Blackjack Player Options

When playing Blackjack, players are initially dealt two cards, face up. After this initial deal, the players have several options as to what they can do next. Here are the various choices that players have:

Hit
If a player does not think his hand is good enough to challenge the dealer’s, he may ask for another card. He can do this by making a scratching motion, or by asking for a ‘hit.’

Stand
A player may feel that his hand has a sufficiently high score. If so, he wants to ‘stand.’ The player can let the dealer know that he wants to ‘stand’ by making a waving motion toward the dealer.

Double Down
The rules for a ‘double down’ vary slightly between the United States and the United Kingdom. The basic premise behind a ‘double down’ is that a person can double his initial bet in exchange for only one more card. In the United Kingdom a player can ‘double down’ only if the players initial two cards total 9, 10, or 11. But, in the United States, a player can ‘double down’ no matter what his initial two cards total—unless he has a score of 21. In either country, a player can only choose to do a ‘double down’ after the initial deal; if he has taken a ‘hit,’ he can no longer do a ‘double down.’

Pair Splitting
When a player is dealt his initial two cards, sometimes he may be dealt a pair. If this is the case, the player can opt to split the pair. Any pair can be split in the United States; however, in the United Kingdom, pairs of 4, 5, and 10 may not be split. If aces are split, only one card may be added to each of the hands—and, if the card added happens to have a value of 10, this is not considered a Blackjack. Players only have an opportunity to get a Blackjack with their initial two cards, so if this happens in a pair split it is simply considered a score of 21.
When splitting a pair, the player must match the bet he made for the first hand into his betting square. Players have twice the opportunity to win with a pair split; however, they also have twice the chance to lose.

Insurance
If the dealer’s hand is showing an ace and a player has Blackjack, he may obtain insurance. The player makes an additional bet for an amount equal to half of what his initial bet was. Then, if the dealer has Blackjack, the player loses his initial bet, but the insurance bet pays out 2 to 1. If the dealer does not have Blackjack, the player loses the insurance bet, but he still wins his initial bet—and, since it is a Blackjack, it pays 3 to 2. Insurance is considered to be a bad bet for players because it has a house edge to it.

Surrender
Many casinos do not offer this option. But if a casino does offer it, this can be a good option for some players. There is an early surrender, meaning before the dealer has looked at his second card, and a late surrender, which is after he has looked at the card. Surrender is allowed in specific circumstances only, and the player must clearly state to the dealer that he wants to surrender. Surrender is generally suggested as a good idea in either of these situations:
Surrender option: If the player has cards totaling 16 (either 9-7 or 10-6 or face card-6) and the dealer’s face up card is either an ace, face card, 10, or 9
Surrender option: If the player has cards totaling 15 (either 10-5 or face card-5) and the dealer’s face up card is either a face card or a 10

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