How to Play Blackjack
Get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Number cards count at face value, faces count as ten, and an Ace counts as 1 or 11. Hit for another card, stand to hold, or double down once on your first two cards. The dealer must hit under 17 and stand on 17 or more. A two-card 21 is a natural blackjack and beats any other win.
The rules, step by step
- 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, after which you must stand.
- 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.
Try it — the rules above, running
Dealer · showing 10
Your hand · 14
Hit draws another card, stand ends your turn, and double down takes exactly one more card and then stands for you — on your first two cards only. 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
What are the card values in blackjack?
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| 2 through 10 | Face value |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| Ace | 1 or 11, whichever keeps the hand at 21 or under |
What are your options on your turn?
- 1HitTake one more card. You can hit as many times as you like until you stand or bust.
- 2StandTake no more cards. Your turn ends and, if the round is still live, the dealer plays.
- 3Double downOnly with exactly two cards in hand: take exactly one more card, then you are forced to stand regardless of the total.
How does the round end?
Immediately if either side busts or a natural blackjack is dealt. Otherwise, once you stand, the dealer reveals the hole card and hits or stands by the fixed 17-and-up rule with no choices involved. Whoever ends closer to 21 without going over wins the round; an equal total is a push.
How do you win more often?
- 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 up-card — 2 through 6 — and a hit against a strong one, 7 through Ace. The same total calls for opposite actions depending on what the dealer shows. Weak is relative, though: a dealer showing 4, 5 or 6 busts about 40% of the time, not most of the time, so standing on a stiff hand is the better of two bad options rather than a safe one.
- 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.
Common questions about blackjack
- What is a bust in blackjack?
- Any hand totalling over 21. It loses immediately, without the other side needing to finish playing.
- What is a push in blackjack?
- A round where you and the dealer end on the same total (or both have a natural blackjack). Nothing is won or lost.
- Do you need to know card counting to play well?
- No. Basic strategy — the fixed best action for every hand-versus-up-card combination — gets you within a fraction of a percent of optimal play on a single reshuffled deck like this one, with no counting required.
Ready to stop reading? Play blackjack on the full board, with controls and statistics tailored to that game.