Blackjack

Play a round

1. Blackjack uses one 52-card deck. It is reshuffled about every four hands with one or two players, or every other hand with three or four players.
2. Set a virtual-chip wager and deal. Number cards keep their value, face cards count as 10, and an ace counts as 1 or 11.
3. Choose hit for another card or stand to keep the current total. Going above 21 busts the hand immediately.
4. Double to double the wager and receive exactly one more card, or split an eligible pair into two separately played hands.
5. After every player hand stands or busts, the dealer draws according to the table rules and the game settles virtual chips.
6. A dealer natural blackjack ends the hand immediately. Every player loses unless their first two cards are also a natural 21, which is a push.

Strategy for this version

• Use the dealer up-card as the main signal: weak dealer cards make standing safer, while strong cards often require a more aggressive draw.
• Treat a hand containing an ace counted as 11 as flexible because one additional card may reduce the ace to 1 instead of busting.
• Split aces and eights for stronger starting positions, but keep tens together and avoid splitting fives that make a useful total of 10.
• Virtual chips have no cash value, so use the bankroll to learn how each decision changes outcomes rather than chasing losses.