Blackjack

1 Overview

Blackjack is the most popular casino card game in the world. The goal is simple: beat the dealer by having a higher hand value without exceeding 21. Every player plays against the dealer, not each other.

With perfect basic strategy, the house edge in blackjack is under 0.5% - the best odds of any casino game.

2 What You Need

• 1-8 standard decks of 52 cards (casinos use 6-8; home games often use 1-2)
• Chips or cash for betting

3 Setup

1. Each player places a bet before cards are dealt.
2. Dealer gives each player and themselves two cards. Players' cards are face-up; dealer has one card face-up and one face-down (the 'hole card').

4 How to Play

On your turn, choose an action:

• Hit: Take another card. You can hit as many times as you like.
• Stand: Keep your current hand. Your turn ends.
• Double Down: Double your bet and take exactly one more card, then stand.
• Split: If your first two cards are the same value, split them into two separate hands, each with a new bet equal to the original.
• Surrender: Some games allow giving up half your bet to forfeit the hand.

Dealer Rules

The dealer reveals their hole card after all players have acted. The dealer must hit until reaching 17 or higher (in most versions, the dealer also hits on 'soft 17' - Ace+6). The dealer cannot choose to stand on less than 17.

Card Values

• 2-10: face value
• Jack, Queen, King: 10
• Ace: 1 or 11 (whichever doesn't bust)

5 Winning

You beat the dealer if your hand is higher than theirs without busting, OR if the dealer busts. A natural blackjack (Ace + 10-value on first two cards) pays 3:2. A tie ('push') returns your bet. Busting always loses, even if the dealer also busts.

6 Strategy Tips

• Learn basic strategy. There's a mathematically optimal action for every hand vs. every dealer upcard. Printed strategy cards are legal in casinos. Always split Aces and 8s; never split 5s or 10s.
• Always stand on 17+. Never hit a hard 17 - the risk of busting outweighs the potential gain.
• Double down on 11 against a dealer 2-10. This is one of the highest-value plays in basic strategy.
• Don't take insurance. Insurance is a side bet that the dealer has blackjack - it has a significant house edge and is almost always a bad bet.