Face Up 21 hands you the one piece of information every blackjack player wants: the dealer’s hidden card. Both dealer cards land face up. You know exactly what total you have to beat before you decide anything. The house takes that advantage back in two ways. Ties lose instead of pushing, and blackjack pays 1 to 1 instead of 3 to 2. The game is a trade, and playing it well means making the most of the open cards while respecting those two costs.
How to play
Betting. Pick a chip (10, 50, 100 or 500) and bet from 10 to 500 credits, then press Deal. Clear and Rebet work between hands.
The deal. You get two cards and so does the dealer, all four face up. Card values are the usual ones: 2 to 9 at face value, tens and pictures 10, aces 1 or 11. If the dealer’s two cards make blackjack, you see it at once and the round ends: every hand loses except a player blackjack, which beats the dealer’s and is paid even money.
Your choices. Hit, Stand, Double and Split appear when they are allowed:
- Doubling is only allowed on a hard two-card 9, 10 or 11, and it is also allowed after a split.
- Pairs can be split and resplit up to four hands. Split aces get a single card each.
- There is no surrender and no insurance.
Hint shows the best play, worked out from your cards and both dealer cards.
The dealer. After you finish, the dealer draws until reaching 17 or more and hits soft 17. If your total beats the dealer’s, or the dealer busts, you win even money. Equal totals are a loss for you. A player blackjack still wins, paid 1 to 1, even when the dealer also has blackjack. Six decks are used, and a fresh shoe is shuffled once three quarters have been dealt.
Playing with the dealer’s cards in view
Normal blackjack strategy is built around guessing the hole card. Here you don’t guess, and some plays that look wild on a standard chart become obvious.
When the dealer is standing, beat the total or keep drawing. A dealer on hard 17 to 21, or soft 18 to 21, will not draw. If your total is lower or equal, standing is a certain loss because ties go to the dealer. Hit until you pass the dealer’s total or bust. That includes hitting 19 against the dealer’s 19.
Soft 17 is not a standing hand. The dealer hits soft 17 here, so an ace-six is still drawing. Against it, the hint hits a 12 or a 16 rather than standing.
When the dealer has a stiff, stand early and press the edge. With the dealer on hard 12 to 16, the dealer must hit and often busts. The hint stands on any hard 12 or more against those totals. It also doubles 9, 10 and 11, and it splits pairs that would normally be kept. For example, against a dealer 10-6 it splits two tens: two hands that each start at 10 against a likely bust are worth more than one 20.
A few real hint outputs:
| Your hand | Dealer cards | Hint |
|---|---|---|
| 12 (10-2) | 10-4 | stand |
| 9 (5-4) | 10-5 | double |
| Pair of 10s | 10-6 | split |
| Pair of 10s | 10-2 | stand |
| 19 (10-9) | 10-9 | hit |
| 12 (10-2) | A-6 (soft 17) | hit |
Strategy and the edge
Over 600,000 hands played with the hint, the game’s test measured a house edge of about 0.8%, with a margin of roughly ±0.3 points. Knowing the dealer’s hand is worth a lot, but losing every tie and taking even money on blackjacks costs slightly more than it gives back.
Two habits make the biggest difference:
- Never stand on a total the dealer already matches or beats. It looks obvious written down, yet it is the most common mistake for players used to pushes.
- Exploit stiff dealer hands. Most of your profit comes from doubling and splitting into a dealer who is forced to draw on 12 to 16.
Betting patterns don’t affect the edge. Keep the stake steady.
For the opposite rule, where the dealer shows only one card and draws the second after you, see European Blackjack. The standard peek game is Blackjack.
If you enjoy Face Up 21, try Face Up Pai Gow or Fan Tan next.
