Quick answer: In blackjack you play against the dealer, not the other players. You try to finish with a hand closer to 21 than the dealer’s without going over. Number cards count their face value, picture cards count 10 and an ace counts 1 or 11. A natural blackjack (an ace plus a 10-value card) usually pays 3:2. With basic strategy and good rules, the house edge is only about 0.5%, one of the lowest in the casino.
| Blackjack at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Players | You vs the dealer (other players don’t affect your result) |
| Goal | Beat the dealer’s total without going over 21 |
| Card values | 2–9 face value, 10/J/Q/K = 10, ace = 1 or 11 |
| Blackjack pays | 3:2 at good tables (avoid 6:5) |
| Decks | Usually 1 to 8; 6–8 is standard for shoe games |
| House edge | About 0.5% with basic strategy, depending on the rules |
How a hand of blackjack works
- Bet. Place your stake before any cards are dealt.
- The deal. You get two cards face up. The dealer gets two cards, one face up (the up card) and, in most US-style games, one face down (the hole card).
- Check for blackjack. If your first two cards are an ace and a 10-value card, you have blackjack and are usually paid 3:2 straight away, unless the dealer also has one (then it’s a push).
- Your decisions. Hit, stand, double down, split or surrender (explained below), one hand at a time.
- The dealer plays. The dealer reveals the hole card and must follow fixed rules: draw on 16 or less, stand on 17 or more.
- Settle. If you bust (go over 21) you lose, even if the dealer busts later. Otherwise the higher total wins; equal totals are a push and your stake is returned.
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Blackjack card values and soft hands
Cards 2 to 9 count their face value. Tens, jacks, queens and kings all count 10. An ace counts 11, unless that would take you over 21, in which case it counts 1. Suits don’t matter.
| Card | Blackjack value |
|---|---|
| 2 to 9 | Face value (2 to 9) |
| 10, jack, queen, king | 10 |
| Ace | 11, or 1 if 11 would take you over 21 |
Because four ranks count 10, they make up 16 of the 52 cards in each deck, which is why a 10 is the most likely next card.
A hand with an ace counted as 11 is called soft, because it can’t bust on the next card. Ace-6 is “soft 17”. A hand with no ace, or with aces that must count as 1, is hard. Soft hands are played more aggressively in basic strategy for exactly that reason.
Your options: hit, stand, double, split, surrender
| Move | What it does | Common restrictions |
|---|---|---|
| Hit | Take another card | None; you can keep hitting until you stand or bust |
| Stand | Keep your total and end your turn | None |
| Double down | Double your bet and take exactly one more card | Some tables only allow it on totals of 9–11 or 10–11, or not after a split |
| Split | Turn a pair into two hands, each with its own bet | Resplitting is often limited to 3–4 hands; split aces usually get one card each, and 21 on a split ace isn’t a blackjack |
| Surrender | Give up half your bet and end the hand | First two cards only; “late” surrender is offered after the dealer checks for blackjack. Not every table has it |
| Insurance | Side bet that the dealer has blackjack when showing an ace; pays 2:1 | Costs up to half your bet. It’s a bad bet (see below) |
Why you should skip insurance
Insurance pays 2:1, but the dealer has a 10-value hole card less than a third of the time, so the bet loses money over time. The Wizard of Odds puts its house edge at about 7.4% in a six-deck game, far worse than the main game. Basic strategy says never take it, and that includes “even money” on your own blackjack.
Dealer rules and why they matter
The dealer has no choices: they draw until they reach 17 or more. The one rule that changes between tables is what happens on soft 17:
- S17 (dealer stands on soft 17): better for you.
- H17 (dealer hits soft 17): adds roughly 0.2 percentage points to the house edge.
Look for the rule printed on the table felt or in the online game’s help screen.
How to deal blackjack, step by step
- Bets first. Every player places a bet before any cards come out.
- First round. Starting with the player on the dealer’s left (“first base”), the dealer gives one card face up to each player, clockwise, then one card to themselves.
- Second round. Each player gets a second face-up card, and the dealer takes a second card, so the dealer ends up with one card showing and one face down (the hole card).
- Blackjack check. In US-style games the dealer checks the hole card for blackjack before anyone acts.
- Players act. Going round from first base, each player hits, stands, doubles or splits until they stand or bust.
- Dealer plays. The dealer turns over the hole card and draws by the fixed rules above, then pays or collects each bet.
Hand-held single- and double-deck games can deal player cards face down, but most casino games today are dealt face up from a shoe.
Hole card vs no hole card
In US-style games the dealer peeks at the hole card for blackjack. If they have it, the hand ends and you only lose your original bet. In European “no hole card” games the dealer’s second card isn’t dealt until you’ve played, so a dealer blackjack also takes any extra money you put in by doubling or splitting. That adds about 0.1 percentage points to the house edge, and it’s why you double and split less against a dealer 10 or ace in those games.
Rules that change the house edge
Blackjack’s low house edge depends on the rules at your table. These are the changes worth checking before you sit down, with their approximate effect:
| Rule | Effect on the house edge |
|---|---|
| Blackjack pays 6:5 instead of 3:2 | About +1.4 points (the single worst rule) |
| Dealer hits soft 17 (H17) | About +0.2 points |
| No hole card (European) | About +0.1 points |
| More decks | Higher edge: roughly 0.2% with 1 deck vs around 0.6–0.7% with 6–8 decks under the same rules |
| Late surrender allowed | A small improvement for you |
In short: a 3:2 game with S17 can cost you around 0.5% of your stakes with perfect basic strategy. The same game at 6:5 costs about four times as much. Players who don’t use basic strategy typically give up somewhere around 1.4–2% in total.
Basic strategy: the rules most players get wrong
Basic strategy is the mathematically best play for every hand against every dealer up card. Full charts vary slightly with the rules, but these points hold almost everywhere:
- Always split aces and 8s.
- Never split 10s or 5s. Treat a pair of 5s as a 10.
- Double on 11 against most dealer up cards.
- Stand on hard 17 or more.
- Hard 13–16: stand if the dealer shows 2–6, hit if the dealer shows 7–ace.
- Hard 12: stand only against a dealer 4–6; hit against 2 and 3.
- Never take insurance.
Want to go further? Our card counting guide explains how advantage players track the deck, and our low house edge games list shows how blackjack compares with other tables.
Blackjack variations to know
- Blackjack Switch: you play two hands and may swap their second cards, paid for with less favourable rules elsewhere.
- Spanish 21: played without the number 10 cards (picture cards stay), with bonus payouts to compensate.
- Live dealer blackjack: real tables streamed from a studio. Rules vary by table, so check the payout and soft-17 rule. See our live dealer casino guide.
Where to play blackjack online
Our top-rated casino, 1win (9.9/10), has RNG and live blackjack tables. Which tables you see depends on your country. If you sign up, you can use the promo code Ultragambler. Online gambling isn’t legal everywhere, so check the laws where you live first, and set a budget before you play. Basic strategy reduces the house edge; it doesn’t remove it.
Blackjack rules FAQ
What does blackjack pay?
A natural blackjack normally pays 3:2, so a $10 bet wins $15. Some tables pay only 6:5 ($12), which costs you about 1.4 percentage points in house edge. Other winning hands pay 1:1.
Does the dealer hit on 16?
Yes. The dealer must draw on 16 or less and stand on 17 or more. The only variation is whether they hit or stand on a soft 17.
Is an ace 1 or 11?
Either. It counts 11 unless that would take the hand over 21, in which case it counts 1.
What happens if you and the dealer have the same total?
It’s a push: you get your stake back. The exception is if you bust; you lose even if the dealer busts too.
Can you win at blackjack in the long run?
Not with basic strategy alone. It cuts the house edge to around 0.5% at good tables, but the casino still keeps a small advantage. Card counting can shift the odds in games dealt from a shoe, but casinos watch for it, and it can’t work when the cards are reshuffled after every hand, as in most online RNG games.
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Check your local laws before you play
Online gambling laws differ from country to country, and in some places it is restricted or not permitted at all. Before you sign up to any casino listed on UltraGambler, check that online gambling is legal where you live and that the casino accepts players from your country. You must be 18 or older (or the legal gambling age in your country, if higher) to play. Only gamble with money you can afford to lose, and use the deposit limits and self-exclusion tools your casino provides if gambling stops being fun.
