Blackjack is a card game played against the dealer, not against other players. The goal is a hand worth more than the dealer's without exceeding 21. With basic strategy, the house edge is about 0.5% — roughly 50 cents per $100 wagered, the lowest of any standard casino game. This guide covers card values, the round step by step, every decision you can make, the payouts, and the dealer rules that change the math.
Card values
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| 2–10 | Face value |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| Ace | 1 or 11, whichever helps your hand |
A hand with an ace counted as 11 is a "soft" hand (soft 17 = ace + 6). A hand with no ace, or an ace forced to count as 1, is "hard." The distinction matters because a soft hand cannot bust on one card — the strategy chart treats them differently.
A "blackjack" is an ace plus any ten-value card as your first two cards. It beats every other 21 and pays a bonus (see Payouts).
How a round works
1. Place your bet. 2. You receive two cards face up. The dealer receives two: one face up, one face down. 3. If the dealer's up card is an ace, you may be offered insurance (decline — see below). 4. Choose your action: hit, stand, double, split, or surrender where offered. 5. When you stand or bust, the dealer reveals the hole card and draws until reaching 17 or higher. 6. Closer to 21 wins. Equal totals push (your bet is returned). Bust loses immediately, even if the dealer later busts too.
Online, the interface enforces the rules: buttons appear only when an action is legal, and the dealer plays automatically. A round of RNG blackjack takes seconds; a live-dealer round takes about half a minute.
Your five actions
Hit — take another card. Repeat until you stand or bust.
Stand — keep your total. The dealer plays.
Double down — double your bet and receive exactly one more card. Used when one card is likely to make your hand strong, typically on totals of 9–11. Some tables restrict doubling to certain totals; fewer restrictions favour you.
Split — when your two cards have equal value, split them into two hands, each with a bet equal to your original. Each hand then plays normally. Most tables allow re-splitting up to 3–4 hands; aces usually receive one card each only.
Surrender — where offered, forfeit half your bet and end the hand. Correct only against the strongest dealer cards with the weakest player totals (16 vs 10 is the classic case). Many online tables omit it.
Insurance is a side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace: half your stake, paying 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack. The dealer has blackjack less often than the 1-in-3 the payout implies, so insurance loses about 7% of every unit bet on it. Decline it every time, including "even money" on your own blackjack — it is the same bet renamed.
Payouts
| Result | Payout |
|---|---|
| Win | 1:1 |
| Blackjack | 3:2 (bet $10, win $15) |
| Push | Bet returned |
| Insurance (if taken) | 2:1 |
The number to check before sitting down: blackjack must pay 3:2. Tables paying 6:5 add about 1.4 percentage points to the house edge — nearly quadrupling the cost of the game played with perfect strategy. The table title or info panel states the payout; 6:5 is common on single-deck tables marketed as premium.
Dealer rules
The dealer has no choices. They draw to 16 or less and stand on 17 or more. The one variation: some tables make the dealer hit soft 17 (H17) rather than stand (S17).
If you want the math: H17 adds about 0.2 percentage points to the house edge, because a dealer who redraws on ace-6 turns a mediocre 17 into a better hand more often than they bust. Prefer S17 tables when both exist; the table rules panel states which applies.
Why the dealer wins ties on busts
The house edge in blackjack comes from one structural fact: you act first. If you bust, you lose immediately — even when the dealer would have busted afterwards. Both busting happens roughly 8% of rounds, and that asymmetry is the engine of the casino's edge. Everything in basic strategy is built around managing it: the chart tells you when busting risk outweighs the value of improving your hand.
The house edge, in practice
| How you play | Approximate house edge | Cost per $100 wagered |
|---|---|---|
| Basic strategy, good rules (3:2, S17, DAS) | ~0.5% | ~$0.50 |
| Basic strategy, poor rules (6:5 or H17 + restrictions) | 1.5–2% | $1.50–2.00 |
| Playing by feel | 2–4% | $2.00–4.00 |
Two decisions deliver most of the value: choosing a 3:2 S17 table, and playing the chart instead of intuition. Both are free. The basic strategy chart covers the second; the rules variations guide covers the first in detail.
Online specifics
RNG tables deal from a freshly shuffled shoe every hand, at any stake, instantly. At crypto casinos, in-house blackjack is often provably fair — each shuffle verifiable against a committed seed. Speed cuts both ways: more hands per hour multiplies both entertainment and cost.
Live dealer tables stream a physical table with real cards. Slower (40–60 hands per hour), with table limits and seat counts, and the social layer some players want. Rules and payouts work identically; check the same 3:2 and S17 boxes.
The live vs RNG guide compares the formats including cost per hour.
Bonuses and blackjack
Casino welcome bonuses typically count blackjack at 5–10% toward wagering requirements, sometimes 0%. A 40x wagering requirement at 10% contribution is effectively 400x at the blackjack table — no edge survives it. If you intend to play blackjack primarily, clear bonuses on slots first or play without one. The bankroll guide covers the practical setup.