How to play blackjack

What's the goal in blackjack?

Beat the dealer's hand. Nobody else at the table matters: every player plays against the dealer alone. You win if your total ends higher than the dealer's without going over 21, or if the dealer goes over and you haven't. Go over 21 yourself, called a bust, and you lose right then, even if the dealer busts later. That one rule is where the house gets its edge.

A tie is a push: your bet comes back, no win, no loss. A win pays even money, so a $10 bet wins $10.

What are the cards worth?

• 2 through 10 count their number.
• Jacks, queens and kings count 10. With the tens, that's four cards in every thirteen worth 10, so expect to see a lot of them.
• An ace counts 11, unless 11 would put you over 21. Then it counts 1.
• Suits don't matter. A heart is worth what a spade is.

A hand with an ace counting 11 is soft: ace and 6 is soft 17, and no single card can bust it, because the ace drops to 1. Any other hand is hard. Ace, 6 and 9 is hard 16.

An ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards is a blackjack, also called a natural. It beats any other 21 and pays a bonus. You'll get one about one hand in 21 (4.7%).

How does a hand of blackjack work?

1. Bet. Chips go in the betting circle in front of your seat, before any cards come out. The table's sign says the minimum.
2. The deal. Each player gets a card face up, then the dealer takes one face up. A second round follows, and the dealer's second card goes face down. That one's the hole card.
3. The peek. If the dealer shows an ace, you're offered insurance first. With an ace or a ten-value card showing, the dealer checks the hole card for blackjack. If it's there, the hand is over: everyone loses, except a player with a blackjack, who pushes.
4. Your turn. Players act one at a time, starting on the dealer's left. A blackjack is paid right away. Everyone else hits, stands, doubles, splits or surrenders until they stand or bust.
5. The dealer's turn. The dealer turns over the hole card and draws by rule: hit 16 or less, stand on 17 or more. Most Las Vegas tables have the dealer hit soft 17 too, and the felt says so.
6. The payoff. Higher total wins, ties push. If the dealer busts, every hand still in is paid.

At a shoe game, where the cards are dealt face up, you never touch them. You tell the dealer what you want with your hand. Our casino etiquette guide shows every signal.

Hit, stand, double, split or surrender?

Hit

Take another card. Tap the felt behind your cards. You can hit as many times as you like until you stand or go over 21.

Stand

Keep what you have. Wave a flat hand over your cards. Your turn is over.

Double down

Double your bet and take exactly one more card. Only on your first two cards. Put the matching chips beside your bet, never on top. The book doubles when the next card is likely to help and the dealer is likely to struggle: 11 against every dealer card, 10 against a 2 through 9.

Split

When your first two cards match, you can split them into two hands, each with its own bet the size of the first. Each hand then plays on its own. Split aces get one card each, and an ace and a ten after a split count as 21, not blackjack. The book always splits aces, splits 8s against every dealer card but an ace, and never splits 5s or 10s.

Surrender

Give up the hand and get half your bet back. Only as your first move, and only where the table offers it. Most Las Vegas shoe games do, after the dealer has checked for blackjack. The book surrenders a hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace, and a hard 15 against a 10 or ace.

Which move is right for every hand against every dealer card is the book, also called basic strategy. Here's the chart, with the reason for every square.

Should you take insurance in blackjack?

No. When the dealer shows an ace, you'll be offered insurance: a side bet of up to half your bet that the hole card is a ten. It pays 2 to 1. To break even it would have to come in one time in three, and from a six-deck shoe the dealer has a ten under the ace only 30.9% of the time. The house keeps 7.40% of every insurance bet, against about half a percent on the hand itself.

If you have a blackjack, the dealer will offer even money instead: you're paid 1 to 1 now rather than 3 to 2 later. It's the same insurance bet with a different name. The book says no to that too.

How often does the dealer bust?

The dealer has no choices, so the card showing tells you a lot. From a six-deck shoe where the dealer hits soft 17, once the dealer has checked for blackjack, a dealer showing a 5 or 6 goes over 21 42.0% and 43.9% of the time. Showing a 10, only 23.0%; showing an ace, 20.1%. Against a small card the book often stands on a weak total and lets the dealer take the risk. Against a 7 or higher it keeps drawing.

Dealer shows	Goes over 21
2	35.7%
3	37.7%
4	39.8%
5	42.0%
6	43.9%
7	26.2%
8	24.4%
9	22.9%
10	23.0%
Ace	20.1%

Blackjack pays 3:2 or 6:5?

Read the felt before you sit. "Blackjack pays 3 to 2" means a $10 bet wins $15 on a blackjack. "Blackjack pays 6 to 5" means it wins $12. The difference doesn't sound like much, but it comes out of the hand you're happiest to see.

Played by the book on a typical Strip shoe, the house keeps 0.53% of what you bet at 3:2. The same game at 6:5 keeps 1.89%, more than three times as much. Walk past the 6:5 tables.

Common questions

How we know: the bust rates and house edges come from Ridotto's own blackjack solver, which plays out the exact cards left in a six-deck shoe and is checked against the Wizard of Odds' published figures; insurance is worked out from the same shoe. The procedure is from Ridotto's casino research. House rules vary, so read the sign and ask the dealer.