How the Dealer Plays His Hand

The dealer must play his hand in a specific way, with no choices allowed. There are two popular rule variations that determine what totals the dealer must draw to.

In any given casino, you can tell which rule is in effect by looking at the blackjack tabletop. It should be clearly labeled with one of these rules: “Dealer stands on all 17s”: This is the most common rule. In this case, the dealer must continue to take cards (“hit”) until his total is 17 or greater. The dealer has no choices to make in the play of his hand. He cannot split pairs, but must instead simply hit until he reaches at least 17 or busts by going over 21.

If both a player and the dealer make blackjack, the hand is a tie or push. The dealer will usually pay your winning blackjack bet immediately when it is your turn to play. In the face down games, this means that you should show the blackjack to the dealer at that time.