How to Play Blackjack

Blackjack is the rare casino game where your decisions matter. The rules take five minutes to learn. This page covers all of them, plus the flow of a real table so nothing surprises you. When you are done, you can practice everything on our free play table, with no money and no signup.

The goal

Beat the dealer's hand without going over 21. You are not playing against other people at the table. You win if your total beats the dealer's, or if the dealer busts (goes over 21) and you did not. Equal totals are a push, and your bet is returned.

Card values

Number cards count face value. Jacks, queens, and kings count 10. Aces count 11 or 1, whichever helps you. A hand with an ace counting 11 is called soft (ace-6 is “soft 17”), because you cannot bust it with one card. If you draw too much, the ace drops to 1. A two-card 21, an ace plus a ten-value card, is a blackjack (a “natural”) and pays extra, usually 3:2.

How a round works

You place a bet. Everyone gets two cards face up. The dealer gets one up (the upcard) and one face down (the hole card). If the dealer's upcard is an ace or a ten, they check the hole card for blackjack before anyone plays, and a dealer blackjack ends the round immediately. Otherwise, each player acts in turn, then the dealer plays out their hand by fixed rules.

Your actions

Hit: take another card. You can keep hitting until you stand or bust. Stand: take no more cards. Double down: double your bet, take exactly one more card, and stand. It is available only on your first two cards (and after splits, at tables that allow it). Split: if your two cards match in value, split them into two hands, each with its own bet. Split aces usually get one card each and no more. Surrender: at tables that offer it, give up your hand and lose only half your bet. It is worth it exactly when your hand wins less than a quarter of the time. Insurance: a side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace, paying 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack. The math is against it, and our trainer will tell you the same thing.

The dealer has no choices

The dealer follows a fixed rule printed on the table: hit until at least 17, then stand. One variation matters. At some tables the dealer stands on a soft 17 (“S17”), at others they hit it (“H17”). H17 is slightly worse for you, and we measured how much. Because the dealer has no choices, blackjack strategy is a solvable math problem. See basic strategy, explained.

Payouts

A win pays even money, so a $25 bet wins $25. A blackjack pays 3:2 at good tables, so $25 wins $37.50. Some tables pay 6:5 instead. Avoid them. It is the most expensive rule in the game. A push returns your bet. A loss or bust loses your bet.

Table etiquette worth knowing

In a physical casino, buy chips between rounds, not mid-hand. In face-up games, do not touch your cards. Signal with your hands, a tap for hit and a wave for stand, so the cameras can see your decisions. Tip the dealer occasionally if you are winning. They do not control your cards, but they do control the pace and the mood.

What's next

Knowing the rules makes you a player. Knowing basic strategy makes you a good one. It cuts the house edge to about half a percent, and you can train it for free until it is automatic.