Learn the games

Free guides to the most popular casino card and table games. Understand the rules and the math before you ever play for real.

The rules in 60 seconds

You play against the dealer. Both get two cards; one of the dealer's is hidden. Number cards are face value, face cards are 10, and an Ace is 1 or 11 — whichever helps you more.

Hit — take another card.
Stand — keep your total.
Double — double your bet, take exactly one more card, then stand.
Split — if you have a pair, split it into two hands for an extra bet.

Go over 21 and you bust (lose instantly). Closest to 21 wins. Blackjack — an Ace plus a 10 on the first two cards — usually pays 3:2.

Basic strategy — when to hit, stand or double

Basic strategy is the mathematically best move for every hand against every dealer card. Playing it perfectly cuts the house edge to roughly 0.5%. Find your hand on the left, the dealer's face-up card on top.

Hard totals (no Ace, or Ace counts as 1)

You \ Dealer	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
17+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
5–8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H

HHitSStandDDoublePSplit

Soft totals (Ace counts as 11)

You \ Dealer	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,8	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,7	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A,6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,4–5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,2–3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H

HHitSStandDDoublePSplit

Pairs (when to split)

You \ Dealer	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9,9	P	P	P	P	P	S	P	P	S	S
8,8	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P
7,7	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
6,6	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
2–3,2–3	P	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H

HHitSStandDDoublePSplit

Three rules to memorize first

Always double on 11.
Always split Aces and 8s — never split 10s or 5s.
Stand on 12–16 when the dealer shows 2–6 (they bust often); hit against 7–Ace.

Card counting — how Hi-Lo works

Card counting tracks whether the remaining shoe is rich in high cards (10s and Aces), which favor the player: more blackjacks, more dealer busts, and better double-downs.

2, 3, 4, 5, 6

7, 8, 9

−1

10, J, Q, K, A

Keep the running count. Start at 0 and add or subtract for every card you see dealt.
Convert to the true count. Divide the running count by the number of decks left in the shoe. A +6 with 3 decks left is a true count of +2.
Bet more when the count is high. At true count +2 or more, the shoe favors you — raise your bet. At low or negative counts, bet the minimum.

Example: you see a 5 (+1), a King (−1) and a 3 (+1) — the running count is +1.

Counting is legal but casinos can refuse to let you play. It only works in live games with a physical shoe and no continuous shuffler — online blackjack reshuffles every hand, so counting is impossible there.

18+ · Spela ansvarsfullt

These guides are educational. No strategy removes the house edge, and card counting only works in specific live games — never online. If gambling stops being fun, visit Stödlinjen.se (020-81 91 00) or Spelpaus.se. Read more on our responsible gambling page.

18+Spela ansvarsfullt · Spelpaus.se · Stödlinjen.se (020-81 91 00) · Responsible gambling

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