Probabilistic analysis of Blackjack

Blackjack is a card game in which the player tries to get a higher total than the dealer, without exceeding 21. The main decision that the player must make is whether to take another card or to stop and see what total the dealer will get. The player's total after each card is drawn may be modeled as a Markov chain, and an optimal stopping strategy can be derived using the theory of Markov chains.

You can read the text of a talk I have given about Blackjack.