Blackjack is a simple and entertaining game to learn. This page describes the set-up, basic objectives and order of play in online blackjack games. Once you have learned the basics of how to play blackjack our blackjack rules and blackjack strategy page will help you to get the best from your game.
The central idea in online blackjack is to beat the dealer by making a hand totaling 21 or under. You can win in two ways. Either your total is greater than that of the dealer, or the dealer ‘busts’ by going over 21 when you do not. Beating the dealer will give you an even money return on you blackjack betting stake, if you hit 21 in 2 cards (called a ‘blackjack’) then you will get a 3:2 return.
Though blackjack can be played with a single deck of cards the usual format is with a number of decks between 4 and 8. The table is arranged with players facing the dealer in a semi-circle. Each player is then dealt 2 cards face-up, while the dealer is dealt one card face up and the other face down.
Each player in turn then decides whether to ‘hit’ (take another card) or ‘stand’ with the cards that they have. Going over 21 means that your hand is ‘bust’ losing your bet for this hand. Under certain circumstances players may ‘double’ their bet and even split paired cards into two separate hands.
Once all players have acted the dealer turns over the face-down card and will then hit or stand based on a pre-determined set of rules – usually hitting with a total under 17 and standing with 17 or more. The dealer’s hand is then compared to the hands of the players and bets are settled according to who has the highest hand.
If the dealer shows an ace as the face-up card then they will check for blackjack before the players act. Some casinos offer ‘insurance’ at this point – an additional bet paying 2:1 if the dealer does indeed have blackjack. When the dealer has a blackjack hand then the players lose their normal bet for this hand but win the insurance bet.
There are several other aspects involved in how to play blackjack, including ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ hands and the details of ‘splitting’ and ‘doubling down’. These are covered in our page dedicated to online blackjack rules.
