BlackJack : How to Play : Cards

Stand

Standing is electing to draw no more cards to your hand and accepting the shown total as your final total. If you decide to Stand on your total, signal this to the dealer by moving your hand horizontally, palm faced towards the table. Sorta like saying No thanks. On single and double deck games, the player signifies standing by placing their cards beneath their bet. We'll get to the details about when you should stand a bit later.

Hit

Hitting is electing to draw another card to your hand. You motion this to the dealer by either tapping your index finger on the table behind your bet, or scraping your fingers towards you. The dealer will then deal you another card. If the players card total exceeds 21, the hand Busts and the players wager is lost.

Double Down

At certain times, it is in the players favor to double their original wager in exchange for one more card (sometimes dealt face down). The player does this only in certain circumstances. These will be covered in the strategy section later on. To Double Down, simply place a second wager that is equivalent to the original wager into the betting circle directly behind the original bet.

Split

If the player is dealt two of the same cards (2 -2, 3-3, 4-4 etc) the player may elect to split those cards into two seperate hands. The player does this by moving a new wager, equal to the old wager to the left of the original bet in the betting circle. The dealer will then seperate the cards and deal a 2nd card to the first hand. If that card happens to be another double of the single card, the player can split that hand as well... so on. Most Casinos offer splitting pairs to up to 4 hands.

Surrender

Surrender is an option that isn't offered in every Casino. Most players don't use it, but you should still know that it exists. Surrendering is the act of declaring your hand dead in exchange for 1/2 of the original wager. The player signals this by drawing an imaginary line behind their bet with the index finger. The dealer will then count out the players bet, take 1/2 for the house, then collect the players surrendered cards.

...Play Continues

The player then elects to hit until they either bust or decide to stand on a satisfactory total. The dealer then goes through this process with all the other remaining players at the table. At the end the dealer flips their hole card and if the total is 16 or less, the dealer hits until they reach a total of 17 or greater or bust whichever comes first. Players who's total is greater than the dealer's total win, and are paid even money on their wagers (double down's and splits too), players who's totals are less than the dealers total lose and their wagers are taken, players who tie the dealers total Push and their wagers remain on the table. The dealer removes all the used cards from the table and the cycle starts again.