up and one face down. The players each in turn
           decide whether they will request additional cards
           ("hit"), the objective being to reach a sum of card
           values as close as possible to twenty-one, without
           exceeding that number. If, on hitting, the player's
           total card values exceed 21, he has "busted", and lost
           his bet. Otherwise, the player wins only if his total
           card values exceed those of the dealer. "picture cards"
           (or "face cards", being the jack, queen, and king) are
           counted as having a value of ten. The ace may count as
           one or eleven, at the player's option. Other than to
           hit, there are also other possible actions by the
           player, such as to "double down" (receive only one
           additional card, while doubling the initial bet), or to
           "split" (if the first two cards have the same value).
           [1913 Webster +PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  twenty-one
       adj : being one more than twenty [syn: {21}, {xxi}]
       n 1: the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty and one [syn:
            {21}, {XXI}]
       2: a gambling game using cards; the object is to hold cards
          having a higher count than those dealt to the bank up to
          but not exceeding 21 [syn: {blackjack}, {vingt-et-un}]