- Learning curve
- Anyone can play
- At the table
- Up to 8 players
Why it’s fun
Every hand is a small decision with a real payoff — hit, stand, double down. Within twenty minutes, guests who have never touched a card are talking strategy like regulars.
How to play
You're playing against the dealer, not against the other people at the table. Everyone sitting there can win at the same time.
The goal is to finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. Go over and you lose straight away, before the dealer even plays their hand. That's called going bust.
What the cards are worth. Number cards are worth their number. Jacks, queens and kings are all worth ten. An ace is worth eleven, or one if eleven would bust you. You never have to choose — it counts whichever way helps you.
The deal. You get two cards face up. The dealer takes two as well, one face up and one face down.
Your turn. Hit takes another card, and you can keep hitting as long as you like. Stand ends your turn and keeps the total you've got. Double down doubles your bet in exchange for exactly one more card, and then your turn is over. Split is only offered when your first two cards are a pair, and it separates them into two hands with their own bets.
The dealer's turn. Once everyone has finished, the dealer turns over their face-down card. They have no choices to make. They must keep taking cards until they reach at least 17, and they must stop as soon as they do.
How it ends. Beat the dealer's total and you win. Finish lower and you lose. Finish level and it's a push — nobody wins and your bet comes back. If the dealer busts, everyone still in the hand wins.
An ace alongside any ten-value card on your first two cards is a blackjack. It beats a plain 21 and it pays more.
Nobody expects you to arrive knowing this. Our dealers teach while they deal, and most guests pick a game up in a hand or two.