Feral Worlds: Tabletop Games · Card Games · Classic rules
Blackjack
Beat the dealer. Stay under 21.
Setup
- Players: one to seven, each against the dealer.
- Chips: everyone starts with 1,000 chips. The minimum bet is 10.
- Shoe: four decks, shuffled together.
- Length: the match is 30 rounds.
How to play
- 1Bet and get your cards. Each round starts with a bet of one or more units of the minimum bet. Every player gets two cards face up, and the dealer gets one face up and one face down.
- 2Blackjack. An ace with a ten-value card as your first two cards is a blackjack. It pays 3 to 2 unless the dealer has one too, which is a tie.
- 3Hit or stand. Hit to take a card, as many as you like. Stand to keep your total. Going over 21 is a bust and loses at once, whatever the dealer does later.
- 4Double or split. Double on your first two cards to double the bet and take exactly one more card. Split two cards of the same value into two hands, each with its own bet equal to the first. Split aces get one card each.
- 5Insurance. When the dealer shows an ace you may take insurance, an extra bet of half your bet that pays 2 to 1 if the face-down card makes a blackjack. With an ace or a ten-value card showing, the dealer checks for blackjack at once.
- 6The dealer plays. When every player is done, the dealer turns over the face-down card and must take cards until the total is 17 or more.
- 7No bust, no win. If you go over 21 your hand loses, even if the dealer busts afterwards.
Winning
After the last round, the player with the most chips wins. Playing alone, you win by ending with more chips than you started with.
Scoring
| Result | What happens to the bet |
|---|---|
| Blackjack (an ace and a ten-value card) | Pays 3 to 2 |
| A higher total than the dealer | Pays even money |
| The dealer busts | Every hand still standing wins |
| The same total as the dealer | A tie: the bet comes back |
| A lower total, or a bust | The bet is lost |
| After the last round | Most chips wins |
The shoe is reshuffled when a quarter of it is left. The game ends after the last round, or when nobody can bet.
Key terms
- Shoe:
- The box of shuffled decks the cards are dealt from.
- Hit:
- Take another card.
- Stand:
- Keep your total and move on.
- Bust:
- Go over 21. The hand loses at once.
- Soft hand:
- A hand where an ace still counts 11.
- Blackjack:
- An ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards.
- Double down:
- Double your bet on two cards and take exactly one more.
- Split:
- Turn a pair into two hands, each with its own bet.
- Insurance:
- An extra bet of half your bet, offered when the dealer shows an ace.
- Push:
- A tie with the dealer. The bet comes back.