CASINO PARTY
How to Deal Blackjack
Use two decks shuffled together. If there are less than about 25 cards (a quarter of the combined deck) at the start of the game, reshuffle the decks. Otherwise, you can deal from the cards unused in previous games. If you run out of cards in the middle of a game, reshuffle the used cards and continue to deal.
Before each game, all players must place a bet. All bets must be in multiples of $10 (i.e., $10, $20, $30, etc). The easiest way to do this is to bet two chips of the same color; if the player bets some other combination of chips, try to check to make sure it is legal.
Deal one face-down card to each player in a clockwise direction, starting with the player on your left and ending with a card to yourself. Deal a second card face-up to each player, ending with a face-up card to yourself.
If your up card is an ace, ask if anyone wants insurance. If anyone says yes, they must place an insurance bet of half of their original bet. (This is why the original bet must be a multiple of $10.) After all insurance bets are placed, check if you have blackjack (meaning your down card is a ten, jack, queen, or king). If so, the hand is over; anyone who has taken insurance keeps all their chips, while anyone who did not take insurance loses their original bet unless they have blackjack also, in which case they keep their bet. If you do not have blackjack, collect all insurance bets and continue the hand.
Each player then plays in turn, starting with the player on your left.
If the player has blackjack (an ace plus a 10-point card), they may turn it up immediately. Pay blackjack at 3-2 odds. (This means a player who bet $10 keeps their bet and gets paid an additional $15.)
The player may stand. In this case, proceed to the next player.
The player may ask to draw a card. In this case, give them a new card face up. The player may continue drawing cards or stop at any time. If the player's up-cards exceed 21, you may collect their bet immediately.
If the player has not drawn any cards, they may double down by doubling their original bet. In this case, give them one more card face up, for a total of three cards. They may not draw any additional cards.
If the player has not drawn any cards, they may split their hand by turning over their down card, which must match their up card. They must then match their original bet such that each card has the same bet. You then deal one face-down card on each of the up cards, creating two separate hands. The player then plays first one hand, then the other, as above, except that the player may not split either of the split hands.
An additional caveat for split hands: if the split cards are aces, the player receives one down card for each hand but cannot draw additional cards. Furthermore, if either of the split hands gets blackjack, pay even odds instead of 3-2.
After each player has played their hand, turn over your down card. If the sum of your cards is 16 or less, draw. If the sum is 17 or greater, stop. Count any aces as 11 unless your total is greater than 21, in which case count the ace as 1.
Once you have finished drawing, if you have more than 21 points, you have busted; pay all players who have 21 or less at even odds. (Any player with blackjack should already have been paid at 3-2.) If you do not bust, pay any player who has more points but less than 21, and collect from any player who has fewer points. Any player that ties the dealer keeps their original bet; this is called a push.
Note: if there are people around your table who would like to play but all seats are taken, occasionally encourage the seated players to consider taking a break or trying the roulette or craps table.
