The goal
Every hand is you against the dealer. You win if you finish with a higher total than the dealer without going over 21, or if the dealer goes over and you don't. Going over 21 is a bust: your hand loses on the spot, no matter what the dealer does.
Card values
Suits don't matter. A hand with an ace counting as 11 is soft (ace and 6 is a soft 17); otherwise it is hard.
A blackjack is an ace plus a ten-value card as the first two cards of a hand. It is the best hand at the table and beats any other 21.
- Ace
- Counts as 11 as long as that doesn't take the hand over 21. If it would, it counts as 1.
- King, queen, jack and 10
- Count as 10.
- 2 through 9
- Count as their number.
The shoe and the chips
Cards come out of a six-deck shoe. Once fewer than a quarter of the cards are left, the shoe is reshuffled before the next hand.
You sit down with 500 chips and build your bet from chips of 5, 25, 100 and 500. The opening bet runs from 5 to 500 per hand, and never more than you have.
The chips are play money: you can't buy them, they aren't worth anything and they can't be cashed in. Blackjack on Selminha.com is just for fun.
The deal
With your bet down, tap DEAL. Cards come out in table order: one to you, one to the dealer, another to you, and the dealer's second card face down, the hole card. You see both of your cards and only the dealer's up card.
If you're dealt a blackjack and the dealer isn't showing an ace, the hand is settled right away.
Your turn: hit or stand
- HIT: take another card. You can hit as many times as you like.
- STAND: keep your total and pass the turn to the dealer.
- Reach 21 and the hand stands automatically.
- Go over 21 and the hand busts; the bet is lost.
Doubling down and splitting
- Double down
- First two cards of a hand only. You add a second bet equal to the first, get exactly one more card, and the hand is over. Allowed on any total, and after a split too.
- Split
- If your first two cards have the same value, like two 8s or a jack and a king, you can split them into two hands, each with a bet equal to the first. Each hand gets a second card and is played in turn. You can split again, up to four hands.
- Split aces
- Each ace gets one card only, and both hands stand.
To double or split you need enough chips to cover the new bet. These moves can go past the 500 limit: the limit only applies to the opening bet. A 21 made after a split is a regular 21, not a blackjack.
Insurance and dealer blackjack
When the dealer's up card is an ace, you're offered insurance before you play. Insurance costs half your bet and pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack. If not, you lose the insurance and the hand goes on as usual.
With an ace showing, the dealer checks the hole card right after you answer: if it's a blackjack, the hand ends there.
When the dealer's up card is a ten-value card, there is no early check. You play your hand as usual, and if the hole card turns out to make a blackjack, the dealer beats every one of your hands that isn't a blackjack, doubled and split hands included.
The dealer's turn
When you're done, the hole card is turned over. The dealer makes no choices: on 16 or less the dealer hits, and on 17 or more the dealer stands, soft 17 included.
If all of your hands busted, the dealer doesn't need to draw.
Who wins and what it pays
- Your blackjack
- Pays 3 to 2: on a 10 bet you get 15 plus your 10 back.
- Blackjack against blackjack
- Push. Your bet comes back.
- Higher total than the dealer, or the dealer busts
- Pays 1 to 1.
- Same total as the dealer
- Push. Your bet comes back.
- Lower total than the dealer, or you bust
- The dealer takes the bet.
- Insurance, when the dealer has blackjack
- Pays 2 to 1.
When the math comes out to half a chip, as with a blackjack on a 5 bet, the game rounds down.
Table options and the end of the night
- Before you sit down, you pick the card design.
- The Repeat last bet box is checked by default, so the next hand starts with the same bet already down. CLEAR takes it off so you can bet something else.
- On a computer, C hits and P stands.
- CASH OUT gets you up from the table with the chips you have. That number is your score and goes on the top-five board.
- If you run out of chips and can't cover the 5 minimum, the night is over.
Tips for beginners
- On 17 or more, stand: little chance of improving, plenty of chance of busting.
- On 11 or less, hit freely: one card can't bust you.
- On 12 to 16, look at the dealer's up card: a 7 or higher and the dealer is likely to finish strong, so it pays to hit; a 6 or lower and the dealer is the one likely to bust.
- Always split aces and eights, and never split tens: 20 is already a strong hand.
- Turn down insurance: according to basic strategy, it isn't worth it.
Blackjack variations
Blackjack tables vary from place to place: in some the dealer hits soft 17, blackjack pays 6 to 5, you can only double on 9, 10 or 11, the dealer also peeks for blackjack with a ten showing, or there is surrender, where you give up the hand and get half your bet back. At the table on Selminha.com the rules on this page apply: the dealer stands on all 17s, blackjack pays 3 to 2, you can double on any total, and there is no surrender.