How to play Vegas Strip 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.

Four decks, split any ten-value pair, no surrender.

About Vegas Strip Blackjack

Vegas Strip Blackjack differs from Classic in two rules: it deals from four decks instead of six, and any two ten-value cards can be split, not only two of the same rank. Its 208-card shoe is reshuffled between rounds once 155 cards have been dealt. With the dealer standing on soft 17, an ace and a seven is doubled only against a dealer 3 to 6, an ace and an eight is always stood on, and a hard 11 against a dealer ace is hit rather than doubled.

The dealer stands on soft 17 and peeks for blackjack. Any two ten-value cards count as a pair, so a jack and a king can be split. You may double on any first two cards, also after a split, up to four hands. Split aces get one card each.

Being allowed to split a jack and a king does not make it a good idea. Two ten-value cards already make 20, which beats most dealer hands, and splitting turns them into two hands that each start from 10 at twice the stake. Stand on 20 here as at any other table.

There is no surrender, so weak hands must be played out. Hit a two-card hard 16 against a dealer 10, but split a pair of eights instead. With four decks and doubling allowed after a split, splitting sixes against a dealer 2 to 6 and nines against 2 to 6, 8 and 9 follows standard strategy.

Four decks hold 16 aces and 64 ten-value cards. Fresh from a shuffle, with a dealer ace showing and no ten-value card in your own hand, 64 of the 205 cards you cannot see are worth ten. Insurance pays 2 to 1 on those 64 and is lost on the other 141, so it gives up about 6 chips for every 100 you put on it.

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.

The full Blackjack guide, with strategy tips and common questions