How do you Deal Cards in Blackjack?

Whether it’s at land-based or USA online casinos, there is no denying that blackjack is one of the most popular casino games. It’s easy to play and one of the most thrilling card games, plus you have a good chance of winning money due to the games’ high RTP.

Using good bankroll management and blackjack strategy will ensure you always get the best outcome.

It’s one thing to play blackjack but being a blackjack dealer is a bit more difficult to master. Not only do you need to know the rules of blackjack better than everyone at the table, but you will also need to be focused on the game the entire time.

Becoming a master croupier and dealing blackjack games at Vegas casinos takes months of experience. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t learn the basics of blackjack dealing. If you don’t already understand the game, your first step is to figure out the basics of how to play blackjack at online casinos via their free play option.

Now that you have the fundamentals down, our easy guide on how to deal cards in blackjack is a good starting point on your journey toward becoming a professional croupier.

Here are the steps to follow:

1) Shuffle the deck

As with all card games, to ensure a fair playing field the deck of cards must be shuffled. If you are using more than one deck of cards, ensure that you shuffle all the cards thoroughly and use techniques to ensure randomness.

When playing online blackjack for real money, shuffling is simulated through the use of random number generators which ensure that the hands dealt are completely random. However, in real life, you will have to ensure cards are random yourself.

Once you are satisfied that you have completely shuffled all the cards you are now ready to deal. For those that are using a shoe, place the cards in a face-down position ready for you to pull them out once you begin dealing.

If you want to take shuffling to the next level, you can purchase a card deck shuffling machine that will do this step for you.

2) Call for players to place their bets

Before dealing starts, the first round of betting commences. Players will place their wager in their betting box, and once all bets are in, the dealer must announce that no more bets are allowed.

The players who have not placed any wagers will not be able to join in at a later stage and will have to wait for the round to end before they can join in on the fun.

3) Start dealing the cards

Blackjack dealer in action.

The dealer begins dealing each player one card in the face-up position, starting from left to right. Take out one card and place it in the face-up position in front of the player.

You have a bit of room to add your own “spice” to your dealing technique here, but the most common method is to slide it to the player and flip it over in front of him. You repeat this until each player has one card.

4) Deal to yourself and finish dealing to the players

After dealing each player one card face up, you will then deal yourself one card face down in the dealers’ box. You will then deal the second card to the players, again in the face-up position, and slide it to the player so that both card values are visible. Once each player has two face-up cards, you will then deal yourself one card face-up. This card is referred to as the dealer’s up card.

5) Call for insurance and bet collection

If the dealer’s up card is an ace, you proceed by asking players whether they would like to take insurance. An insurance wager is equal to half of the original wager made by the player in the first betting round. After all insurance bets are finished, reveal the face-down card to show whether you have a blackjack hand.

If you do have a blackjack hand, then you pay out the insurance bets 2 to 1. If another player has blackjack together with the dealer, the player keeps their money (also known as a “push”). If you do not have blackjack, then you collect the insurance bets and continue to the next step.

6) Allow players to either split, double down, hit or stand

Starting from left to right, each player’s hand is now on the table and they are given the chance to take an action. Each player is likely to take an action depending on the blackjack betting strategy they are using. Players may either surrender, double down, stand, or hit.

• Surrender – player forfeits, and the dealer collects half their bet.
• Double down – the player receives one additional card and must double their original bet. This card is dealt in the sideways position.
• Stand – If the player stands, you skip them and move on to the player to their right.

  Players can split, double down, hit or stand in blackjack.

• Hit – Add another card to the player’s hand. If their hand goes over 21, their money is collected and you proceed with the next player. If the player does not bust, they can hit again until they bust or stand.
• Split – If the player has a pair, they may choose to split. The player then doubles their bet by placing a second wager, after which the dealer deals a card to the player’s hand on his left. Once the dealer has finished dealing with this hand, they proceed with dealing with the player’s remaining hand. A player can split multiple times if they keep getting pairs.

7) Finish up the round

As blackjack is essentially a card game played against the dealer, the spotlight is now on you. After each player has played their respective hands, the dealer turns over the down card and pushes his hand to their right. The dealer deals more cards to the left of their hand until the value of the hand is higher than 17. The rules for the dealer hand are simple. If the hand is lower than 17, they hit, if it is higher than 17 then they stand. If the dealer’s hand busts, then everyone with a live bet on the table will win!

If the dealer does not bust, then the player’s cards are compared against the dealer’s hand. If the player has a higher number than the dealer, they win, if a lower number, then they lose, and if the same value, then it is a push, and the bet isn’t lost.

Once you are done you can now collect all the cards and start the process again. If you are still feeling a bit unsure about the rules and stages of the betting rounds, we would recommend taking a look at some Blackjack tips for beginners to answer any questions you may have.