Blackjack Basics: How a Hand Plays Out, From the Deal to the Dealer's Turn

Blackjack has one goal: finish with a hand closer to 21 than the dealer's, without going over. Everything else at the table, from splitting to the dealer's fixed rules, is just detail on top of that.

I dealt blackjack for years before I wrote about it, and most new players I met weren't confused by the goal. They were confused by the order of things: who acts when, what the buttons mean, and why the dealer never seems to make a choice. So let's walk through one hand, start to finish.

What each card is worth

• Number cards 2 through 10 count as their face value.
• Jacks, queens and kings count as 10.
• An ace counts as 1 or 11, whichever helps the hand.

Suits don't matter for the main game. A king of hearts and a king of spades are the same card as far as your total is concerned.

How a hand starts

You get two cards face up. The dealer gets two cards as well, but only one is face up. That visible card is called the up card, and it's the one piece of the dealer's hand you get to see before you decide anything.

If your first two cards are an ace and any 10-value card, that's a blackjack, the best starting hand in the game. Otherwise, it's your turn to act.

Hard hands and soft hands

This is the one idea that makes the rest of the table click.

A soft hand has an ace that's currently counted as 11. Ace and 6 is a soft 17. It's called soft because it can't go over 21 on the next card: if you draw a 9, the ace quietly drops to 1 and you're at 16.

A hard hand has no ace counted as 11. A 10 and a 7 is a hard 17, and a 5 on top of it takes you to 22, which is over.

Same total, very different situations. You'll see the game display both values on a soft hand, something like "7/17", for exactly this reason.

Your options on each turn

Hit takes another card. You can keep hitting until you stand or go over 21, which is called a bust. A bust ends your hand right away, whatever the dealer does later.

Stand keeps your current total and passes the turn on.

Double down is available on your first two cards. You double your coin amount for the hand and receive exactly one more card, then your turn ends automatically.

Split appears when your first two cards are a pair. The pair becomes two separate hands, each gets a second card, and you play them one after the other. Each split hand needs its own coin amount, matching the original.

The dealer's turn: no choices, only rules

Once every player has finished, the dealer turns over the hidden card and plays the hand. This is where new players are often surprised, because the dealer doesn't decide anything. The house rules decide.

In most blackjack games the dealer must hit on 16 or less and stand on 17 or more. The one common variation is the soft 17: some games have the dealer hit it, others stand. The rule is usually printed right on the table felt ("Dealer stands on all 17s" or "Dealer hits soft 17"), and it's always in the game's info screen.

When I dealt, players sometimes thought I'd hit a 16 by choice. I never had one. The dealer's hand is played the same way every time.

How the hand is settled

• Higher total than the dealer without busting: you win the hand.
• Same total as the dealer: it's a push, and your coins come back.
• The dealer busts: every hand still in play wins.
• A blackjack usually beats any other 21, including a 21 made with three or more cards.

Blackjack games on Jackpota

Our table games section has several versions of digital blackjack. Blackjack Suited is the standard game. Blackjack Suited 21+3 and Blackjack Suited Perfect Pairs add an extra layer to the deal: 21+3 looks at your two cards plus the dealer's up card as a three-card poker hand, and Perfect Pairs looks at whether your first two cards make a pair. There are also single-hand and VIP versions, which keep the same core game.

The main game works exactly as described above in all of them, but small table rules can differ. Before your first hand in a new version, open the info screen and check two things: whether the dealer hits soft 17, and when doubling and splitting are allowed.

If you'd rather watch a real dealer and real cards, our guide to live dealer games covers how hosted blackjack differs from the digital tables.

A dealer's advice for your first few hands

Take your time. Digital tables wait for you, and there's no one behind you in line. Read your total, look at the dealer's up card, and choose. Not sure what a button does? The info screen will tell you, and that's the same thing I'd have told you across the felt.

Blackjack on Jackpota is played with Gold Coins, purely for entertainment. Play as many or as few hands as you enjoy, and stop whenever you like.