How to play Classic Blackjack

Blackjack is a casino card game played against the dealer, in which you try to finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over, here with virtual chips.

Six decks, dealer stands on all 17s, blackjack pays 3 to 2.

About Classic Blackjack

The dealer peeks for blackjack. You may double on any first two cards, also after a split, and split up to four hands. Only cards of the same rank split, so a king and a queen stay together. Split aces get one card each, and there is no surrender.

Classic is the plainest table on the site and a good place to learn basic strategy. With the dealer standing on soft 17, stand on hard 13 to 16 against a dealer 2 to 6 and on hard 12 against a 4 to 6, and hit those totals against a 7 or higher.

Double a hard 11 against any dealer card from 2 to 10, and a hard 10 against 2 to 9. Because you may double after a split, splitting twos, threes and sevens against a dealer 2 to 7 is the standard play here.

The goal of Blackjack

Beat the dealer by finishing closer to 21 without going over. Number cards count their face value, jacks, queens and kings 10, and an ace 11, or 1 if 11 would take the hand past 21. An ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards is a blackjack.

How to set up Blackjack

You start with 1000 chips. Bet 5 to 500 chips, then deal: you get two cards face up, the dealer one. Except in European, the dealer also takes a face-down card and checks it for blackjack at once, ending the round before you act if it has one.

When the dealer shows an ace, you are offered insurance for half your bet. It pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack and is lost otherwise.

Blackjack rules

Hit to take another card, or Stand to keep your total. Double doubles your bet and gives you exactly one more card. Split turns a pair into two hands, each with its own bet and a new second card. Going over 21 is a bust and loses that bet.

When your hands are finished, the dealer completes its hand, drawing until it reaches 17 or more. Whether it also draws on a soft 17, a 17 with an ace counted as 11, depends on the variant.

Blackjack scoring

A win pays even money and a blackjack 3 to 2; a blackjack beats any other 21. Equal totals are a push and your bet comes back. Your chips carry over between rounds, and if they drop below the minimum bet, Start over gives you a fresh 1000.

Blackjack strategy tips

Split a pair of aces or eights against a dealer 2 to 9, and never split two ten-value cards or a pair of fives.

Decline insurance: on average fewer than a third of the cards are ten-value, so its 2 to 1 payout loses chips over time.

Never stand on a hard 11 or less, since no card can bust it, and stand on any hard 17 or more.

Keep enough chips behind your bet to double or split: each needs a second stake equal to the first, and the button does not appear when you cannot cover it.

Blackjack questions and answers

Can you play Blackjack online for free without an account?

Yes. Every Blackjack table here is free and needs no account or sign-in. You play with 1000 virtual chips that have no cash value and cannot be bought. They carry over from round to round while the page is open, a new visit starts again at 1000, and Start over refills them if you drop below the 5 chip minimum.

How many decks are used in each Blackjack variant?

Between one and eight, depending on the table. Single Deck uses one deck, European and Double Deck two, Vegas Strip four, Classic and Spanish 21 six, and Atlantic City eight. A Spanish 21 deck has 48 cards because its tens are removed. The cards are reshuffled between rounds once at most three quarters of the shoe has been dealt.

Does the dealer hit soft 17 in Blackjack?

It depends on the variant. The dealer stands on soft 17 in Classic, Vegas Strip, Atlantic City and European, and hits it in Single Deck, Double Deck and Spanish 21. A soft 17 is a 17 with an ace counted as 11, such as an ace and a six. Hitting it gives the dealer another chance to improve, which slightly helps the house.

Does Blackjack pay 3 to 2 or 6 to 5 here?

Every table here pays 3 to 2 for a blackjack, and none pays 6 to 5, so a bet of 10 wins 15. Other winning hands pay even money, insurance pays 2 to 1, and surrender returns half your bet. Spanish 21 adds bonus payouts for some 21s on top of the even money win.

Can you surrender in Blackjack on this site?

Yes, at the Atlantic City and Spanish 21 tables. Surrender gives up your first two cards and returns half your bet; it is offered only after the dealer has checked for blackjack and before you split. The other five variants have no surrender. Spanish 21 also has Rescue, which gives up a hand after you double and returns half the doubled bet.

What is the difference between Spanish 21 and regular blackjack?

Spanish 21 removes the four tens from every deck, which on its own works against you, and gives value back through its rules. Your 21 always wins, you may double on any number of cards and Rescue a double, surrender, and hit or resplit aces. Five-card and longer 21s, 6-7-8 and 7-7-7 earn bonus payouts. The dealer hits soft 17.

Is blackjack the same as twenty-one?

Blackjack grew out of twenty-one, the game called vingt-et-un in France, and in both you try to finish closer to 21 than the bank without going over. In twenty-one and its relatives, such as 17 und 4 in Germany and Ochko in Russia, the bank passes between the players. 17 und 4 and Ochko are often played with a short deck in which a jack counts 2, a queen 3 and a king 4. Here you always play against a dealer who draws until it reaches 17 or more, jacks, queens and kings count 10, and a blackjack pays 3 to 2.