Library · How to play
Blackjack: how to play
The rules of blackjack, the player's choices, the dealer's rules and the common table variations.
- The goal
- Card values
- The deal
- Blackjack pays 3 to 2
- Your choices
- The dealer's rules
- Rule variations
- FlopMAX's table
- Basic strategy
- Card counting
- Spanish 21
The goal
You play against the dealer, not the other players. You win if your hand ends closer to 21 than the dealer's, or if the dealer goes over 21 and you have not. Going over 21 is a Bust, and a busted hand loses at once, even if the dealer busts later.
That last rule is the main source of the house's advantage: you act first, so when you bust, your bet is gone before the dealer plays.
Card values
- Cards 2 to 9 count their number.
- 10, jack, queen and king count 10.
- An ace counts 1 or 11, whichever helps the hand.
A hand with an ace counted as 11 is a soft total: A 6 is soft 17, because one more card cannot bust it. Any other hand is a hard total: 10 6 is hard 16. Suits do not matter.
The deal
- Each player places a bet.
- Everyone gets two cards, usually face up from a Shoe. The dealer gets two cards too: one face up, the Upcard, and one face down, the Hole card.
- If the dealer's upcard is an ace or a 10-value card, the dealer checks for blackjack. This is the Peek. If the dealer has it, the round ends and every hand without a blackjack loses its original bet.
- Each player, in turn from the dealer's left, plays their hand.
- The dealer turns over the hole card and plays by fixed rules.
- Bets are settled.
Blackjack pays 3 to 2
An ace and a 10-value card as your first two cards is a blackjack, or natural: A K . It beats any other 21 and pays 3 to 2, so a bet of 10 wins 15. If the dealer also has blackjack, it is a Push.
Some tables pay blackjack only 6 to 5, so a bet of 10 wins 12. You get a blackjack about once every 21 hands, so that cut adds about 1.4 percentage points to the house edge. That is a bigger change than any other common rule on this page.
Your choices
- Hit: take another card. You can keep hitting until you stand or bust.
- Stand: take no more cards.
- Double: double your bet and take exactly one more card. Usually allowed on any first two cards; some tables allow it only on 9, 10 or 11.
- Split: if your first two cards are the same value, put up a second equal bet and play them as two hands. Split aces usually get one card each, and an ace plus a 10 after a split counts as 21, not blackjack.
- Surrender: give up half your bet and end the hand, before taking any other action. Not every table offers it.
- Insurance: when the dealer shows an ace, you can bet up to half your original bet that the dealer has blackjack. It pays 2 to 1. Taking Even money on your own blackjack is the same bet. Basic strategy never takes it.
The dealer's rules
The dealer has no choices. After the players finish, the dealer hits until reaching 17 or more, then stands.
The one rule that varies is soft 17, such as A 6 :
- H17: the dealer hits soft 17. This adds about 0.2 percentage points to the house edge.
- S17: the dealer stands on soft 17.
If you and the dealer end with the same total, it is a push and your bet comes back. If you bust, you lose even if the dealer busts too.
Rule variations
Small rule changes move the House edge. Here is which way each one pushes it.
| Rule | What it means | Effect on the edge |
|---|---|---|
| Number of decks | From one deck to eight in a shoe | More decks raise it |
| H17 or S17 | Dealer hits or stands on soft 17 | H17 raises it |
| 3:2 or 6:5 | What a blackjack pays | 6:5 raises it a lot |
| DAS | Double after split allowed | Lowers it |
| Resplitting | Split again if you get another pair, often up to four hands | Lowers it |
| Resplit aces | Split aces may be split again | Lowers it |
| Late surrender | Surrender after the dealer checks for blackjack | Lowers it |
| Early surrender | Surrender before the dealer checks; rare | Lowers it more |
| Peek or ENHC | With peek, the dealer checks for blackjack first. With no hole card (ENHC), the dealer takes the second card later, and you can lose double and split bets to a blackjack | ENHC raises it, unless the table returns those extra bets |
| Doubling limits | Double only on 9, 10 or 11, or only on 10 or 11 | Limits raise it |
FlopMAX's table
By default, FlopMAX deals a common shoe game:
- 6 decks.
- The dealer hits soft 17.
- Double after split allowed.
- Blackjack pays 3 to 2.
Every other rule set on this page, including 6 to 5, surrender, ENHC and the number of decks, is in the game's settings. The strategy and every grade follow the rules you pick.
Basic strategy
For every hand you can hold against every dealer upcard, one play has the highest expected value. That play comes from the math, not from hunches, and the full set of best plays is called basic strategy. Played perfectly, it keeps the house edge under 1% at most 3 to 2 tables. It changes a little with the rules, which is why FlopMAX's Strategy shows the chart for the rules you choose, and Play grades each of your decisions against it.
Card counting
Card counting tracks which cards have been played. When many 10s and aces remain, the shoe favors the player a little, and a counter bets more. Systems such as Hi-Lo keep a Running count and turn it into a True count by dividing by the decks left.
Counting in your head is legal in most places. Casinos are private businesses, though, and may limit a counter's bets, shuffle early, or ask them to stop playing. Using a device to count or track cards is illegal in many places.
FlopMAX lets you practice counting with the count shown or quizzed. It is a study tool only.
Spanish 21
Spanish 21 is a blackjack game dealt from Spanish decks: 48 cards each, with the four number-10 cards removed. The jacks, queens and kings stay, so 10-value cards are scarcer, which helps the dealer.
To make up for it, the player gets extra rules. They vary by table, but common ones are:
- A player blackjack always wins, and a player 21 usually beats a dealer 21.
- Double on any number of cards, and sometimes surrender after doubling.
- Late surrender and resplitting, including aces.
- Higher payouts for some 21s, such as 6-7-8 or 7-7-7.
Because the deck and the rules are different, so is basic strategy. Spanish 21 is a Game choice in FlopMAX's blackjack settings.
Every term on this page, and more, is in the Blackjack glossary. FlopMAX is for practice and study; no real money is ever played here.