Rules

The rules of blackjack are straightforward. While there are a number of blackjack variants most follow the same basic rules. The objective of the game is to achieve a card total greater than the dealer without ‘busting out’ (going above 21). Blackjack is a game between the payer and the dealer – you are not playing against anyone else at the table.

Blackjack can be played with between one and eight decks of cards. Numbered cards are worth their face value (two – ten). All face cards (jack, queen or king) are given a numerical value of ten. Ace is semi-wild because it can be valued at either one or eleven. The highest score in the game of blackjack is 21 (also called blackjack) and occurs when an ace and a face card are dealt. This results in an automatic win (unless the dealer also gets blackjack which results in a push or neutral score).

In blackjack, before cards are dealt out by the dealer, each player must place his bet. Bets are placed in the form of chips with various cash values. After every player has placed their bet the dealer will start dealing out two cards face up to each player starting with the individual to the dealers left (first base). The dealer will deal himself two cards, one face-up (the up card) and another face-down (the hole card).

In blackjack the players at the table act before the dealer. It is important to have a good understanding of basic strategy before playing blackjack because once the cards have been dealt you will be expected to know how to play the hand. It is this point where the player has a number of options, the most common being to hit, to stand, to double-down or to split. Some casinos also offer the option to [surrender] or to [take insurance].

• Hit: means you would like another card from the dealer. You can continue to hit until you wither bust (go above a total of 21) or decide to stand.
   
• Stand: means you do not want any additional cards.
   
• Double-down: this is where you decide to double your bet and take just one more card. You may not hit after receiving this card.
   
• Split: If you are dealt two cards with matching point values you have the option to split these into two hands but you will also have to add another bet of the same value of your original bet. When splitting the two original cards become the first cards of a new hand and the dealer will issue one card to each hand. From here you can hit, stand, double (or re-split) as above on each hand. Re-splitting aces is often not allowed however.

Once all the players at the table have played their hand the dealer will play his. If the dealer busts, all players that did not bust will automatically win. Likewise, if the dealer gets blackjack all players will automatically lose (unless they also got blackjack resulting in a [push]).

While players can generally play their hand however they wish (within the limits of the rules) dealers have far more restrictions on how they play. While these rules are generally similar between casinos there can be some variations which give the house a better statistical advantage over the player. E.g. blackjack generally pays 3-2 however some casinos pay out at 2-1 or even 6-5. Likewise dealers will generally stand on a soft 17 but in some games the dealer will hit. It is important to know the rules of the casino because it will affect payout percentages as well as the strategy that you should follow.

In order to understand the fundamentals of the game check out our blackjack glossary and our basic strategy page.