What are the Blackjack Player actions?

What are the blackjack player actions? The player has 5 different action options in a standard blackjack game:

Blackjack Player Actions

Stand

Sometimes called ‘stay’ this simply means when the player has a good-enough hand and they chose to stop and not get any more cards. The players has to simply tell the dealer that they want to stand/stay and they will not be dealt any more cards. The current cards will make their final count.

When does a player Stand? In a few scenarios:

when their hand is good-enough and is likely to beat the dealer’s hand. For example when the player gets 18, 19 or 20.
when the player thinks the dealer is likely to bust, regardless their own cards. For example when the player has 12 or 13 but the dealer shows a 5 or 6 and the likelihood of dealer busting is higher.

Hit

Another blackjack player actions is Hit, which means that a player wants more cards. They may want more cards to hit a blackjack or simply improve their chances to win the hand.

When does a player hit? Here are a couple examples:

The player has a 2 cards that sum up 10 or less and the dealer shows a 10/Face or an A. Then it’s likely the dealer will get a good hand without busting, while the player has no risk of hitting another card, since it is not possible to bust.
The player has 2 cards that sum up a bit more than 10 but dealer shows a 10 or a Face. Let’s say the player shows a total of 12 while the dealer shows a 10. The player could still choose to hit another card even if there is a chance they will bust. They will chose to do so because the dealer is likely they will have a better hand then them as they already have a 10 on the first card.

Double

Double means that the player is confident they will win the hand and they choose to double the size of the bet.

When does a player double his blackjack hand?

when the player thinks they will get very close to 21 by hitting another card while the dealer has a good chance they will bust. For example, the player must have 2 cards which add up to 10 or 11 (i.e 2 & 8, 4 & 7 etc) while the dealer shows a 5 or a 6. The player is then doubling up their bet because the probability is that their next card will get them very close to 21 (by hitting a 10, F, A etc) and even if that may not be the case, showing a 5 or 6, the dealer has a good chance of busing anyway

Split

Split is when the player has the same card twice and they choose to split their hand into 2 different hands. In order to split, the player must double the size of their bet, hence the player will only do so when they have a good theoretical chance of winning the hand.

When does a player split their hand at blackjack?

A player will split their hand when 2 conditions are met: their first 2 cards are the same value and usually a high value – like 8 or 9. The dealer has a 5 or a 6, hence a high likelihood they will bust
A player should not split his pair if the dealer shows a 10 or an A, since in that case the player doubles the risk but the probability of the dealer hitting close to 21 remains still very high.
Lastly, a player should not split its 10s – the theory says that the player should not split 10s as it is likely an already winning hand, so there is very little value in risking it. However, some players choose to do so, especially if the dealer shows a middle card like a 5 or a 6. This is not the optimal decision and it is somewhat against table etiquette – some players will be offended by such a move. You shouldn’t worry about other players being offended by your moves, but nevertheless it may destroy the fun at the table :)

Surrender

Some casinos allow blackjack players to surrender their hands for half of their bet. If the player thinks their hand is likely going to lose, they have the option to minimize their losses by surrendering and getting half of their bet size back.

When should a player do surrender?

when the dealer shows a high card like 10, Face or A while the player has a hand totaling 12, 13, 14. In that case the probability is that the dealer will hit very close to 21 while the player should in theory hit, meaning a fair chance they will bust.

How to Play Blackjack?

For more tips and advices on how to optimize your blackjack play or more info about blackjack player actions, visit our ‘how to play blackjack‘ section. Or check this great article about how online blackjack is changing the odds.