How to Deal Blackjack: Dealer Procedure and Table Rules
Dealing blackjack follows a fixed sequence: the dealer shuffles, players place bets, two cards go to each player and two to the dealer with one dealer card face down, then players act in turn before the dealer reveals the hidden card and draws by a set house rule. Nothing about the order changes from table to table — only the specific house rules on doubling, splitting and the dealer's soft 17 do.
The deal, step by step
The dealer shuffles the shoe first, sometimes with the help of a shuffling machine for continuous play. Once betting is open, each player places a blackjack bet within the table's posted minimum and maximum. The dealer then deals two cards to every player and two to themselves, working left to right, one card at a time. One of the dealer's two cards is dealt face up, the other stays face down — this is the hole card, and it is not looked at until the round reaches the dealer's turn.
With cards out, the dealer checks for a blackjack if the face-up card is an ace or a ten-value card, since some rulesets allow a peek at this stage. If the dealer has blackjack, the round ends immediately except for players who also hold blackjack, which pushes. If not, play moves to the players.
Player decisions
The player acts first, and this is where most of the game's decision-making sits. The standard choices are:
- Hit — take another card, hoping to get closer to 21 without going over.
- Stand — keep the current total and end the turn.
- Double down — double the bet, take exactly one more card, then stand, usually allowed only on the first two cards.
- Split — when the first two cards match in value, separate them into two hands, each with its own bet, and play them independently.
Each player at the table completes their hand before the dealer moves to the next seat. Going over 21 at any point busts the hand immediately, and the bet is lost regardless of what the dealer ends up holding.
The dealer's turn
Once every player has finished, the dealer turns the hole card face up. From here the dealer has no choices to make — the house rule dictates every draw. The common standard is to hit any total of 16 or less and stand on 17 or higher. Some tables specify that the dealer hits a soft 17 (an ace counted as 11 alongside other cards adding to 6), which slightly raises the house edge compared with standing on soft 17. This rule is printed on the table felt or in the game's rules card, so it's worth a glance before sitting down.
After the dealer's hand is complete, each remaining player hand is compared against it. A higher total than the dealer's wins, a lower total loses, and equal totals push, with the original bet returned. Blackjack — an ace with a ten-value card on the first two cards — typically pays out at a higher rate than a standard win, though the exact ratio is set by the table and shown on its felt.
Betting and payout basics
A standard win pays even money — a $10 bet returns $10 in winnings. Blackjack usually pays more than even money, commonly at a ratio printed directly on the table layout. Doubling down and splitting require an additional bet equal to the original, placed in a marked spot near the first wager. None of these payout ratios are guesses — the table felt and the game's rules card state them exactly, and that's the only place to confirm figures for a specific table.
Common dealing mistakes at the table
New dealers and new players both trip up on similar points. A frequent one is acting out of turn — reaching for a card or placing a bet before the dealer signals it's time. Another is mishandling a split, since some tables restrict re-splitting or limit doubling after a split; the rules card at the table settles any doubt. Players sometimes assume the dealer's hole card is visible information they can react to, when in fact only the face-up card should influence a decision until the reveal. Miscounting a soft hand — treating an ace as always 11 rather than switching to 1 when the total would otherwise bust — is another common slip that changes a decision from hit to stand incorrectly.
House edge and randomness
The order of cards in a shuffled shoe is random and independent of any previous round. No sequence of past hands makes a particular card more or less likely to appear next, and no betting pattern or timing changes the odds built into the rules. The house edge in blackjack comes from the fixed dealing procedure — particularly the fact that a player busting loses immediately even if the dealer later busts too — not from anything a dealer does differently hand to hand. Exact house edge figures vary by ruleset and are not something a general explanation can state precisely; they depend on the number of decks, the soft 17 rule, and payout ratios specific to each table. These are adult games, and the rules described here apply wherever blackjack is dealt under standard casino procedure.
| Rule variant | Effect on the house edge |
|---|---|
| Dealer stands on soft 17 | Slightly better for the player than hitting soft 17 |
| Blackjack pays 3:2 | Standard payout, lower edge than reduced ratios |
| Blackjack pays 6:5 | Raises the house edge noticeably compared with 3:2 |
| Doubling allowed on any two cards | More favourable than restricting doubling to 9–11 only |
| Re-splitting aces allowed | Small player advantage compared with no re-split |
Frequent questions
Does the dealer look at their hole card before players act?
Only in games with a peek rule, and only to check for a dealer blackjack when the face-up card is an ace or ten. If no blackjack is found, or the table doesn't use a peek at all, the hole card stays hidden until every player has finished acting.
What happens if both the player and dealer bust?
The player's bet is already lost the moment their hand goes over 21, before the dealer even draws. A dealer bust afterwards has no effect on a hand that already busted — the comparison stage only applies to hands still in play.
Can a dealer choose to stand early on a low total?
No. The dealer's draws are fixed by the house rule printed at the table, typically hitting to 17. There is no discretion involved, which is different from player decisions and is the point of having a standard procedure at all.
Why do some tables pay blackjack less than others?
Payout ratios for blackjack are set by the house and vary by table, most commonly 3:2 but sometimes 6:5 or other ratios on certain machines or promotional layouts. The ratio in use is stated on the table felt, and checking it before betting is the only reliable way to know what a blackjack will actually pay.