Blackjack Rules — Dealing, Payouts and Table Etiquette
The complete rules of the game as it is dealt online and on a live floor, including the situations most players get wrong.
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Card values and the object
Cards two through ten count their face value. Jacks, queens and kings count ten. An ace counts eleven unless that would take you past 21, in which case it counts one. You beat the dealer by finishing with a higher total than theirs without exceeding 21, or by the dealer exceeding 21 while you have not.
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| 2 through 10 | Face value |
| Jack, Queen, King | 10 |
| Ace | 11, or 1 if 11 would bust the hand |
The order of play
- Bets are placed. Chips go on the betting circle before any card is dealt. Once the first card is out, no bet can be changed.
- Two cards to each player, two to the dealer. Player cards are face up; one dealer card is face up and the other is the hole card.
- Blackjacks are settled. If your first two cards total 21, you are paid 3:2 immediately unless the dealer also shows a potential blackjack.
- Players act, in turn. Hit, stand, double or split. Doubling and splitting each require a second stake matching the first.
- The dealer plays out the hand. Draw to 16, stand on 17 — with the soft-17 rule being the one variation worth checking.
- Hands are settled. Higher total wins, equal totals push, and a bust loses regardless of what the dealer does afterwards.
Payouts
| Outcome | Pays | On a C$10 stake |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack (3:2) | 3:2 | C$15 profit |
| Blackjack (6:5) | 6:5 | C$12 profit |
| Winning hand | 1:1 | C$10 profit |
| Push (tie) | Stake returned | C$0 |
| Insurance won | 2:1 on the side bet | C$10 on a C$5 insurance |
| Surrender | Half stake returned | C$5 back |
Variants you will meet online
Each of these changes the maths, and each pays for its headline feature somewhere less visible. Read the trade before you sit down.
- Switch. You play two hands and may swap the second card between them. In exchange, a dealer 22 pushes against every non-natural hand — which is where the whole cost of the feature sits.
- Free Bet. The house pays for your doubles on 9, 10 and 11 and for most splits. A dealer 22 again pushes rather than losing, and that single clause funds all of it.
- Infinite. Unlimited seats playing one dealer hand. Convenient at peak hours, identical in maths to the standard game, and usually offered with a wider set of side bets.
- Double Exposure. Both dealer cards are dealt face up. The compensation is even-money naturals and the dealer winning all ties, which costs considerably more than the information is worth.
- Power / Buster variants. Extra options such as a third double or a bust side bet. Treat any added option as a side bet until you have seen its published return.
Rules that vary by table
- Soft 17. Whether the dealer draws on a soft 17 or stands. Printed on the table felt and in the online paytable.
- Double after split. Whether you may double a hand created by splitting. Standard online; worth confirming.
- Resplitting. How many times a hand may be split, typically to three or four hands. Aces are usually limited to one split and one card each.
- Surrender. Late surrender is offered on many online tables; early surrender, which is far more valuable, is almost extinct.
- Deck count. Six or eight decks online. Fewer decks marginally help the player but are usually paired with worse payouts.
Etiquette at a live table
Live dealer tables are shared with real people and a real dealer on a timer. None of this changes the maths, but it makes the table run properly.
Decide inside the window
The decision timer is usually 12 to 20 seconds. Running it out plays the default action for you, which is stand — occasionally the correct play, usually not.
You are backing their decisions
Betting behind another seat means you win and lose with that player’s choices, and you have no say in them. Their mistakes cost you at your stake, not theirs.
The dealer can read it
Live dealers see the chat panel and generally respond. Abusive messages get accounts muted or closed, and the moderation is handled by the studio, not the operator.