How to Play Blackjack

You are not trying to reach exactly 21 every hand. You are trying to beat the dealer by finishing with a better total without busting. If your total goes over 21, that hand busts.

A natural blackjack is an ace plus a ten-value card as the first two cards. It is the strongest starting result and is handled separately from ordinary 21 totals.

Cards 2 through 10 count as their printed value. Jacks, queens, and kings count as 10. Aces count as either 1 or 11, depending on which value helps the hand without busting.

A hand without a flexible ace is called a hard hand. A hand where the ace can still count as 11 is called a soft hand. A pair is two cards of the same rank and may be eligible to split.

Hit means take another card. Stand means keep your current total. Double means increase the practice unit and take one final card. Split means separate a pair into two hands.

Those actions are not guesses. Basic strategy tells you when each action is strongest by comparing your hand type and total to the dealer upcard.

The dealer acts after the player. In most blackjack games, the dealer must draw until reaching at least 17. Because the dealer follows fixed rules, player strategy can be organized around the visible dealer upcard.

Weak dealer upcards such as 4, 5, and 6 create more chances for the dealer to bust. Strong upcards such as 10 and ace put more pressure on the player to improve.