How to play blackjack online
You can learn the rules of blackjack in ten minutes. This page covers all of them, in the order you meet them at the table.
What the cards are worth
Twos to nines count their number. Tens, jacks, queens and kings count 10. An ace counts 11 unless that would take you past 21, in which case it counts 1. A hand where the ace still counts 11 is soft: ace and six is soft 17, and you cannot bust it with one more card. Any other hand is hard.
How you win
Finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Go over and you have bust: the bet is lost at once, even if the dealer busts afterwards. That one rule is where the casino's edge comes from. Equal totals are a push, and you get your stake back.
Your options
- Hit to take another card, as many times as you like.
- Stand to keep your total and hand over to the dealer.
- Double down to double your bet and take exactly one more card, usually on 10 or 11.
- Split a pair into two hands, each with a bet equal to the first.
- Surrender, where allowed, to fold your first two cards and get half your stake back.
Blackjack pays 3:2, and that matters
An ace with a ten-value card as your first two cards is a natural. It beats every other hand except a dealer natural, which makes it a push, and pays 3:2: a €10 bet wins €15. Some tables pay only 6:5, so €12. That small change adds well over 1% to the house edge, so walk past those tables.
What the dealer must do
The dealer has no choices. They draw until they reach 17 or more and then stop. The one rule that varies is soft 17: tables marked S17 stand on it, tables marked H17 hit it, which is slightly worse for you. The dealer never doubles, splits or surrenders.
Once the rules feel natural, move on to basic strategy: it tells you which of these options to pick in every situation.