Blackjack
Blackjack is a race to 21 against the dealer, not against other players. You and the dealer each get two cards; hit to take another, stand to hold, or double down for one final card at double stakes. Aces count as 1 or 11, whichever keeps you under 22. Beat the dealer's total without going over 21 to win the round — a two-card 21, a natural blackjack, beats any other winning hand. There is no betting here: results are tracked as a running win/loss/push streak, nothing more.
Dealer · showing 10
Your hand · 14
Hit draws another card, stand ends your turn, and double down doubles your one remaining draw on your first two cards. The dealer stands on all 17s and peeks for blackjack before you ever act.
This session
- Rounds
- 0
- Wins
- 0
- Losses
- 0
- Pushes
- 0
- Blackjacks
- 0
- Streak
- 0
- Best streak
- 0
Pushes are not wins or losses and never affect your streak. No chips, no bankroll — just the cards.
Your statistics
- Played
- 0
- Won
- 0
- Win rate
- 0%
- Streak
- 0
- Best streak
- 0
- Best time
- —
A round counts as a win when you beat the dealer or draw a natural blackjack; pushes are not counted either way. Kept in this browser only.
Keyboard
- Space
- Hit — or next round once one is over
- S
- Stand
- D
- Double down
- H
- Hint — what basic strategy suggests
- N
- New game
- F
- Full screen
- Deck
- 1 deck, reshuffled every round
- Dealer rule
- Stands on all 17s (soft and hard)
- Actions
- Hit, stand, double down
- Betting
- None — stats only, no chips
How do you play blackjack?
You and the dealer are each dealt two cards. Yours are both face up; the dealer shows one card and keeps the other (the "hole card") hidden until the round is decided. On your turn you may hit to take another card, stand to stop, or — on your first decision only, with exactly two cards — double down, taking exactly one more card at double stakes and then being forced to stand.
Card values: number cards count at face value, face cards count as ten, and an Ace counts as 1 or 11, whichever keeps your total 21 or under. A hand still counting an Ace as 11 is called soft — soft 18, for instance, is a hand that totals 18 only because an Ace is being counted high, and it can absorb one more card without necessarily busting the way a hard 18 cannot.
Go over 21 and you bust immediately, losing the round without waiting for the dealer. If you stand, the dealer reveals the hole card and plays a fixed rule with no choices at all: hit anything under 17, stand on 17 or more, soft or hard. Whoever is closer to 21 without busting wins; an equal total is a push, returning the round with no result either way.
What is a natural blackjack?
An Ace and any ten-value card — a 10, Jack, Queen or King — as your first two cards, totalling 21 immediately. It beats any other 21 you might build with three or more cards over the course of a hand, and traditionally pays 3:2 rather than the even money an ordinary win pays. If the dealer's up-card could possibly make a blackjack, the hole card is checked right away; a dealer blackjack ends the round on the spot, before you get to act at all, unless you also have one, in which case it's a push.
Why does the dealer play by a fixed rule?
It's what makes blackjack a game of your decisions against a known, unchanging target rather than a game of reading an opponent. "Stands on all 17s" (often written S17) is one of the two common house rules — the other, H17, has the dealer hit a soft 17 — and S17 is the more common single-deck setting, which is the version implemented here.
Is there a strategy to blackjack, or is it pure luck?
There is real strategy in every hit/stand/double decision, even though the cards themselves are random. Basic strategy — a fixed chart of the mathematically best action for every combination of your hand and the dealer's up-card — is well documented and, played perfectly with no card counting at all, keeps the house edge under 1% for a single-deck, dealer-stands-on-17 game like this one. The board's optional hint button follows that same chart rather than a guess.
How do you get better at blackjack?
- Always play hard totals of 12-16 against the dealer's up-card, not in isolationA stiff hand like 14 is a stand against a weak dealer card (4, 5 or 6, which busts more often than not) and a hit against a strong one (7 through Ace). The same total calls for opposite actions depending on what the dealer shows.
- Double your strong two-card totals into a weak dealer cardA 10 or 11 with the dealer showing a low card is the single best spot to double: you have the stronger starting hand and the dealer is the one more likely to bust.
- Treat soft hands as more flexible, not saferA soft 17 or soft 18 can take a card that would bust a hard hand of the same total. That flexibility is what makes doubling soft hands into a weak dealer card correct more often than intuition suggests.
- Use the hint sparingly, then check your own instinct against itThe hint follows single-deck basic strategy exactly. Comparing your own read of a hand to it, rather than leaning on it every time, is how the pattern actually sticks.
Blackjack questions people ask
- Does an Ace count as 1 or 11 in blackjack?
- Whichever keeps your hand at 21 or under. A hand still counting an Ace as 11 is called soft; once every Ace in it has been forced down to 1, it's a hard hand.
- What beats what in blackjack?
- A natural blackjack (Ace plus a ten-value card, two cards, 21 total) beats any other winning hand. Otherwise, whoever is closer to 21 without busting wins the round, and an equal total is a push.
- Does the dealer hit or stand on a soft 17?
- Stands, in this version — a soft 17 is treated exactly like a hard 17, and the dealer takes no more cards either way. This is the S17 house rule, the more common one for a single-deck game.
- Can you split pairs in this blackjack game?
- Not in this version. Hit, stand and double down are implemented; splitting is not.
- Is there real money involved anywhere?
- No, none — no chips, no bet sizing, no account. Results are tracked only as a running win/loss/push/blackjack count for the session, the same statistics format every other game on this site uses.
The rules in six lines
- 1Deal two cards eachYou get two cards face up. The dealer gets one face up and one face down (the hole card).
- 2Check for a natural blackjackIf either hand is a two-card 21, the round settles immediately: your blackjack beats a dealer non-blackjack, a dealer blackjack beats your non-blackjack, and two blackjacks push.
- 3Hit, stand, or double downHit for another card, stand to hold your total, or double down once (two-card hands only) for exactly one more card at double stakes.
- 4Busting ends your turn immediatelyGoing over 21 loses the round on the spot — the dealer does not need to play out their hand.
- 5The dealer plays a fixed ruleHit any total under 17; stand on 17 or higher, soft or hard. No judgment calls.
- 6Compare totalsCloser to 21 without busting wins. An equal total is a push. There is nothing to bank and nothing to lose beyond the round itself.
The long version, with worked examples and the questions beginners actually ask, is on how to play blackjack.
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