Rules of Blackjack: What Each Online Table Rule Means

In blackjack, your hand beats the dealer's hand when it is closer to 21 without going over, and the dealer must take cards until the dealer has 17 or more. Each online table can change a few rules, such as the blackjack payout or the soft 17 rule, and every change moves the house edge – the share of each bet the house keeps on average.

• The standard blackjack rules
• Blackjack dealer rules
• Payout rules: 3:2, 6:5 and 1:1
• Doubling rules
• Splitting rules
• Surrender and European no hole card
• Rule changes and the house edge
• How to read an online game's rules screen

01The standard blackjack rules

Every round of online blackjack follows the same steps.

1. You place your bet.
2. You get two cards face up. The dealer gets one card face up (the up card) and one card face down (the hole card).
3. You choose a move: hit (take a card), stand (take no more cards), double, or split.
4. The dealer turns over the hole card and plays the dealer hand.
5. Bets are paid. If you go over 21, you bust and lose, even if the dealer busts later.

A blackjack is an ace and a 10-value card (10, J, Q or K) as your first two cards. It beats every other 21.

Each game sets its own rules. The table below shows the standard settings this site uses for its charts and numbers.

With these rules and perfect basic strategy, the house keeps about 0.62% of each bet. Basic strategy is the move with the highest average result for every hand, shown in the blackjack strategy chart.

02Blackjack dealer rules

The dealer makes no choices. The dealer plays by fixed rules that are the same for every hand.

• With 16 or less, the dealer takes another card.
• With 17 or more, the dealer stands.
• On a soft 17, the table rules say whether the dealer hits or stands.
• The dealer never doubles, splits or surrenders.

An ace counts as 11 unless that would bust the hand, then it counts as 1. A soft hand is a hand where an ace counts as 11.

A soft 17 is an ace plus cards worth 6, like this dealer hand.

The soft 17 rule changes the house edge.

• Dealer hits soft 17: the house edge goes up by about 0.21 percentage points compared to standing.
• Dealer stands on soft 17: the same table has a house edge of about 0.40%.

The soft 17 page shows this rule in detail. Because the dealer must keep drawing to 17, the dealer busts more often with some up cards than with others.

The chart below shows how often the dealer busts with each up card. The numbers are counted before the dealer checks for blackjack.

The dealer peek

When the up card is an ace or a 10-value card, the dealer checks the hole card for blackjack before you play. This check is called the peek.

• If the dealer has blackjack, the hand ends at once. You lose your bet, unless you also have blackjack. Then it is a push (a tie), and your bet comes back.
• If the dealer has no blackjack, the round goes on and you play your hand.

When the dealer shows an ace, the game offers insurance. Insurance is a side bet that the dealer has blackjack, and it costs up to half your original bet.

Insurance pays 2:1, and the house edge on it is about 7.4%. The insurance page explains this bet.

03Payout rules: 3:2, 6:5 and 1:1

• A regular win pays 1:1. You get back your bet plus the same amount.
• A push returns your bet.
• A blackjack pays more than a regular win. The amount depends on the table.

The picture below shows what a 10 bet pays at each payout.

A 6:5 payout adds about 1.36 percentage points to the house edge.

A paid blackjack comes about once every 22 hands. See the 6:5 blackjack page for more.

Victoria's tip

Read the payout line first. If it says 6:5 or 1:1, the house edge is several times higher than at a 3:2 table.

04Doubling rules

When you double down, you add a second bet equal to your first bet. You then get exactly one more card.

Tables limit doubling in different ways.

• Any two cards: you can double on any first two cards. This is the standard rule.
• 9, 10 and 11 only: you can double only when your first two cards total 9, 10 or 11.
• 10 and 11 only: you can double only on 10 or 11. This adds about 0.20 percentage points to the house edge.

A hard hand has no ace counted as 11. Basic strategy doubles hard 11 against every dealer up card.

Some doubles are on soft hands. If the table lets you double only on 10 and 11, you cannot make the doubles in this row for soft A,7.

Double after split

• Double after split means you can double a hand that came from a split.
• The standard rules allow it.
• A table without it adds about 0.14 percentage points to the house edge.

The double down page covers every doubling hand.

05Splitting rules

When your first two cards are a pair (two cards of the same value), you can split them. Each card starts a new hand, and you place a second bet equal to your first bet.

• You can split up to 4 hands on a standard table.
• Split aces get only one card each.
• An ace and a 10-value card after a split count as 21, not blackjack. They pay 1:1.
• On the standard table, you cannot split aces again if you get another ace. Some other tables allow it.

Basic strategy splits a pair of 8s against every dealer up card.

Basic strategy also splits a pair of aces against every dealer up card.

The when to split page shows every pair.

06Surrender and European no hole card

Surrender lets you give up your hand and get back half of your bet. The standard rules do not offer it.

• This page describes late surrender.
• With late surrender, you can surrender only after the dealer peeks and has no blackjack.
• You can surrender only on your first two cards, before you take any other move.
• Late surrender lowers the house edge by about 0.09 percentage points, to about 0.53%.

European no hole card

In the European no-hole-card game, the dealer gets only one card at the start. Here the dealer has one 10 face up.

The dealer takes the second card after you finish your hand, so there is no peek. Here the dealer draws an ace and has blackjack.

• If the dealer makes blackjack, you lose your bet.
• In some versions, you also lose the extra bets from doubles and splits. The game's rules screen says which version it is.
• With 6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17 and double after split, the house edge is about 0.52%.

The strategy chart for this game is a little different. The European blackjack page explains the changes.

07Rule changes and the house edge

The table below shows how each rule change moves the house edge. Each line changes only the rules named, and everything else stays standard.

You can enter any set of rules into the house edge calculator. It shows the house edge for that exact table.

Victoria's tip

The payout rule changes the house edge the most. After that, check soft 17, double after split and surrender.

08How to read an online game's rules screen

Online games list their rules on the table or behind an info button. Look for these lines.

• Blackjack pays 3:2 (or 6:5, or 1:1)
• Dealer hits soft 17 or Dealer stands on soft 17
• Number of decks, from 1 to 8
• Double on any two cards, or on 9 to 11, or on 10 and 11 only
• Double after split: allowed or not allowed
• Split up to a number of hands, and the rule for split aces
• Surrender: offered or not offered
• Insurance pays 2:1
• Dealer peeks or no hole card

The soft 17 line tells you what the dealer does with a hand like this one. If the rules say "Dealer hits soft 17", the dealer takes another card here.

The shoe is the box the cards are dealt from. Digital online games usually shuffle the cards again before every round.

Victoria's tip

If a rule is missing from the table, open the help or info screen and look for it there before you bet.

Questions people ask