Blackjack Simulator: Free Blackjack With Strategy Hints

The rules of this table

Six decks, reshuffled when three quarters of the shoe have been dealt.
Blackjack pays 3 to 2; insurance pays 2 to 1.
The dealer checks for blackjack with an Ace or a ten showing, and stands on every 17, soft 17 included.
Double on any first two cards, also after a split.
Split up to four hands. Split Aces get one card each and cannot be split again.
No surrender. These are the rules of most online tables.

How to play blackjack

Build your bet with the chips, then press Deal.
You get two cards face up; the dealer shows one and keeps one face down.
Get as close to 21 as you can without going over: hit for another card, stand to keep your total, double to double the bet for exactly one more card, or split a pair into two hands.
The dealer turns the hidden card and draws until reaching 17 or more.
Beat the dealer’s total without busting and you win even money; a blackjack (Ace and a ten-value card) pays 3 to 2.

Card values

Cards 2 to 10 count their number, Jacks, Queens and Kings count 10, and an Ace counts 1 or 11, whichever helps. A hand with an Ace counted as 11 is called soft: a soft 17 (Ace-6) cannot bust on the next card.

Should you take insurance?

When the dealer shows an Ace you may insure half your bet against a dealer blackjack. From a full six-deck shoe, the hidden card is a ten 96 times out of 311, or 30.9%, while the bet pays 2 to 1: on average it loses 7.4% of what you put on it. Basic strategy never takes it.

How often the dealer busts

Dealer shows	Dealer busts
2	35.3%
3	37.4%
4	39.5%
5	41.8%
6	42.2%
7	26.2%
8	24.4%
9	22.9%
10	21.3%
Ace	11.5%

Measured on 200 million dealer hands with this table’s rules (stands on soft 17). A dealer blackjack counts as not busting.

What the house keeps

Played with basic strategy, this table keeps 0.42% of the money you bet, measured on 200 million hands with the same engine that runs the game. The edge comes from one rule: you play first, and if you bust you lose even when the dealer busts too.

Over those hands, 43.4% of rounds ended ahead, 8.8% level and 47.9% behind. Doubles and blackjacks paying more than even money are what bring the balance back close to even.

Blackjack simulator: questions

Is this blackjack simulator free?

Yes. You play with 5,000 in play chips that have no cash value, without an account or a download, and you can reset the balance at any time.

What do the strategy hints do?

With hints on, the right move for your hand lights up and the table tells you when a decision differed from basic strategy. Your accuracy is counted either way.

Is the shuffle fair?

Each shoe is shuffled with your browser’s secure random generator (crypto.getRandomValues). The shoe counter shows how many cards are left before the next shuffle.

Can I practise card counting here?

The shoe is dealt to 75% and the counter shows the cards left, so you can keep a running count. The table does not show a count for you.