How to play Blackjack ♦

Card values

• 2–10 are worth their number.
• J, Q and K are worth 10.
• An Ace is worth 11, or 1 if 11 would take you over 21. A hand where the Ace is counting as 11 is called soft (for example A + 6 is "soft 17").

How a hand goes

1. You choose your bet (10, 25, 50 or 100 here). This is the one amount you decide.
2. You get two cards face up. The dealer gets one face up and one face down.
3. If the dealer shows an Ace or a 10, they check the hidden card for blackjack first. This happens automatically.
4. You play your hand (see your moves below). Going over 21 is a bust: you lose at once.
5. The dealer turns over the hidden card and must hit until they reach 17 or more. The dealer has no choices.
6. Compare totals. Closer to 21 wins; a tie is a push and you get your bet back.

Your moves

• Hit: take another card. Repeat as often as you like.
• Stand: keep your total and stop.
• Double: only on your first two cards. Add the same bet again, take exactly one more card, then stop.
• Split: only with two cards of the same value. They become two separate hands, each with your original bet. Split Aces get one card each.

Payouts

• A win pays 1 to 1: bet 20, win 20.
• Blackjack (an Ace and a 10-value card as your first two cards) pays 3 to 2: bet 20, win 30.
• A push returns your bet.

Why it works like this

• The dealer has no choices. It makes the dealer predictable, so there is a single best move for every hand. That is why a strategy chart exists.
• You play before the dealer. If you bust you lose even if the dealer busts later. That small advantage is how the casino wins over time.
• Blackjack pays 3 to 2. It rewards the best starting hand and is one of the few rules in the player's favour.
• You may double or split only at the start. They are chances to bet more when the odds favour you, but you must decide before you know more.
• Several decks shuffled together. It makes counting cards harder, though the count still shifts the odds a little, which the coach shows.

Common questions

• Can I play with friends? Yes. Press Play with friends to make a room, then send the link. The table has up to four players, each against the dealer; nobody else is needed, friends just sit down between hands. Each player has their own coach, which only sees their own cards.
• Can the coach help at a real blackjack game? At a home game, yes: press Real table and tap in the cards you see. Using a device at a casino table is against the rules, and in some places the law.
• Why did I lose when the dealer also bust? You bust first. Players act before the dealer, which is where the casino's edge comes from.
• Can I split more than once? Not at this table.
• Can I double after splitting? Yes, except after splitting Aces.
• What's the count? A running tally of high and low cards seen. When many high cards are left, the shoe favours you.

At this table

Six decks shuffled together, reshuffled when three-quarters are used. The dealer stands on soft 17. One split per hand. No insurance or surrender. Real table mode coaches a game played with real cards.