Classic Blackjack — Free to Play

How to play Classic Blackjack

1. Tap the chips (5, 25, 100, 500) to build your bet, then press Deal. Bets range from 5 to 1,000 play chips.
2. You and the dealer get two cards each. One dealer card stays face down until you finish.
3. Choose Hit to take a card, Stand to keep your total, Double to double your bet and take exactly one card, or Split to play a pair as two hands.
4. The dealer then reveals the hole card and draws until reaching 17 or more.
5. Beat the dealer's total without going over 21. Press Deal again to replay the same bet. Keyboard: H hit, S stand, D double, P split, Enter deal.

Rules

• Six standard 52-card decks, shuffled with a cut card at about 75% penetration.
• Dealer stands on all 17s, including soft 17 (S17).
• Dealer checks for blackjack when showing an Ace or a 10-value card; if the dealer has blackjack you lose only your original bet.
• Blackjack (Ace + 10-value card on the first two cards) pays 3 to 2. Other wins pay 1 to 1. Ties push.
• Double down on any first two cards, including after a split.
• Split any two cards of equal value (e.g. K-Q) up to four hands. Split Aces get one card each and cannot be re-split; 21 after a split pays 1 to 1, not 3 to 2.
• No insurance and no surrender.

Odds and house edge

With these rules (6 decks, S17, double after split, no surrender) the house edge is about 0.4% when you follow basic strategy — a return of roughly 99.6%. Mistakes increase the edge. Everything is played with free chips only.

Strategy tips

• Always split Aces and 8s; never split 10s or 5s.
• Double hard 11 against any dealer card except an Ace, and hard 10 against 2–9.
• Stand on hard 12–16 when the dealer shows 2–6 (hit 12 against 2 or 3); hit them against 7 or higher.
• Hit soft 17 or less unless doubling is better; stand on soft 19+.
• See the Blackjack Basic Strategy guide for the full chart.