Here's a quick introduction to blackjack and the original single deck version of the game. We'll only take a bird's eye view of the single deck game to give beginners an idea of what the game is about and how to play it.
Blackjack originally was played using only a single deck way back until the 1960s when Edward Thorp introduced card counting techniques. Unfortunately, the counter measures against card counters did not only affect the counters but it also affected the regular basic strategy players and the tourists as well (i.e. those who play occasionally and just for fun).
When single deck blackjack was introduced on United States soil, casinos tried to get more customers simply by advertising higher payoffs. The pay off for a blackjack either of spades or clubs and an ace of spades would sometimes reach ten to one. Since everybody became so focused on getting that blackjack they decided to name the game after that winning combination.
The things a casino needed to play the single deck game were simply the table, a pack of 52 cards, and a maximum of seven players. With that the game of blackjack was on. This original game used a 52-card pack. Today we have blackjack games using from two up to eight packs of cards shuffled and dealt from a shoe. The value of the cards haven't changed since then, all number cards in the deck are taken at their own face value, the face cards (e.g. King, Queen etc.) are given a value of ten, and the aces are still given a value of either one or eleven (depending on which is better to make a winning hand).
The object of the game is the same, whether you play with a single deck or with multiple decks. It is to beat the dealer's hand with your own hand not going over a total of 21.
Players place their chips in the betting circle. The dealer then shuffles the deck at the beginning of the game and offers it to a blackjack player for a cut. A player then cuts the blackjack deck, the dealer completes the cut, burns the first cards and deals them to the players.
Players are dealt two cards face down in single deck blackjack. The dealer shows one card to the players. Players make their decisions (either to ask for another card to get a better hand, split cards to make new hands, or double the wager and ask for one last card).
Most winning wagers are paid at one to one odds. If a player gets a hand that totals to 21, the wager is paid at three to two (some casinos pay at two to one odds simply to get more customers to play). And that is basically how single deck blackjack action goes. Blackjack is really simple and relatively easy to play.