Rules of the game
Card values
- 2 through 10 count their face value.
- Jack, Queen, King all count as 10.
- Ace counts as 11, unless that would bust the hand — then it counts as 1.
A hand with an Ace counted as 11 is called soft (it can't bust on the next card). Once the Ace drops to 1, the hand becomes hard.
The deal
You bet first, then the cards come out in this order: one to you (face up), one to the dealer (face up), one more to you (face up), one more to the dealer (face down). The dealer's face-up card is called the up-card; their face-down card is the hole card.
Your options
Hit: take another card. You can keep hitting as many times as you want, but if your total goes over 21 you bust and immediately lose.
Stand: keep your current total. Your turn ends.
Double: double your bet and take exactly one more card. Used when you have an edge and want more money on the table.
Split: if your first two cards are a pair, you can put up a second bet equal to the first and play them as two separate hands.
Dealer rules
After you finish, the dealer flips their hole card and plays by a fixed rule. They must keep hitting until they reach a total of 17 or higher, and then they must stop. They have no choice and no judgement — they are required to play by the rule whether it helps them or not.
Some tables make the dealer hit on soft 17 (a 17 that contains an Ace counted as 11). This is called H17; the default is S17 (stands on all 17s). The rule affects a handful of cells on the chart.
Payouts
- Win: 1:1 — you get your bet back plus the same amount again.
- Blackjack: 3:2 — an Ace plus a 10-value on your first two cards pays one and a half times your bet, as long as the dealer doesn't also have blackjack.
- Push: your total ties the dealer's. Your bet is returned, nothing more.
- Lose / Bust: the dealer takes your bet.
Watch out for tables that pay 6:5 on blackjack instead of 3:2. The 0.3% extra house edge looks small but it wipes out most of what basic strategy buys you. Don't sit at a 6:5 table.
Demo round
Hit the button to watch a hand play out. The hand is dealt randomly and the player plays the chart automatically — this is just to show the mechanics.