Blackjack (Twenty-One)

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Card values
3. Setup
4. Blackjack (natural)
5. The players' turns
6. The dealer's turn
7. Settling bets
8. Winning the game
9. Tips for beginners
10. Variants

Overview

Blackjack, also called Twenty-one, is played against a dealer, who is also the bank: each player bets chips on beating the dealer's hand. You try to get a card total closer to 21 than the dealer – but if you go over 21, you bust and lose at once. At home the role of dealer passes round the table, so everyone takes a turn as the bank.

• Players: 2–7 – one dealer and up to 6 players.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck without jokers, and chips (or counters, matches) – about 50 per person. Play for chips only.

Card values

Suits don't matter. A hand is soft if it contains an Ace counted as 11 (A + 6 is a "soft 17"): it can't bust with the next card, because the Ace then simply counts 1.

Example: A + 5 + 9: counting the Ace as 11 would make 25, so it counts 1 – the total is 15.

Setup

1. Decide who deals first (for example, the player who cuts the highest card). Agree on the smallest and largest bet, for example 1 to 10 chips.
2. The dealer shuffles, and the player to the dealer's right cuts (lifts off part of the deck and puts it underneath).
3. Before any cards are dealt, every player except the dealer puts their bet in front of them.
4. Deal: clockwise, starting on the dealer's left, one card face up to each player and one face up to the dealer. Then a second card face up to each player and a second card face down to the dealer (the hole card).

Blackjack (natural)

An Ace plus a 10, J, Q or K as your first two cards is a blackjack or natural – the best hand of all, better than any other 21.

• If the dealer's face-up card is an Ace or a 10-value card, the dealer secretly looks at the hole card. With a natural, the dealer shows it at once: every player loses their bet, except a player who also has a natural – they get their bet back.
• If a player has a natural and the dealer doesn't, the dealer immediately pays that player one and a half times the bet (3 to 2).

All this is settled before anyone plays. If the dealer had a natural, the round is over.

The players' turns

Starting on the dealer's left, each player plays their hand in turn. On your turn, you say:

• Hit – the dealer gives you another card face up. You may hit as often as you like.
• Stand – you are happy with your total; your turn ends.

If your total goes over 21, you have gone bust: show your cards, and the dealer takes your bet at once – even if the dealer busts later.

Two special moves are allowed only with your first two cards:

• Double down: double your bet. You get exactly one more card and then must stand. (Many groups only allow this on a total of 9, 10 or 11.)
• Split: if your two cards have the same rank (two 8s, two Kings …), put them side by side as two separate hands and add a second bet equal to the first. Each hand gets a second card and is played on its own. Split Aces get only one card each; an Ace plus a 10-value card after a split counts as an ordinary 21, not a blackjack.

Example: Ben bets 2 chips and gets 10♣ 6♥ = 16. The dealer shows a 9. Ben says "hit" and gets 4♠ = 20. He stands.

The dealer's turn

When all players have played, the dealer turns over the hole card. The dealer has no choice:

• With 16 or less, the dealer must hit, and keep hitting.
• With 17 or more, the dealer must stand. An Ace counts 11 whenever that brings the dealer's total to 17–21.

Settling bets

• Dealer busts: the dealer pays every player who hasn't gone bust the amount of their bet.
• Dealer stands: a player with a higher total wins their bet from the dealer; a player with a lower total loses their bet; on a tie (a "push") the player keeps their bet.

Example (continued): The dealer's hole card is 8: 9 + 8 = 17, so the dealer stands. Ben's 20 beats 17 – the dealer pays him 2 chips.

If the deck runs out in the middle of a round, the dealer shuffles the used cards and carries on. After each round, collect all cards, reshuffle and pass the deal to the left: the next player becomes dealer and bank.

Winning the game

Play for an agreed time or number of rounds – make sure everyone has been dealer equally often. Whoever has the most chips at the end wins.

Tips for beginners

• The dealer must hit up to 16 – if the dealer shows 2 to 6, they often bust, so you can stand on lower totals.
• If the dealer shows 7 or higher, hit until you have at least 17.
• Always split Aces and 8s; never split 10s or 5s.
• A soft hand can safely take another card.

Variants

Optional – agree before you start.

• Natural takes the bank: the traditional home rule – instead of passing on each round, the deal goes to a player who gets a natural when the dealer has none.
• Insurance: if the dealer's face-up card is an Ace, players may bet up to half their bet again that the dealer has a natural. If so, the insurance pays 2 to 1; if not, it is lost.
• Five-card Charlie: five cards without busting win automatically.
• Siebzehn und Vier (17 and 4): the traditional German version. Use only 32 cards (A K Q J 10 9 8 7 of each suit). Ace = 11, K = 4, Q = 3, J = 2, others face value (the name comes from 17 plus a King: 21). Bets are placed before the deal and together may not exceed what the bank holds. Players draw face down; the banker draws last. The bank wins ties – you need at least one point more than the banker. Two Aces ("Fire") win as if they were 21 – as agreed, single or double. The bank changes when players have won everything in it, or after an agreed number of rounds.
• Pontoon: the British version – the bank also wins ties, and five cards totalling 21 or less (a "five-card trick") beat everything except a natural.