Blackjack

Blackjack

Blackjack is a card game in which the player must get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over 21. A number of 52-card decks are shuffled together; by default, it is a six-deck game, but may also be played with one, two, four, or eight decks. Tens and face cards are worth 10 points, aces may be worth either 1 or 11 points, and all other cards are worth their face value. Suits are irrelevant.

A 21 in the first two cards is a blackjack. If the player has blackjack and the dealer does not, the player's bet will pay either 3:2 or 6:5 depending on the game settings.

Betting

To be dealt a hand, each player must place a bet between the minimum and maximum table limits inclusive on the betting circle in front of them. In this implementation, for tables where the minimum bet is below $100, the maximum bet defaults to 200 times the minimum bet, so typical bet limits are $5–$1,000, $10–$2,000, $25–$5,000, or $50–$10,000. Tables with minimum bets $100 and above do not have maximum limits by default.

Play of the cards

Each player as well as the dealer will be dealt two cards one at a time clockwise. The dealer will receive their cards face-down; the players will receive their cards face-up. When dealing is complete, the dealer will flip their first card face-up.

If the dealer's upcard is an ace, the dealer will ask players if they would like to make an insurance bet before checking for blackjack; if the dealer's upcard is a ten (or face card), the dealer will immediately check for blackjack without asking for insurance. If the dealer has blackjack, then all players who do not also have blackjack lose their original bets; players who also have blackjack will have their original bets pushed.

If the dealer does not or cannot possibly have blackjack, then each player in turn, starting with the player furthest to the dealer's left, will be asked which action to take:

• Hit: The player will be dealt another card.
• Stand: The player will not take any additional cards.
• Double down: Only available on the first two cards of a hand; depending on the table settings, there may be additional restrictions on when doubling down is allowed based on the hand's value (such as only on 9–11 or 10–11). The player will double their bet and be dealt one additional card, after which they must stand.
• Split: Only available on the first two cards of a hand and only if they are the same value. The player will make another bet equal to their original bet, and the cards will be separated into two hands, each of which will receive at least one more card each. By default, aces cannot be resplit and receive only one more card each. All other pairs can be resplit up to three times by default, and doubling after a split is allowed by default. A two-card 21 after splitting does not count as a blackjack.
• Surrender: Only available if enabled in the table settings (by default, it is). The player will forfeit half their bet and the hand to the dealer, being allowed to keep the other half of their bet. If a player's hand reaches exactly 21, the player will automatically stand. If a player's hand exceeds 21, the hand busts and the player's bet for that hand is lost.

After all players have completed their turns, the dealer will reveal their downcard. If there is at least one player who has not busted, then the dealer will hit until they have at least a soft 18 or a hard 17, then stand. (A soft hand has an ace counted as 11; a hard hand lacks such an ace.) Depending on the table settings, the dealer may hit or stand on soft 17, but they must follow the rule set. The dealer cannot double down, split, or surrender. After the dealer has stood, bets on all hands that beat the dealer's pay even money, bets on tied hands push, and bets on hands that are beaten by the dealer's lose.

The next hand is played with the next cards out of the deck until the cut card is reached. The default penetration is 75%, meaning that the cut card is 75% of the way through the shoe. Once the cut card is drawn out, the hand will be completed, then the shoe will be shuffled.

Insurance

If the dealer's upcard is an ace, then players may make an insurance bet of half their original bet against a dealer blackjack before the dealer checks for one. If the dealer has blackjack, the insurance bet pays 2:1. If the dealer does not have blackjack, then the insurance bet is forfeit. If a player has blackjack against a dealer ace, the player may agree to take even money regardless of whether or not the dealer has blackjack.