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How to play Blackjack
Also called Twenty-one · 21
1–7 players
Beat the dealer without going over 21. Face cards are ten, an ace is eleven until that would bust you and then it is one.
Two cards totalling 21 is a blackjack and pays three to two — not the same as reaching 21 with three cards, which pays even money.
Your options on a hand
- Hit — take another card. Over 21 and the hand is gone immediately.
- Stand — keep what you have and let the dealer play.
- Double — double the bet and take exactly one more card.
- Split — a pair becomes two hands, each with its own bet.
- Surrender — give up the hand and take back half the bet.
A hand made by splitting is a plain hand: 21 on a split is twenty-one, not a blackjack, and does not pay three to two.
What the dealer has to do
The dealer has no choices. They draw to sixteen and stand on seventeen, and whether they take another card on a soft seventeen is a table setting.
If the dealer busts, every hand still standing wins. A hand level with the dealer is a push and the bet comes back.
Playing Blackjack with friends
One to seven seats, all against the same dealer. The number of decks and whether blackjack pays three to two or six to five are both table settings — three to two is the fair one.
Play chips only. No cash value, and nothing to deposit or withdraw.
The other games
TongitsThree players, melds and discards. Empty your hand or call it.
Pusoy (Chinese Poker)Thirteen cards split into three hands, scored row by row.
Lucky 9Two cards, closest to nine. Ace to ten only, no face cards.
High Card, and Truth or DareOne card each. Highest wins - or drinks.
In-BetweenBet whether the third card falls between the first two.
Texas Hold'emTwo hole cards, five community cards, four betting rounds.
BaccaratBack the Player, the Banker, or a Tie.
Dragon TigerOne card each side. Back the Dragon, the Tiger, or a tie.