How to play
Blackjack is played against the dealer, not against other players. You win a hand by finishing closer to 21 than the dealer without going over.
Card values. Number cards count as their number. Jacks, Queens and Kings count as 10. An Ace counts as 11, or as 1 if 11 would take you over 21. A hand with an Ace counted as 11 is called soft: a soft 17 (Ace and 6) can’t go bust on the next card.
A round.
- Pick your bet with the chips and press Deal. Rebet repeats your last bet.
- You get two cards face up. The dealer gets one card face up and one face down.
- Choose what to do with your hand:
- Hit: take another card. You can hit as many times as you like until you stand or go over 21.
- Stand: keep your total and end your turn.
- Double: double your bet, take exactly one more card, and stand. Only on your first two cards.
- Split: if your first two cards have the same value (two 8s, or a King and a Queen), split them into two hands with a bet on each. You can split up to four hands. Split Aces get one card each.
- The dealer turns over the hidden card and draws until reaching 17 or more. At this table the dealer stands on soft 17.
Payouts.
- A win pays 1 to 1: bet 10, get your 10 back plus 10.
- A blackjack (an Ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards) pays 3 to 2: bet 10, win 15. Twenty-one after a split is not a blackjack and pays 1 to 1.
- A tie is a push: you get your bet back.
- If you go over 21 you lose right away, even if the dealer busts later.
Dealer blackjack and insurance. When the dealer’s face-up card is an Ace or a ten-value card, the dealer checks for blackjack before you play. If the dealer has it, the round ends at once. When the face-up card is an Ace, you’re offered insurance: a side bet of half your stake that pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack.
Strategy
Blackjack has a mathematically best play for every hand, called basic strategy. You don’t need to memorize all of it to play well. These rules cover most hands:
- Stand on hard 17 or more. Hitting a hard 17 busts far more often than it helps.
- Stand on 12 to 16 when the dealer shows 2 to 6, hit when the dealer shows 7 or higher. Small dealer cards bust often, so let the dealer take the risk. The one exception: hit 12 against a dealer 2 or 3.
- Double 11 against anything but an Ace, and double 10 against 2 through 9.
- Always split Aces and 8s. Never split 10s or 5s.
- Hit soft 17 or less unless you’re doubling. A soft hand can’t bust on one card.
- Skip insurance. It only pays when the dealer has a ten underneath, which happens less than one time in three. Over many hands it costs you.
Played this way, the house edge at this table is about half a percent. That means over a long session you’ll lose around 50 chips for every 10,000 you bet. Luck swings much more than that from hand to hand.
Another casino game where strategy counts. Video Poker also has a right play for every hand, and learning it makes a real difference to how long your credits last.
If you enjoy Blackjack, try Bonus Deuces or Bonus Poker next.
