Blackjack BuzzTapBetting Originals

Blackjack is a card game against the dealer, where the aim is to finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Cards 2 to 10 count their number, Jacks, Queens and Kings count 10, and an Ace counts 1 or 11. A hand with an Ace counting 11 shows both totals, for example 7 / 17. Read our step-by-step player guide below.

Step 1: Choose your bet value

Choose a bet value anywhere from $0.10 to $100. Use the − and + buttons to adjust your bet, halve or double it with ½ and 2x, type an amount directly, or pick one from the list.

Step 2: Add side bets (optional)

To play side bets, choose Side Bet and set your Perfect Pairs and 21+3 amounts. Each can be $0.00 for none, or anywhere from $0.10 to $100.

Step 3: Press Deal

Pressing Deal gives you and the dealer two cards each, with one of the dealer's cards face down. Any side bets are settled straight away on the deal.

Step 4: Play your hand

Choose how to play your hand:

• Hit: Take another card.
• Stand: Keep your hand as it is.
• Double: Double your bet and take exactly one more card. You can double on any first two cards, including after splitting.
• Split: Turn a pair into two hands, each with its own bet. Only two cards of the same rank can be split, so a King and a Queen aren't a pair. You can split once per round, and split Aces get one card each.

A hand that reaches 21 stands by itself. A 21 on a split hand counts as 21, not blackjack.

Step 5: The dealer's turn

The dealer turns over the face-down card and draws until reaching 17 or more. The dealer stands on all 17s. Your hand is then compared to the dealer's:

• Win: Pays 1 to 1.
• Blackjack: An Ace and a 10-value card as your first two cards pays 3 to 2.
• Push: A tie returns your bet.

Example: A $2.00 bet dealt an Ace and a King is a blackjack, which pays 3 to 2. You win $3.00 and get your $2.00 bet back.

Insurance and dealer blackjack

When the dealer's face-up card is an Ace, you're offered Insurance first. It costs half your bet and pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack. Then, with an Ace or a 10-value card face up, the dealer checks the face-down card for blackjack. If it's there, the card is turned over and the round ends. Your bet loses, or pushes if you have blackjack too, and you never lose more than your original bet to a dealer blackjack.

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The Return to Player (RTP) is about 99.50% for the main game played with perfect basic strategy. The side bets and Insurance have their own RTP: 95.90% for Perfect Pairs, 96.30% for 21+3 and about 92.5% for Insurance. Wins are rounded to the nearest cent.

The maximum win on the main hand is ×2.5 your bet, from a blackjack paying 3 to 2. The side bets pay much more, with an Exact Pair paying 25 to 1 in Perfect Pairs and Suited Trips paying 100 to 1 in 21+3.

Every round is dealt from 8 decks, 416 cards in total, shuffled fresh for that round. That means the same card can come up more than once, but never more than 8 times.

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Below are the key features of Blackjack

• Perfect Pairs: A side bet on your first two cards. A Mixed Pair (same rank, different colours) pays 6 to 1, a Colored Pair (same rank and colour) pays 12 to 1, and an Exact Pair (the identical card) pays 25 to 1.
• 21+3: A side bet on your two cards and the dealer's face-up card. A Flush pays 5 to 1, a Straight 10 to 1, Three of a Kind 30 to 1, a Straight Flush 40 to 1 and Suited Trips (the identical card three times) 100 to 1. Aces count high or low.
• Fresh shuffle every round: Every round is dealt from 8 decks shuffled fresh for that round.
• Fast mode: Press the lightning button at the top to deal the cards in about half the time.
• Provably Fair results: The Provably Fair settings show the seeds every card comes from, so you can check that no card was changed after you placed your bet.
• Round History: View your last 50 rounds. Select the details icon to see a round in full.
• Disable Animations: Turn off animations to see the cards instantly for faster play.
• Space To Bet: Press the Space bar to deal without needing to click Deal.

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Blackjack is mobile friendly and requires no download on your mobile device, loading directly in most modern browsers. On desktop, turn on Space To Bet to deal straight from your keyboard.

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Blackjack sticks to the rules players know and love, and that's exactly its strength. Blackjack pays 3 to 2, the dealer stands on all 17s and you can double on any first two cards, even after splitting. Every hand with an Ace shows both totals, so there's no mental maths needed to know where you stand.

The standout is the RTP. Played with perfect basic strategy, the main game returns about 99.50%, which makes it one of the best value games you can play. Learning basic strategy is well worth the effort if you plan to play regularly.

The side bets add a bit of extra excitement to every deal. Perfect Pairs and 21+3 settle as soon as the cards land, whatever happens to your hand, with payouts of up to 100 to 1 for Suited Trips. Just keep in mind that their RTP is lower than the main game, so they're best treated as an occasional extra rather than a core part of your strategy.

A fresh 8-deck shuffle every round, Provably Fair seeds for every card and fast mode for quicker hands make this a clean, trustworthy way to enjoy one of the casino's most popular games.