How to Play Blackjack

By the end of this page you can sit at a blackjack table, place a bet, and play a hand without asking the dealer what to do. The rules take about five minutes. Try each step as you read on our free play table. It costs nothing and needs no signup.

The goal

Beat the dealer's hand without going over 21. The other players at the table do not matter. You win when your total beats the dealer's, or when the dealer busts (goes over 21) and you did not. Equal totals are a push, and you get your bet back.

Card values

Count number cards at face value. Count jacks, queens, and kings as 10. Count an ace as 11, or as 1 when 11 would bust you. A hand with an ace counted as 11 is soft (ace-6 is “soft 17”), and one card cannot bust it. Draw too high and the ace drops to 1. An ace with a ten-value card as your first two cards is a blackjack (a “natural”). It pays extra, usually 3:2.

How a round works

Place a bet. You get two cards face up. The dealer gets one card up (the upcard) and one face down (the hole card). If the upcard is an ace or a ten, the dealer checks the hole card for blackjack before anyone acts, and a dealer blackjack ends the round there. Otherwise you act, then the other players act, then the dealer plays out their hand by fixed rules.

Your actions

Hit. Tap the table. You get one more card. Hit as many times as you want until you stand or bust. Stand. Wave a flat hand over your cards. You take no more cards and the dealer moves on. Double down. On your first two cards, or after a split where the table allows it, push out a second bet equal to your first. You get exactly one more card, then you stand. Split. If your two cards match in value, push out a second bet. The dealer separates them into two hands, and you play each on its own. Split aces usually get one card each and no more. Surrender. If the table offers it, give up your hand before you take a card. You lose half your bet. Surrender only when your hand wins less than a quarter of the time. Insurance. When the dealer shows an ace, you can bet that the dealer has blackjack. It pays 2:1 if they do. Decline it. Insurance loses money over time, and our trainer marks it wrong.

The dealer has no choices

The dealer follows one rule, printed on the felt: hit until the total is at least 17, then stand. Watch for one variation. At some tables the dealer stands on soft 17 (S17), at others they hit it (H17). H17 costs you a small amount, and we measured how much. Because the dealer never decides anything, you can work out the best play for every spot ahead of time. The basic strategy page explains every play.

Payouts

A win pays even money. Bet $25 and you win $25. A blackjack pays 3:2 at a good table, so $25 wins $37.50. Some tables pay 6:5 on a blackjack instead. Walk past them. 6:5 costs you more than any other rule in the game. A push returns your bet. A loss or a bust takes it.

Table etiquette

In a casino, buy chips between rounds, not during a hand. In a face-up game, keep your hands off the cards. Signal with your hand, a tap for hit and a flat wave for stand, so the cameras record your decision. If you are winning, tip the dealer now and then. Dealers do not control your cards, but they set the pace of the table.

What's next

You now know enough to sit down. Basic strategy cuts the house edge to about half a percent. Train it for free until every play is automatic.