How to Play Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the easiest casino games to play – especially with William Hill Vegas. But do you know your blackjack dealer rules? How about your blackjack side bet payouts? And what exactly is the difference between Spanish 21 and blackjack?

Begin your journey to blackjack mastery with these with our William Hill ‘How to play Blackjack – BlackjackCharts’ guide.

Looking to boost your blackjack vocabulary? Check out our glossary of blackjack terms.

Would you hit on a ‘hard 17’? See our guide to basic blackjack strategy with charts.

Start the count to 21 – play online blackjack games for real money at William Hill.

The objective of blackjack

The aim of blackjack is simple: beat the house dealer by forming a hand of cards which is as close as possible to a total of 21, while never exceeding that total.

It’s important to note the casino has the edge in blackjack because the player must act first. If the player busts, they immediately lose their wager, even if the dealer eventually busts.

Blackjack rules

The basic flow of a blackjack game is as follows:

1. Betting

The dealer shuffles the deck (note: in multi-deck blackjack, decks are shuffled by a machine called the ‘shoe’). The round begins once all players have placed their bets.

2. Dealing

The dealer deals the cards. Every player receives two cards face-up, while the dealer has one card face-up and the other card remains face-down (in standard blackjack rules).

3. Naturals

If a player’s first two cards dealt are an ace and ten-card, this is a ‘natural’ blackjack (21). If a player has a natural and the dealer does not, the dealer will immediately pay out 3 to 2 (meaning 1.5x the player’s betting amount). If the dealer has a natural, they immediately collect bets from all players who do not have naturals. In the event of a tie (also known as a ‘push’), the player’s bet is returned with no winnings.

4. Playing

The dealer asks each player if they choose to hit, meaning to request an extra card, or stand, which indicates the player wants to draw no more cards. Players may also choose to double down, split or surrender – learn more about these advanced plays later on.

5. Settling

If the player’s hand total beats the dealer’s score, they’ll receive a 1 to 1 payout. But if a player’s hand exceeds 21, that hand is ‘bust’ – meaning they lose that round and their wager, even if the dealer busts too.

Betting in blackjack

A blackjack round begins with each player placing chips in the designated betting area in front of them. There will be agreed minimum and maximum bet limits, so it’s always important to check what these limits are before placing any bet on the table.

Card values

In blackjack, each card is counted at its original number value. In addition, each of the face cards (jack, queen and king) has a value of 10. As for the ace card, it’s up to the player to decide whether an ace they hold will count as 1 or 11 – this is known as a ‘soft total’.

Find out the best play for every hand total, plus all you need to know about ‘hard and soft hands’, in our guide to basic blackjack strategy with charts.

Hit or stand

The two most important choices you’ll need to make is whether to ‘hit’ or ‘stand’. But before you make those decisions, do you know the hand signals for hit or stand in blackjack?

To hit is to ask the dealer to give you another card. If you decide to stick with your current cards because you’re happy with your hand total, you can stand

When exactly should you hit or stand? Find out in our basic blackjack strategy charts.

Blackjack payouts

Blackjack is an ‘even-money’ card game with a payout of 1 to 1 (1:1).

Here’s a table of blackjack payouts and a short explanation for each:

Regular Hand
1 to 1 return

Doubling Down
1 to 1 return doubled

Blackjack
Depends on the table, usually 3 to 2, or 6 to 5 for some single-deck games

Landing a blackjack

Note that the process of landing a natural blackjack, or landing a blackjack after hitting, results in the same payout of 3 to 2. Of course, it’s always preferable to land a blackjack with your first two cards, and remove the element of chance while hitting.

Blackjack insurance

If the dealer’s face-up card is an ace, they will ask if any players want insurance – a side bet of up to half the original bet which pays out at 2 to 1. This is a bet that the dealer’s face-down card is worth 10, resulting in a house blackjack.

Please note: an insurance bet is rarely a good option for the player unless they are truly confident there is a high number of ten-cards still left in the pack.

Double down

If you have a two-card total of 9, 10, or 11, you have the option of doubling your bet. When your turn arrives, simply place a bet equal to your initial bet (and to the left of your original wager), and the dealer will give you one additional card, turned sideways to indicate you may not take additional cards.  This is left face down until the betting is settled.

When a hand consists of a pair of 5s (for a total of 10), the player has the option to split the pair, double down as described, or just choose to play out the hand as normal. However, we recommend never splitting 4s or 5s, as it’s extremely easy to land a low total.

Pair splitting

When a player’s first two cards are the same value (e.g. two 7s), players can opt to treat them as two separate hands. The original bet goes on one of the pair, and an equal amount must then be wagered on the other. The player must play their left-most hand first by hitting or standing one or more times – then the card to the right is played likewise.

The outcome of each hand is always treated separately. When a pair of aces are split, the player is dealt one more card for each ace and may not draw further cards.

• Please note: the dealer cannot split or double down.

Surrender

A surrender can occur when the house permits a player to fold their original hand before drawing any extra cards. When this happens, half of the player’s original bet is returned, and those cards are withdrawn from that play. Remember, once a surrender is actioned, that player takes no further part in the hand – even if the dealer goes bust.

Not all tables will allow a surrender – so always check the table rules.

Dealers’ rules

Shuffling

To prevent cheating or card counting, the dealer will thoroughly shuffle the deck until all cards are in an entirely random order. The dealer will then split the deck of cards with plastic ‘cut card’, or may designate a player to cut the deck for them.

Dealing

After all bets have been placed, the dealer will deal clockwise, starting from their left, until each player has two cards facing upwards. The last card for the dealer is placed face-down (note: sometimes the first card is placed face-down instead).

If the dealer’s upcard is an ace, they will ask if anyone wants insurance, which pays out at 2 to 1. This is a bet that the dealer DOES have a natural blackjack. The dealer will then take it in turns, starting on their left, to ask whether the player chooses to stand or hit.

What is S17 in blackjack?

If the dealer hits a ‘soft 17’ (i.e. A,6, which can be played as 7 or 17), they must stand or hit depending on that table’s ‘soft 17 rule’.

If you see ‘S17’ on a table, the dealer must STAND on soft 17. This means they can’t improve their hand any further, reducing the house edge by 0.2% (which is why the S17 game is the least common of the two ‘soft 17 rule’ variations.)

What is H17 in blackjack?

A ‘H17’ game is more common and means the dealer must hit on a soft 17 – increasing the dealer’s chances of making a better hand between 18 and 21, therefore increasing the house advantage too.

Early surrender

Unlike the standard ‘late surrender’ rule, early surrender gives the player the option to give up their hand before the dealer checks for a blackjack, and recover half their initial wager.

Late surrender

This is the most common surrender rule in live and online blackjack. The player has the option to surrender after the dealer checks for blackjack, and recoup half their original bet.

Resplitting Aces

Think you can only split a pair of aces once? Think again!

If you split a pair of aces (as you should) and receive another ace as the next card, a table running the RSA (resplitting aces) rule allows you to split yet another pair of aces, into a third or even fourth hand.

Why don’t all casinos allow RSA? Because the ace is the strongest card in blackjack, and splitting aces is highly favourable to the player. Even if the casino offers RSA, you’re only allowed one additional card on each resplit ace, and doubling-down isn’t allowed.

Get up to speed with pair splitting acronyms in our glossary of blackjack terms.

Blackjack sidebets

21 + 3

This popular side bet involves betting on whether your first two cards, and the dealer’s face-up card, will combine to make one of the following three-card poker hands:

• Flush – three cards of the same suit (pays 5 to 1)
• Straight – three cards in a sequence (pays 10 to 1)
• Three of a kind – three cards of the same rank (pays 30 to 1)
• Straight flush – three cards in a sequence, all of the same suit (pays 40 to 1)
• Suited trips – three cards of the same rank and the same suit (pays 100 to 1)

Perfect Pair

This simple blackjack side bet involves betting on your hole cards being a pair. Perfect pair hands are commonly ranked in the following order:

• Mixed pair – two cards of the same rank but different colours (pays 5 to 1)
• Coloured pair – two cards of the same rank and colour (pays 10 to 1)
• Perfect pair – an identical pair, for example 2x king of diamonds (pays 30 to 1)

Looking to give the 21+3 or Perfect Pair side bets a go? Try our exclusive William Hill Mayfair Blackjack and other online blackjack games at William Hill Vegas.

Blackjack variations

European Blackjack

In standard (American) blackjack, the dealer will check the hole card immediately if the upcard is a ten-card or ace. If the dealer has blackjack, the round ends.

However, in European Blackjack, the dealer receives one card, dealt face-up, and only receives their second card once the players have acted. This means players stand to lose their original bet and other additional bets from splitting or doubling down, since the dealer can’t check for blackjack until all players have completed their hands.

Blackjack Switch

Ever wish you could swap cards in a split pair? Well now you can in Blackjack Switch!

Players are dealt two hands instead of one, and can choose to switch the top cards of each hand to form two stronger hands. However, natural blackjacks are paid out at 1 to 1, instead of the standard 3 to 2 – and a dealer’s hard 22 pushes all player hands except naturals.

Spanish 21

Ever wondered how to play Spanish 21? The good news is this blackjack variation offers many of the most well-known blackjack rules like 3 to 2 payouts, late surrender and doubling down (plus even re-doubling down).

However, in Spanish 21 there are no 10 cards in the shoe (although face cards with a value of 10 remain). While this might not seem like a huge difference at first, removing this set of highly valuable cards increases the house edge.

Double Attack Blackjack

Here’s how to play double attack blackjack: in this variation of Spanish 21, there are again no ‘10’ cards in play, and blackjacks only pay out at 1 to 1. However, players have the option to double their original bet after seeing the dealer’s upcard, and even take a ‘buster’ side bet, which lets the player bet on whether the dealer will bust on their third card.

Free Bet Blackjack

Just like blackjack, but with free double down and split bets, covered by the casino. However, if the dealer lands a hard 22, all player bets are pushed – even though the dealer busted – meaning the house edge increases to double that of normal blackjack.

California Blackjack

While many standard blackjack rules apply here, the first notable change is that players take turns acting as the banker (dealer), like in poker, increasing the players’ house edge.

The second big difference in California blackjack is the use of six 53-card decks due to the addition of joker cards – which can assume any point value needed to reach 21 (i.e. any hand with a joker automatically stands at 21). As a result, if the dealer’s upcard is a joker, they must turn over their second card and end the hand. Players with totals of 21 will push, while hands with less than 21 lose.

Finally, naturals outrank the traditional ‘blackjack’ score of 21, and consist of various two-card combinations of aces and/or jokers (which technically equal 22), paying out at 2 to 1 if the dealer doesn’t also have a natural.

If both the player and dealer bust, but the dealer has a higher hand total, the hand will instead push. If the player’s total is higher than the dealer’s, they lose.

Bonus Blackjack

Another variation with a main bet and side bet. In bonus blackjack, the player can bet on whether the player, dealer, or both will land a natural blackjack, and win a 15 to 1 payout.

Buster Blackjack

Buster Blackjack (BBJ) is a side bet that allows players to bet on whether the dealer will bust. The higher the number of cards in the busted hand, the higher the payout – which can be anywhere from 1 to 1 for three cards, to 200 to 1 for eight or more cards.

Blackjack tips

Here are some further tips and tricks to inform your basic blackjack strategy. For more in-depth decision-making guidance, see our basic blackjack strategy with charts.

The 10s rule

Ten-cards are extremely common in blackjack. Expect upcoming cards to have a value of 10.

Don’t split your 10s

20 is a tough score to beat. Splitting two 10s will drastically reduce your chances of winning.

Hit on soft 17

You can’t go bust with a soft 17 – in fact, there’s a reasonable chance of ending up with 21.

Wondering whether to hit on a hard 17? See what our basic blackjack strategy charts say.

Don’t split on 4s or 5s

Or you’ll be stuck with low totals. Try hitting to reach a safer area where you won’t bust.

Split on Aces and 8s

Why stick with a soft 2 when you can split and land a blackjack? Likewise, don’t settle for a score of 16 when you can split the 8s and raise your total without busting.

Ready to put your knowledge to the test? Play online blackjack games that you won’t find anywhere else at William Hill Vegas.

Blackjack FAQs

What is the basic strategy at William Hill based on?

William Hill is an established company and over the years our strategy has been defined by our loyal customers who have played for many years. It aims to mathematically present you with the best chance possible to win the game but is not a guarantee of successful performance.

How to memorise these strategies?

Strategies for memory can vary from person to person, as we all have unique ways of learning, but after having educated yourself on the general rules and strategy, the best way to pick it up is to practice.

How long will it take to memorise the strategy on the charts?

As mentioned previously, the best way to learn is by practicing, and if you use the strategy alongside practicing it shouldn’t take longer than a few times to memorise at least the basics of the strategy.

Which is the most important blackjack strategy?

It is recommended that novices learn the basic blackjack strategy first as it will give a solid foundation for playing the game, especially for new players.