It is also used to protect the casino against dealers who steal chips or players who cheat. Recordings can also identify advantage players. When a player's hand signal disagrees with their words, the hand signal takes precedence.

A hand can "hit" as often as desired until the total is 21 or more. Players must stand on a total of After a bust or a stand, play proceeds to the next hand clockwise around the table.

After the last hand is played, the dealer reveals the hole card and stands or draws according to the game's rules. When the outcome of the dealer's hand is established, any hands with bets remaining on the table are resolved usually in counterclockwise order ; bets on losing hands are forfeited, the bet on a push is left on the table, and winners are paid out.

If the dealer shows an ace, an "insurance" bet is allowed. Insurance is a side bet that the dealer has a blackjack. The dealer asks for insurance bets before the first player plays. Insurance bets of up to half the player's current bet are placed on the "insurance bar" above the player's cards. If the dealer has a blackjack, insurance pays 2 to 1.

In most casinos, the dealer looks at the down card and pays off or takes the insurance bet immediately. In other casinos, the payoff waits until the end of the play.

In face-down games, if a player has more than one hand, they can look at all their hands before deciding. This is the only condition where a player can look at multiple hands.

Players with blackjack can also take insurance. When this happens, it is called 'even money,' as the player is giving up their payout for a payout when taking insurance with a blackjack, under the condition that they still get paid if the dealer also has a blackjack.

Insurance bets lose money in the long run. The dealer has a blackjack less than one-third of the time. In some games, players can also take insurance when a valued card shows, but the dealer has an ace in the hole less than one-tenth of the time.

The insurance bet is susceptible to advantage play. It is advantageous to make an insurance bet whenever the hole card has more than a one in three chance of being a ten.

Card counting techniques can identify such situations. Note: Where changes in the house edge due to changes in the rules are stated in percentage terms, the difference is usually stated here in percentage points , not a percentage.

Blackjack rules are generally set by regulations that establish permissible rule variations at the casino's discretion. Most of the house's edge comes from the fact that the player loses when both the player and dealer bust.

The house edge for games where blackjack pays 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2 increases by about 1. Player deviations from basic strategy also increase the house edge.

Each game has a rule about whether the dealer must hit or stand on soft 17, which is generally printed on the table surface. The variation where the dealer must hit soft 17 is abbreviated "H17" in blackjack literature, with "S17" used for the stand-on-soft variation.

Substituting an "H17" rule with an "S17" rule in a game benefits the player, decreasing the house edge by about 0. All things being equal, using fewer decks decreases the house edge. This mainly reflects an increased likelihood of player blackjack, since if the player draws a ten on their first card, the subsequent probability of drawing an ace is higher with fewer decks.

It also reflects the decreased likelihood of a blackjack—blackjack push in a game with fewer decks. Casinos generally compensate by tightening other rules in games with fewer decks, to preserve the house edge or discourage play altogether. When offering single-deck blackjack games, casinos are more likely to disallow doubling on soft hands or after splitting, restrict resplitting, require higher minimum bets, and pay the player less than for a winning blackjack.

The following table illustrates the mathematical effect on the house edge of the number of decks, by considering games with various deck counts under the following ruleset: double after split allowed, resplit to four hands allowed, no hitting split aces, no surrendering, double on any two cards, original bets only lost on dealer blackjack, dealer hits soft 17, and cut-card used.

The increase in house edge per unit increase in the number of decks is most dramatic when comparing the single-deck game to the two-deck game, and becomes progressively smaller as more decks are added. Surrender, for those games that allow it, is usually not permitted against a dealer blackjack; if the dealer's first card is an ace or ten, the hole card is checked to make sure there is no blackjack before surrender is offered.

This rule protocol is consequently known as "late" surrender. The alternative, "early" surrender, gives the player the option to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack, or in a no hole card game.

Early surrender is much more favorable to the player than late surrender. For late surrender, however, while it is tempting to opt for surrender on any hand which will probably lose, the correct strategy is to only surrender on the very worst hands, because having even a one-in-four chance of winning the full bet is better than losing half the bet and pushing the other half, as entailed by surrendering.

If the cards of a post-split hand have the same value, most games allow the player to split again, or "resplit". The player places a further wager, and the dealer separates the new pair dealing a further card to each as before.

Some games allow unlimited resplitting, while others may limit it to a certain number of hands, such as four hands for example, "resplit to 4". After splitting aces, the common rule is that only one card will be dealt to each ace; the player cannot split, double, or take another hit on either hand.

Rule variants include allowing resplitting aces or allowing the player to hit split aces. Games allowing aces to be resplit are not uncommon, but those allowing the player to hit split aces are extremely rare.

Allowing the player to hit hands resulting from split aces reduces the house edge by about 0. Note that a ten-value card dealt on a split ace or vice versa will not be counted as a blackjack but as a soft After a split, most games allow doubling down on the new two-card hands.

Disallowing doubling after a split increases the house edge by about 0. Under the " Reno rule", doubling down is only permitted on hard totals of 9, 10, or 11 under a similar European rule, only 10 or The basic strategy would otherwise call for some doubling down with hard 9 and soft 13—18, and advanced players can identify situations where doubling on soft 19—20 and hard 8, 7, and even 6 is advantageous.

The Reno rule prevents the player from taking advantage of double-down in these situations and thereby increases the player's expected loss. The Reno rule increases the house edge by around 0. In most non-U. casinos, a "no hole card" game is played, meaning that the dealer does not draw nor consult their second card until after all players have finished making decisions.

With no hole card, it is rarely the correct basic strategy to double or split against a dealer ten or ace, since a dealer blackjack will result in the loss of the split and double bets; the only exception is with a pair of aces against a dealer 10, where it is still correct to split.

In all other cases, a stand, hit, or surrender is called for. For instance, when holding 11 against a dealer 10, the correct strategy is to double in a hole card game where the player knows the dealer's second card is not an ace , but to hit in a no-hole card game.

The no-hole-card rule adds approximately 0. The "original bets only" rule variation appearing in certain no hole card games states that if the player's hand loses to a dealer blackjack, only the mandatory initial bet "original" is forfeited, and all optional bets, meaning doubles and splits, are pushed.

In many casinos, a blackjack pays only or even instead of the usual This is most common at tables with lower table minimums. Although this payoff was originally limited to single-deck games, it has spread to double-deck and shoe games.

Among common rule variations in the U. Since blackjack occurs in approximately 4. Video blackjack machines generally pay a payout for a blackjack. The rule that bets on tied hands are lost rather than pushed is catastrophic to the player.

Though rarely used in standard blackjack, it is sometimes seen in "blackjack-like" games, such as in some charity casinos. Each blackjack game has a basic strategy, the optimal method of playing any hand. When using basic strategy, the long-term house advantage the expected loss of the player is minimized.

An example of a basic strategy is shown in the table below, which applies to a game with the following specifications: [15]. Most basic strategy decisions are the same for all blackjack games. Rule variations call for changes in only a few situations. For example, to use the table above on a game with the stand-on-soft rule which favors the player, and is typically found only at higher-limit tables today only 6 cells would need to be changed: hit on 11 vs.

A, hit on 15 vs. A, stand on 17 vs. A, stand on A,7 vs. Regardless of the specific rule variations, taking insurance or "even money" is never the correct play under a basic strategy.

Estimates of the house edge for blackjack games quoted by casinos and gaming regulators are based on the assumption that the players follow basic strategy. Most blackjack games have a house edge of between 0. Casino promotions such as complimentary matchplay vouchers or blackjack payouts allow players to acquire an advantage without deviating from basic strategy.

The basic strategy is based on a player's point total and the dealer's visible card. Players can sometimes improve on this decision by considering the composition of their hand, not just the point total. For example, players should ordinarily stand when holding 12 against a dealer 4.

But in a single deck game, players should hit if their 12 consists of a 10 and a 2. The presence of a 10 in the player's hand has two consequences: [17].

Even when basic and composition-dependent strategies lead to different actions, the difference in expected reward is small, and it becomes smaller with more decks. Using a composition-dependent strategy rather than a basic strategy in a single-deck game reduces the house edge by 4 in 10,, which falls to 3 in , for a six-deck game.

Blackjack has been a high-profile target for advantage players since the s. Advantage play attempts to win more using skills such as memory, computation, and observation. While these techniques are legal, they can give players a mathematical edge in the game, making advantage players unwanted customers for casinos.

Advantage play can lead to ejection or blacklisting. Some advantageous play techniques in blackjack include:. During the course of a blackjack shoe, the dealer exposes the dealt cards. Players can infer from their accounting of the exposed cards which cards remain.

These inferences can be used in the following ways:. A card counting system assigns a point score to each card rank e.

When a card is exposed, a counter adds the score of that card to a running total, the 'count'. A card counter uses this count to make betting and playing decisions. The count starts at 0 for a freshly shuffled deck for "balanced" counting systems. Unbalanced counts are often started at a value that depends on the number of decks used in the game.

Blackjack's house edge is usually around 0. Card counting works best when a few cards remain. This makes single-deck games better for counters. As a result, casinos are more likely to insist that players do not reveal their cards to one another in single-deck games.

In games with more decks, casinos limit penetration by ending the shoe and reshuffling when one or more decks remain undealt. Casinos also sometimes use a shuffling machine to reintroduce the cards whenever a deck has been played. Sometimes a casino might ban a card counter from the property.

The use of external devices to help count cards is illegal throughout the United States. Another advantage play technique, mainly applicable in multi-deck games, involves tracking groups of cards also known as slugs, clumps, or packs through the shuffle and then playing and betting according to when those cards come into play from a new shoe.

Shuffle tracking requires excellent eyesight and powers of visual estimation but is harder to detect; shuffle trackers' actions are largely unrelated to the composition of the cards in the shoe. Arnold Snyder's articles in Blackjack Forum magazine brought shuffle tracking to the general public.

His book, The Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook , mathematically analyzed the player edge available from shuffle tracking based on the actual size of the tracked slug. Jerry L. Patterson also developed and published a shuffle-tracking method for tracking favorable clumps of cards and cutting them into play and tracking unfavorable clumps of cards and cutting them out of play.

The player can also gain an advantage by identifying cards from distinctive wear markings on their backs, or by hole carding observing during the dealing process the front of a card dealt face-down.

These methods are generally legal although their status in particular jurisdictions may vary. Many blackjack tables offer side bets on various outcomes including: [28].

The side wager is typically placed in a designated area next to the box for the main wager. A player wishing to wager on a side bet usually must place a wager on blackjack. Some games require that the blackjack wager should equal or exceed any side bet wager.

A non-controlling player of a blackjack hand is usually permitted to place a side bet regardless of whether the controlling player does so. The house edge for side bets is generally higher than for the blackjack game itself.

Nonetheless, side bets can be susceptible to card counting. A side count designed specifically for a particular side bet can improve the player's edge. Only a few side bets, like "Insurance" and "Lucky Ladies", correlate well with the high-low counting system and offer a sufficient win rate to justify the effort of advantage play.

In team play, it is common for team members to be dedicated to only counting a side bet using a specialized count. Some casinos, as well as general betting outlets, provide blackjack among a selection of casino-style games at electronic consoles.

Video blackjack game rules are generally more favorable to the house; e. Video and online blackjack games generally deal each round from a fresh shoe i. Blackjack is a member of the family of traditional card games played recreationally worldwide. Most of these games have not been adapted for casino play.

Furthermore, the casino game development industry actively produces blackjack variants, most of which are ultimately not adopted by casinos. The following are the most prominent and established variants in casinos. Examples of local traditional and recreational related games include French vingt-et-un 'twenty-one' and German Siebzehn und Vier 'seventeen and four'.

Neither game allows splitting. An ace counts only eleven, but two aces count as a blackjack. It is mostly played in private circles and barracks.

The popular British member of the vingt-un family is called "pontoon", the name being probably a corruption of vingt-et-un. In , professional gamblers worldwide were invited to nominate great blackjack players for admission into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. If the dealer and another player both have naturals, the bet of that player is a stand-off a tie , and the player takes back his chips.

If the dealer's face-up card is a ten-card or an ace, they look at their face-down card to see if the two cards make a natural. If the face-up card is not a ten-card or an ace, they do not look at the face-down card until it is the dealer's turn to play.

The player to the left goes first and must decide whether to "stand" not ask for another card or "hit" ask for another card in an attempt to get closer to a count of 21, or even hit 21 exactly. Thus, a player may stand on the two cards originally dealt to them, or they may ask the dealer for additional cards, one at a time, until deciding to stand on the total if it is 21 or under , or goes "bust" if it is over In the latter case, the player loses and the dealer collects the bet wagered.

The dealer then turns to the next player to their left and serves them in the same manner. The combination of an ace with a card other than a ten-card is known as a "soft hand," because the player can count the ace as a 1 or 11, and either draw cards or not.

For example with a "soft 17" an ace and a 6 , the total is 7 or While a count of 17 is a good hand, the player may wish to draw for a higher total. If the draw creates a bust hand by counting the ace as an 11, the player simply counts the ace as a 1 and continues playing by standing or "hitting" asking the dealer for additional cards, one at a time.

When the dealer has served every player, the dealers face-down card is turned up. If the total is 17 or more, it must stand.

If the total is 16 or under, they must take a card. The dealer must continue to take cards until the total is 17 or more, at which point the dealer must stand. If the dealer has an ace, and counting it as 11 would bring the total to 17 or more but not over 21 , the dealer must count the ace as 11 and stand.

The dealer's decisions, then, are automatic on all plays, whereas the player always has the option of taking one or more cards. When a player's turn comes, they can say "Hit" or can signal for a card by scratching the table with a finger or two in a motion toward themselves, or they can wave their hand in the same motion that would say to someone "Come here!

If a player's first two cards are of the same denomination, such as two jacks or two sixes, they may choose to treat them as two separate hands when their turn comes around. The amount of the original bet then goes on one of the cards, and an equal amount must be placed as a bet on the other card.

The player first plays the hand to their left by standing or hitting one or more times; only then is the hand to the right played. The two hands are thus treated separately, and the dealer settles with each on its own merits.

With a pair of aces, the player is given one card for each ace and may not draw again. Also, if a ten-card is dealt to one of these aces, the payoff is equal to the bet not one and one-half to one, as with a blackjack at any other time. Another option open to the player is doubling their bet when the original two cards dealt total 9, 10, or When the player's turn comes, they place a bet equal to the original bet, and the dealer gives the player just one card, which is placed face down and is not turned up until the bets are settled at the end of the hand.

With two fives, the player may split a pair, double down, or just play the hand in the regular way. Note that the dealer does not have the option of splitting or doubling down. When the dealer's face-up card is an ace, any of the players may make a side bet of up to half the original bet that the dealer's face-down card is a ten-card, and thus a blackjack for the house.

Once all such side bets are placed, the dealer looks at the hole card. If it is a ten-card, it is turned up, and those players who have made the insurance bet win and are paid double the amount of their half-bet - a 2 to 1 payoff. When a blackjack occurs for the dealer, of course, the hand is over, and the players' main bets are collected - unless a player also has blackjack, in which case it is a stand-off.

Insurance is invariably not a good proposition for the player, unless they are quite sure that there are an unusually high number of ten-cards still left undealt. A bet once paid and collected is never returned. Thus, one key advantage to the dealer is that the player goes first. If the player goes bust, they have already lost their wager, even if the dealer goes bust as well.

If the dealer goes over 21, the dealer pays each player who has stood the amount of that player's bet. If the dealer stands at 21 or less, the dealer pays the bet of any player having a higher total not exceeding 21 and collects the bet of any player having a lower total.

If there is a stand-off a player having the same total as the dealer , no chips are paid out or collected. When each player's bet is settled, the dealer gathers in that player's cards and places them face up at the side against a clear plastic L-shaped shield.

The dealer continues to deal from the shoe until coming to the plastic insert card, which indicates that it is time to reshuffle. Once that round of play is over, the dealer shuffles all the cards, prepares them for the cut, places the cards in the shoe, and the game continues.

Winning tactics in Blackjack require that the player play each hand in the optimum way, and such strategy always takes into account what the dealer's upcard is. When the dealer's upcard is a good one, a 7, 8, 9, card, or ace for example, the player should not stop drawing until a total of 17 or more is reached.

When the dealer's upcard is a poor one, 4, 5, or 6, the player should stop drawing as soon as he gets a total of 12 or higher. The strategy here is never to take a card if there is any chance of going bust. The desire with this poor holding is to let the dealer hit and hopefully go over Finally, when the dealer's up card is a fair one, 2 or 3, the player should stop with a total of 13 or higher.

With a soft hand, the general strategy is to keep hitting until a total of at least 18 is reached. Thus, with an ace and a six 7 or 17 , the player would not stop at 17, but would hit. The basic strategy for doubling down is as follows: With a total of 11, the player should always double down.

With a total of 10, he should double down unless the dealer shows a ten-card or an ace. With a total of 9, the player should double down only if the dealer's card is fair or poor 2 through 6. For splitting, the player should always split a pair of aces or 8s; identical ten-cards should not be split, and neither should a pair of 5s, since two 5s are a total of 10, which can be used more effectively in doubling down.

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The dealer's hand gets its first card face-up and, in "hole card" games, immediately gets a second card face-down the hole card , which the dealer peeks at but only reveals when it makes the dealer's hand a blackjack.

Hole card games are sometimes played on tables with a small mirror or electronic sensor used to peek securely at the hole card. In European casinos, "no hole card" games are prevalent; the dealer's second card is not drawn until the players have played their hands. Dealers deal the cards from one or two handheld decks, from a dealer's shoe or from a shuffling machine.

Single cards are dealt to each wagered-on position clockwise from the dealer's left, followed by a single card to the dealer, followed by an additional card to each of the positions in play.

The players' initial cards may be dealt face-up or face-down more common in single-deck games. The object of the game is to win money by creating card totals higher than those of the dealer's hand but not exceeding 21, or by stopping at a total in the hope that the dealer will bust.

On their turn, players choose to "hit" take a card , "stand" end their turn and stop without taking a card , "double" double their wager, take a single card, and finish , "split" if the two cards have the same value, separate them to make two hands , or "surrender" give up a half-bet and retire from the game.

Number cards count as their number, the jack, queen, and king "face cards" or "pictures" count as 10, and aces count as either 1 or 11 according to the player's choice. If the total exceeds 21 points, it busts, and all bets on it immediately lose. After the boxes have finished playing, the dealer's hand is resolved by drawing cards until the hand achieves a total of 17 or higher.

If the dealer has a total of 17 including an ace valued as 11 a "soft 17" , some games require the dealer to stand while other games require another draw. The dealer never doubles, splits, or surrenders. If the dealer busts, all remaining player hands win. If the dealer does not bust, each remaining bet wins if its hand is higher than the dealer's and loses if it is lower.

A player total of 21 on the first two cards is a "natural" or "blackjack", and the player wins immediately unless the dealer also has one, in which case the hand ties. In the case of a tie "push" or "standoff" , bets are returned without adjustment. A blackjack beats any hand that is not a blackjack, even one with a value of Wins are paid out at even money, except for player blackjacks, which are traditionally paid out at 3 to 2 odds.

Many casinos today pay blackjacks at less than This is common in single-deck blackjack games. Blackjack games usually offer a side bet called insurance , which may be placed when the dealer's face-up card is an ace.

Additional side bets, such as "Dealer Match" which pays when the player's cards match the dealer's up card, are also sometimes available. After the initial two cards, the player has up to five options: "hit", "stand", "double down", "split", or "surrender".

Each option has a corresponding hand signal. Hand signals help the " eye in the sky " make a video recording of the table, which resolves disputes and identifies dealer mistakes. It is also used to protect the casino against dealers who steal chips or players who cheat. Recordings can also identify advantage players.

When a player's hand signal disagrees with their words, the hand signal takes precedence. A hand can "hit" as often as desired until the total is 21 or more. Players must stand on a total of After a bust or a stand, play proceeds to the next hand clockwise around the table.

After the last hand is played, the dealer reveals the hole card and stands or draws according to the game's rules. When the outcome of the dealer's hand is established, any hands with bets remaining on the table are resolved usually in counterclockwise order ; bets on losing hands are forfeited, the bet on a push is left on the table, and winners are paid out.

If the dealer shows an ace, an "insurance" bet is allowed. Insurance is a side bet that the dealer has a blackjack. The dealer asks for insurance bets before the first player plays. Insurance bets of up to half the player's current bet are placed on the "insurance bar" above the player's cards.

If the dealer has a blackjack, insurance pays 2 to 1. In most casinos, the dealer looks at the down card and pays off or takes the insurance bet immediately. In other casinos, the payoff waits until the end of the play.

In face-down games, if a player has more than one hand, they can look at all their hands before deciding. This is the only condition where a player can look at multiple hands. Players with blackjack can also take insurance. When this happens, it is called 'even money,' as the player is giving up their payout for a payout when taking insurance with a blackjack, under the condition that they still get paid if the dealer also has a blackjack.

Insurance bets lose money in the long run. The dealer has a blackjack less than one-third of the time. In some games, players can also take insurance when a valued card shows, but the dealer has an ace in the hole less than one-tenth of the time. The insurance bet is susceptible to advantage play.

It is advantageous to make an insurance bet whenever the hole card has more than a one in three chance of being a ten. Card counting techniques can identify such situations. Note: Where changes in the house edge due to changes in the rules are stated in percentage terms, the difference is usually stated here in percentage points , not a percentage.

Blackjack rules are generally set by regulations that establish permissible rule variations at the casino's discretion. Most of the house's edge comes from the fact that the player loses when both the player and dealer bust. The house edge for games where blackjack pays 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2 increases by about 1.

Player deviations from basic strategy also increase the house edge. Each game has a rule about whether the dealer must hit or stand on soft 17, which is generally printed on the table surface.

The variation where the dealer must hit soft 17 is abbreviated "H17" in blackjack literature, with "S17" used for the stand-on-soft variation. Substituting an "H17" rule with an "S17" rule in a game benefits the player, decreasing the house edge by about 0.

All things being equal, using fewer decks decreases the house edge. This mainly reflects an increased likelihood of player blackjack, since if the player draws a ten on their first card, the subsequent probability of drawing an ace is higher with fewer decks.

It also reflects the decreased likelihood of a blackjack—blackjack push in a game with fewer decks. Casinos generally compensate by tightening other rules in games with fewer decks, to preserve the house edge or discourage play altogether. When offering single-deck blackjack games, casinos are more likely to disallow doubling on soft hands or after splitting, restrict resplitting, require higher minimum bets, and pay the player less than for a winning blackjack.

The following table illustrates the mathematical effect on the house edge of the number of decks, by considering games with various deck counts under the following ruleset: double after split allowed, resplit to four hands allowed, no hitting split aces, no surrendering, double on any two cards, original bets only lost on dealer blackjack, dealer hits soft 17, and cut-card used.

The increase in house edge per unit increase in the number of decks is most dramatic when comparing the single-deck game to the two-deck game, and becomes progressively smaller as more decks are added.

Surrender, for those games that allow it, is usually not permitted against a dealer blackjack; if the dealer's first card is an ace or ten, the hole card is checked to make sure there is no blackjack before surrender is offered. This rule protocol is consequently known as "late" surrender.

The alternative, "early" surrender, gives the player the option to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack, or in a no hole card game. Early surrender is much more favorable to the player than late surrender.

For late surrender, however, while it is tempting to opt for surrender on any hand which will probably lose, the correct strategy is to only surrender on the very worst hands, because having even a one-in-four chance of winning the full bet is better than losing half the bet and pushing the other half, as entailed by surrendering.

If the cards of a post-split hand have the same value, most games allow the player to split again, or "resplit".

The player places a further wager, and the dealer separates the new pair dealing a further card to each as before. Some games allow unlimited resplitting, while others may limit it to a certain number of hands, such as four hands for example, "resplit to 4".

After splitting aces, the common rule is that only one card will be dealt to each ace; the player cannot split, double, or take another hit on either hand. Rule variants include allowing resplitting aces or allowing the player to hit split aces. Games allowing aces to be resplit are not uncommon, but those allowing the player to hit split aces are extremely rare.

Allowing the player to hit hands resulting from split aces reduces the house edge by about 0. Note that a ten-value card dealt on a split ace or vice versa will not be counted as a blackjack but as a soft After a split, most games allow doubling down on the new two-card hands. Disallowing doubling after a split increases the house edge by about 0.

Under the " Reno rule", doubling down is only permitted on hard totals of 9, 10, or 11 under a similar European rule, only 10 or The basic strategy would otherwise call for some doubling down with hard 9 and soft 13—18, and advanced players can identify situations where doubling on soft 19—20 and hard 8, 7, and even 6 is advantageous.

The Reno rule prevents the player from taking advantage of double-down in these situations and thereby increases the player's expected loss. The Reno rule increases the house edge by around 0.

In most non-U. casinos, a "no hole card" game is played, meaning that the dealer does not draw nor consult their second card until after all players have finished making decisions.

With no hole card, it is rarely the correct basic strategy to double or split against a dealer ten or ace, since a dealer blackjack will result in the loss of the split and double bets; the only exception is with a pair of aces against a dealer 10, where it is still correct to split.

In all other cases, a stand, hit, or surrender is called for. For instance, when holding 11 against a dealer 10, the correct strategy is to double in a hole card game where the player knows the dealer's second card is not an ace , but to hit in a no-hole card game.

The no-hole-card rule adds approximately 0. The "original bets only" rule variation appearing in certain no hole card games states that if the player's hand loses to a dealer blackjack, only the mandatory initial bet "original" is forfeited, and all optional bets, meaning doubles and splits, are pushed.

In many casinos, a blackjack pays only or even instead of the usual This is most common at tables with lower table minimums. Although this payoff was originally limited to single-deck games, it has spread to double-deck and shoe games. Among common rule variations in the U. Since blackjack occurs in approximately 4.

Video blackjack machines generally pay a payout for a blackjack. The rule that bets on tied hands are lost rather than pushed is catastrophic to the player.

Though rarely used in standard blackjack, it is sometimes seen in "blackjack-like" games, such as in some charity casinos. Each blackjack game has a basic strategy, the optimal method of playing any hand. When using basic strategy, the long-term house advantage the expected loss of the player is minimized.

An example of a basic strategy is shown in the table below, which applies to a game with the following specifications: [15]. Most basic strategy decisions are the same for all blackjack games. Rule variations call for changes in only a few situations.

For example, to use the table above on a game with the stand-on-soft rule which favors the player, and is typically found only at higher-limit tables today only 6 cells would need to be changed: hit on 11 vs.

A, hit on 15 vs. A, stand on 17 vs. A, stand on A,7 vs. Regardless of the specific rule variations, taking insurance or "even money" is never the correct play under a basic strategy. Estimates of the house edge for blackjack games quoted by casinos and gaming regulators are based on the assumption that the players follow basic strategy.

Most blackjack games have a house edge of between 0. Casino promotions such as complimentary matchplay vouchers or blackjack payouts allow players to acquire an advantage without deviating from basic strategy. The basic strategy is based on a player's point total and the dealer's visible card.

Players can sometimes improve on this decision by considering the composition of their hand, not just the point total. For example, players should ordinarily stand when holding 12 against a dealer 4.

But in a single deck game, players should hit if their 12 consists of a 10 and a 2. The presence of a 10 in the player's hand has two consequences: [17]. Even when basic and composition-dependent strategies lead to different actions, the difference in expected reward is small, and it becomes smaller with more decks.

Using a composition-dependent strategy rather than a basic strategy in a single-deck game reduces the house edge by 4 in 10,, which falls to 3 in , for a six-deck game.

Blackjack has been a high-profile target for advantage players since the s. Advantage play attempts to win more using skills such as memory, computation, and observation. While these techniques are legal, they can give players a mathematical edge in the game, making advantage players unwanted customers for casinos.

Advantage play can lead to ejection or blacklisting. Some advantageous play techniques in blackjack include:. During the course of a blackjack shoe, the dealer exposes the dealt cards. Players can infer from their accounting of the exposed cards which cards remain.

These inferences can be used in the following ways:. A card counting system assigns a point score to each card rank e. When a card is exposed, a counter adds the score of that card to a running total, the 'count'. A card counter uses this count to make betting and playing decisions.

The count starts at 0 for a freshly shuffled deck for "balanced" counting systems. Unbalanced counts are often started at a value that depends on the number of decks used in the game. Blackjack's house edge is usually around 0. Card counting works best when a few cards remain.

This makes single-deck games better for counters. As a result, casinos are more likely to insist that players do not reveal their cards to one another in single-deck games.

In games with more decks, casinos limit penetration by ending the shoe and reshuffling when one or more decks remain undealt. Casinos also sometimes use a shuffling machine to reintroduce the cards whenever a deck has been played.

Sometimes a casino might ban a card counter from the property. The use of external devices to help count cards is illegal throughout the United States. Another advantage play technique, mainly applicable in multi-deck games, involves tracking groups of cards also known as slugs, clumps, or packs through the shuffle and then playing and betting according to when those cards come into play from a new shoe.

Shuffle tracking requires excellent eyesight and powers of visual estimation but is harder to detect; shuffle trackers' actions are largely unrelated to the composition of the cards in the shoe. Arnold Snyder's articles in Blackjack Forum magazine brought shuffle tracking to the general public.

His book, The Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook , mathematically analyzed the player edge available from shuffle tracking based on the actual size of the tracked slug. Jerry L. Powered by. BlackJack players also enjoy: See More Games. BlackJack Overview Play free online blackjack - also called '21' - the classic casino card game of luck and skill!

Free Blackjack Game Overview Welcome to this online blackjack page where you can play the best free blackjack games. Blackjack Strategy 1. You may want to surrender if you have 16 in your hand while the dealer has a 9,10 or A.

You should always split if you have a pair of Aces. If you get a pair of 7s, only press hit if the dealer has 8,9,10 or Ace. Play Blackjack for free now to test whether the strategy works!