Blackjack
How to play blackjack
Beat the dealer without going over 21. Number cards count face value, court cards count 10, and an ace counts 11 or 1 — whichever helps.
- Push some chips in. Add 5, 10, and 20 chips to the betting spot in any combination — a 20 and a 10 is a 30-chip wager — then deal. There is no table maximum: bet as much of your stack as you like. You get two cards face up; the dealer gets one up and one face down.
- Play your hand. Hit takes another card, stand keeps what you have. Go over 21 and you bust — the bet is gone before the dealer even moves.
- The dealer plays by a fixed rule: reveal the hole card, draw to 17, stand on all 17s. No decisions, no reads, no mercy — and no malice either.
- Closest to 21 wins. Ties push and the bet comes back. A natural — an ace and a ten-value card on the deal — is blackjack and pays 3:2.
Two more moves when the moment is right: double down on your first two cards to double the bet and take exactly one more card, and split a pair into two hands, each with its own bet.
The whole game runs on the classic keys: H hit, S stand, D double, P split, 1–3 to push a chip in and 0 to take the wager back.
One thing worth knowing before you shove the whole stack across: doubling and splitting both need a second bet the same size as your first. Bet everything and those moves are off the table for that hand — so the greedy wager quietly costs you the two most profitable plays in the game.
The house rules (fixed, friendly, published)
| Rule | Here |
|---|---|
| Decks | 4-deck shoe, dealt to the last card |
| Dealer | stands on all 17s, soft included |
| Blackjack pays | 3:2 (an odd wager rounds up — the house rounds in your favor) |
| Bet size | any stack of chips, from 5 up to your whole bankroll — no table maximum |
| Double down | any first two cards |
| Split | equal-rank pairs, once; split aces get one card each |
| Insurance / surrender | none — fewer sucker bets to explain |
These rules aren't configurable, and several of them — stand on soft 17, 3:2 blackjack, double on anything — are the player-friendly side of rules that casinos often set the other way.
Chips that mean nothing, on purpose
This is the kitchen-table version of blackjack: the chips are the bowl of pretzels, not a wallet. You start with 100, and if a cold streak takes you to zero, you're quietly spotted back to 100 — grandma's rules. There is nothing to buy and nothing to lose, which leaves just the part of blackjack that's actually fun: the decision on 16 with a ten showing.
Tips
- Learn the dealer's weak cards. A dealer showing 2–6 has to draw into bust territory. That's when you stand on shaky totals like 13 and let the dealer take the risk — and when doubling is at its best.
- Aces and eights. Always split them: A-A turns 12 into two strong starts, 8-8 turns 16 — the worst hand in the game — into two live ones.
- Never split tens. It breaks a made 20, which wins most hands as it stands.
- Watch the shoe. The count of cards remaining is right there on the table, and the shoe deals all the way down. When the deck runs rich in tens and aces late, blackjacks and dealer busts both get likelier — the attentive player notices — and in free play there's no table maximum, so noticing is worth something: bet more when the shoe is rich and less when it isn't. That swing is the whole payoff of counting.
- In the Daily Shoe, the flat bet is the equalizer. With everyone betting 10 a hand, the leaderboard comes down to decisions — doubles and splits at the right moments — not bet sizing.
Frequently asked questions
Is this blackjack played for real money?
No, and it never will be. The chips are play chips — kitchen-table stakes, like betting pretzels at grandma's table. There is nothing to buy, no purchases, no currency symbols anywhere, and going broke is impossible: if your bankroll ever runs dry, you're simply spotted back to 100 chips and the game goes on.
Does the dealer hit or stand on soft 17?
The dealer stands on all 17s here, soft ones included. That's the friendlier rule for the player — many casinos have the dealer hit soft 17, which raises the house edge. The full ruleset is fixed and published below; there are no house-rule surprises.
What are the blackjack rules on this site?
Four-deck shoe, dealer stands on all 17s, blackjack pays 3:2, double down on any first two cards, split equal-rank pairs once (split aces get one card each), no insurance, no surrender, no resplitting, no doubling after a split. The rules never change and aren't configurable — everyone plays the same game.
Can I count cards here?
Yes — and unlike a casino, nobody will ask you to leave. The shoe runs deep: all 208 cards are dealt before a reshuffle, and the count of cards remaining is shown on the shoe. The Daily Shoe is the same fixed order for every player, so an attentive count is genuinely rewarded.
What is the Daily Shoe?
A shared daily challenge: everyone starts with 100 chips and plays the same 20 hands from the same shuffled shoe at a flat 10-chip bet. Your choices change which cards you consume, so games diverge as they go — that's true to blackjack — but the shared start and shared shoe make the final bankroll comparable. It resets at your local midnight.
When should I hit, stand, double, or split?
The short version of basic strategy: always split aces and eights, never split tens or fives; double on 11, and on 10 unless the dealer shows a ten or ace; stand on hard 17 or more; stand on 12–16 against a dealer 2–6 and hit them against 7 or higher; hit soft totals of 17 or less. That handful of lines covers most hands you'll ever be dealt.
More games
- Crazy Eights — The classic shedding card game — match rank or suit, eights are wild. Beatable AI, no timer, drop it any time.
- Kings in the Corner — The kitchen-table classic you half-remember — build the cross, save the corners for kings, empty your hand first. Beatable AI, shared daily deal.
- Five Dice — Three rolls, thirteen boxes — the classic push-your-luck dice sheet with live score previews and a shared Daily Dice.