Blackjack in Las Vegas

About

Blackjack, also called twenty-one, is a card game in which each player plays against the dealer rather than against the other players at the table. The object, in the Wizard of Odds' words, is to beat the dealer: first by not going over 21 (busting), and then either by finishing with a higher total than the dealer or by having the dealer bust.

Cards count at face value from 2 to 9, tens and face cards count 10, and an ace counts as 1 or 11, whichever helps the hand. A two-card 21 (an ace with a ten-value card) is a blackjack, which usually pays 3 to 2.

A round starts with players placing bets in their betting areas before the deal. After the cards are out, each player in turn decides how to play: hit (take another card), stand (keep the total), double (double the bet and take exactly one more card), split (separate a pair into two hands, adding a second bet of the same size) or, where allowed, surrender (give up half the bet and end the hand). If the dealer shows an ace, players may be offered insurance, a side bet of up to half the original wager that pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack.

Once the players are done, the dealer plays by fixed rules with no choices: hit on 16 or less and stand on 17 or more. At some tables the dealer also hits a soft 17, a 17 counting an ace as 11. Any player who busted has already lost, even if the dealer later busts too.

What to expect

To buy in, put your cash flat on the felt instead of handing it to the dealer, and the dealer will change it into chips. Place your wager in the betting area before the dealer starts dealing. Avoid touching the cards in games dealt from a shoe.

Players signal decisions with their hands so the dealer can read them clearly. Caesars describes a tap on the table as a hit and a flat hand waved over the cards as a stand; if you are unsure what a table expects, ask the dealer before the game begins. Strategy cards are generally permitted at blackjack tables.

Cell phone use is generally not allowed while you are seated at a table game. Tipping is customary rather than required: a tip to a table-game dealer is called a toke, and dealers, servers and chip runners all appreciate tips for good service.

Other casino games

• Craps
• Roulette
• Baccarat
• Poker
• Slot Machines

Before you play

• Las Vegas casino guide for beginners
• How casino comps work

Good to know

• Rules move the house edge more than most players expect. With basic strategy, the Wizard of Odds puts an eight-deck game where the dealer hits soft 17, doubling after splits is allowed and aces can be resplit at a 0.50% house edge, and a six-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17 with doubling after splits and late surrender at 0.334%.
• Check what a blackjack pays before you sit down. A 6:5 payout instead of 3:2 adds 1.39% to the house edge, which the Wizard of Odds calls by far the worst blackjack game in Vegas.
• Smaller rule differences also add up. Compared with the Wizard of Odds' baseline, a dealer who hits soft 17 costs the player 0.22%, no doubling after splitting costs 0.14%, and doubling only on 10 or 11 costs 0.18%. Fewer decks help the player slightly: a single-deck game is worth 0.48% and a double-deck game 0.19% against eight decks. Late surrender is worth 0.07%.
• Insurance and even money are side bets on whether the dealer has blackjack. The Wizard of Odds' basic strategy rule is to never take insurance or even money.
• Continuous shuffling machines lower the house edge marginally compared with a game dealt to a cut card, but because the dealer never stops to shuffle you play more hands per hour, so you should expect to lose more per hour.
• Nevada law gives players a route if a payout is disputed. Under NRS 463.362, a casino must immediately notify the Nevada Gaming Control Board of a dispute with a patron involving $500 or more; for smaller disputes it must tell the patron of the right to ask the Board to investigate.
• If gambling stops being fun, the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling lists 1-800-GAMBLER and 1-800-522-4700 as its helpline numbers; the line is answered 24 hours a day, calls are confidential, and it connects callers to treatment and support resources in Nevada. Setting a spending limit before you sit down, and not raising bets to win back losses, is advice Caesars gives its own players.

Questions about Blackjack