The Player's Choices in Blackjack

After the bets have been placed and the dealer has dealt two cards to each players and revealed his first card, the blackjack players go on to make their play decisions.

Surrender is one of the least common decisions, offering the you the choice to fold your hand, at the cost of half of the original bet. Once you draw a third card, or split, or double down, giving in is no longer an option. There are two kinds of surrender: early and late. In an early surrender game, a player can choose to give in before the dealer checks his cards for a blackjack. The more usual distinction is late surrender, where the dealer first checks for blackjack, and he will allow players to surrender only if he does not have a blackjack.

The most common decision a player must make is whether to draw another card ("hit"), or stop at the current hand ("stand"). In the face-up game you point out that you want another card by using the table behind your cards with one finger. If you go over 21, or "bust", the dealer will gather your bet, and eliminate your cards from the table immediately. When you decide not to move on , you have to wave your hand in a horizontal motion over your cards.

Doubling Down can only be done with a two card hand, before another card has been drawn. Doubling down allows you to double your bet and receive one, and only one, additional card to the hand. When doubling you have place an additional bet next to the original bet.

When you are dealt a matching pair of cards you have the ability to split the hand into two separate hands, and play them independently. When splitting pairs you must place a matching bet beside the original bet in the circle. If you get additional pairs most casinos will allow you to resplit. When splitting Aces the online casino restricts you to draw only one additional card on each Ace.