Blackjack basic rules

In the game of Blackjack, you’ll face off against the dealer who has a deck of cards. Each round consists of two parts: The player tries to beat the dealer, who has a slightly higher hand. When the player reaches 21 or busts (i.e., runs out of cards), the dealer wins. To play correctly, you should always consider whether to hit or stand on each card. Let’s see below some of the basic rules of blackjack.

Hitting and standing

During the round, players usually decide whether to draw another card from their hand (to “hits” or “draw”), or not (to “stands”). You will be required not only to announce “hits” or “stays,” but also to use specific gestures to indicate which card you want to play. This is to avoid any confusion or ambiguity in your choices, and also so that the dealers don’t get confused by your actions. If you bust (or exceed 21), the dealers will take your bets away from you immediately.

Hand Signals in the Shoe Game

To play the “shoe” trick, you touch the surface behind your cards using a finger. When you decide to start playing, simply wave your hands horizontally above the board. You aren’t allowed to touch the deck of cards in this type of card trick.

Hand Signals in the Hand-Held Game

Each player has two decks of playing cards (one deck for each hand). They play by alternating turns until they both run out of tricks. To notify the casino that you’d prefer to take another card, touch the table’s edge with your fingertip. Check if anyone is observing before doing so. Once they aren’t, press down firmly on the tabletop with your fingers. You’ll hear the cards being shuffled and then see them being dealt. Lay your new card beside the others. After finishing, return the original card to the pile and shuffle it once more. When you start to play, place the two playing cards you hold face down in the middle of the table. Make sure you’re ready to play!

Double down

Much of the excitement in blackjack stems from when you’re dealt a pair of cards, which allows you to “double down” by doubling your bet and receiving one (and only one!) additional card to your already strong pair. An example of a doubling opportunity would be if you were holding a 6 and an ace, and the dealer had a 5 upcard. You could win the hand by drawing another card, so you should double down in this advantageous situation. If you’re playing a card game against someone else, just put down your original two face-ups on the tabletop in full view of both players.

Split pairs

When you’re dealt a pair of cards, you can either keep both together or break them apart. For example, if you’re given a pair of eighths, you could choose to hold onto both eight cards or just one. In general, splitting your pair gives you an extra card, so if you were dealt a pair of eighth cards, you’d get four instead of three. Splitting also allows you to make better decisions about what to do next. If you’re playing a hand-held card table, throw the cards up in front of your bets just like a double down, then put a matching wager next to the original one in the circle. You must always wager the same amount on a single, but not a double-down.

You will be dealt two cards at the beginning of each round. You will then choose whether to keep playing that two-cards-in-a-row or split it into two new two-cards-in-a-row. Many casinos allow you to double up on that two-cards-at-a-time after splitting. I will cover the Double After Split option in Rule Variations.

Resplitting

If you get additional cards in the first 2 cards of a hand, some casinos may let you re-splitting them into multiple hands. You’re typically limited to splitting up to three times, which means four separate hands, each with its separate bets. If you get doubles after splitting, you could end up having eight times your original bet on the board!

Split tens

Note that you are not allowed to break any 10-value cards, so you can’t break a (Jack, Queen). But if you do, you’ll lose your bet. So keep the 20. You’ll make more money on pair 20 than you would try to make two pairs from it.

Split Aces

An interesting quirk occurs when you’re dealt an ace on top of another ace. If you decide to “split” the two aces into separate hands, the dealer will usually give you only one additional draw for each ace. However, if you draw a 10-valued hand on one of your splits, the hand is no longer considered blackjack, but rather a regular 21, and therefore doesn’t pay out at the 3:2 ratio.

In conclusion, These are some of the basic blackjack rules that every player needs to master.