How to Play Blackjack on Stake

How to Play Blackjack Online? - Ultimate Guide to Blackjack & Strategies to Win

Blackjack is one of the world’s oldest and most-loved casino games. Dating back to around 1700 in France, where it was known as vingt-et-un (21), its popularity comes from how easy and engaging it is to play.

This article explains all you need to know about playing the game and is one of our extensive how-to guides, which help you get the most from your gaming entertainment at Stake.com.

What is Blackjack?

Blackjack is a popular table game at Stake Casino, loved by many blackjack players around the world in both traditional brick-and-mortar and online casinos.

In its simplest form, the idea of blackjack is to get a total closer to 21 than the dealer or hold any score of 21 or below, should the dealer bust.

Stake offers all blackjack games, from computerised dealer tables to live dealer blackjack, where you sit down and play against a real dealer with other players. It’s the closest you’ll get to playing in a real casino.

History of Blackjack & Gameplay

Blackjack has long been one of the most loved casino games in the world, enjoyed by players at both land-based and online casinos for centuries! What makes this game particularly interesting is that the history is not well-known and remains up for debate.

Considering what we currently know, the first mention of the game of blackjack appeared in the 17th century. Or at least, a game that appears to be similar. A Spanish story by the name of Rinconete y Cortadillo mentions a game that some believe to be blackjack, but many others say that the game dates back to Ancient Egypt.

In the 18th century, other theories about the game’s origins came to light. One of the most popular theories was formed around a game called Vingt-et-Un, which started in France. It’s described as a popular card game in the book ‘Round Games with Cards’, which was written by Baxter Wray in 1891.

After this popular game left France, it made its way to America, where it was soon found in casinos and became known as Twenty One - a name that many still use today.

How to Play Blackjack?

You’re dealt two cards while the dealer also gets two, but only one of them is face-up. Add the value of your two cards and decide whether you want to stand or hit and take another card.

When you’re done, the dealer reveals their other hand (the downcard, otherwise known as the hole card) and plays it to a conclusion. You win if your total is closer to 21 or the dealer busts. If you bust, you lose your bet.

Basic Blackjack Rules & Tips for Beginners

Like in other casino table games, you must place your bet before the cards are dealt. Twos to tens play at face value; kings, queens and jacks are also worth ten, while an ace is worth one or 11.

Each player at the table plays their hand in turn, standing or hitting to take one or more cards. The best hand is called a natural blackjack, where you’re dealt a 10 (a picture card or a 10) and an ace, making an unbeatable 21.

On all other winning hands, you receive a 1:1 payout; with a natural blackjack, your payout will be 3:2.

Objectives of Blackjack

Unlike other casino-style card games, where you try to beat other players, the goal of blackjack is all about beating the dealer. It’s a game of incomplete information because you only get to see one of the dealer’s cards while you make your playing decisions.

Ultimately, you need to get closer to 21 than the dealer without busting. Or you can stand and hope the dealer busts.

While that’s the simple aim of a single hand, the idea of a gaming session is to try and come out with a profit, something you have a better chance of doing at Stake Casino if you continue reading for some top tips.

Types of Blackjack Games

We’re always working on bringing new games to Stake.com, so you’ll find all sorts of online blackjack variations to keep you entertained. Read our blog on American vs European Blackjack to learn the difference between these versions and discover new Blackjack games.

As well as different variants, there are two key ways to enjoy your blackjack games: playing computerised tables that use real number generators to deploy the cards fairly or trying our live dealer blackjack tables in our live casino, which also offers baccarat and roulette games.

Some of the games you can play at Stake Casino now include:

Blackjack Bet Types & Advanced Betting Options

When playing blackjack, there’s a limited number of bet types available, as the game is fairly straightforward. Here are the most common bet types and side bets available:

Hit - With this bet, you are simply setting your wager and receiving another card after the initial cards have been dealt.
Split Pairs - When splitting pairs, you take 2 cards of the same value and split them into 2 new hands. When you split, you must place a second bet equal to your original wager.
Split Aces - When splitting aces, you get 1 additional card for each ace, and you can’t hit again. You must also place an additional bet.
Insurance - Blackjack insurance bets are only available when the dealer’s hand is revealed and he has an ace card. If you place this insurance bet, you are betting that the dealer will land a Blackjack. It’s paid out at 2:1 if you win.
Doubling Down - This allows you to double your bet in the middle of playing a hand to potentially boost your win, but it’s also a risky bet that must be made wisely.

How to Play Blackjack Online at Stake Casino?

If you can’t wait to dive into the action of playing blackjack, it’s easy when playing at Stake Casino! Getting started is as simple as following a few steps.

Step 1: Sign up at Stake.com and make a deposit into your account. You can deposit either local currency or crypto - or both!
Step 2: Make your way to the casino category and find a blackjack game. You can choose to play a Stake Original blackjack game, live blackjack, and much more.
Step 3: Set your playing budget and use our responsible gambling tools to your advantage.
Step 4: Learn all about the smart strategies and betting systems in place to make the most of every wager. If you're a beginner, start with our live casino games guide.
Step 5: Test your skills and play your favourite blackjack title!

Whether you’re playing on your desktop or betting on the go via a mobile device, you can rest assured that Stake Casino will provide the best experience possible.

Best Blackjack Strategies, Tips & Tricks to Win

The basic betting strategy to grasp in all blackjack games is that the next card to come out of the deck is most likely a 10-value face card.

So look at the dealer’s up-card. If it is a poor card for them, like a four, five or six, you can assume the down card is a ten, and their total is 14, 15 or 16. In this case, they must take another card, and with that comes a high risk of going bust. Here, you can stand on any total over 11 – why risk busting yourself if that’s what you think the dealer will do?

In the above scenario, and when you have a strong starting total like eight, nine, ten or 11, you can double down because you’ll be getting more chips in the hand to win if and when the dealer goes over 21.

Reversing this logic, if the dealer’s up-card is strong, like a nine or a ten, you must assume their other card is a ten, so you need to be more daring and take another card to try and nudge your total closer to 21.

How to Beat the Dealer?

Blackjack is a game of chance, so no one can guarantee that you can beat the dealer. However, some ways of playing the game greatly reduce the house edge, bringing it down from around 2% to as little as 0.5%. That means you’ll be playing with a return to player (RTP) percentage of a whopping 99.50%!

That’s one of the lowest house edges of any of our casino games and means that, statistically, you can expect to win back 99.50 from every 100 you bet over the long term. With a wafer-thin house advantage, you can see how easy it might be to win some of your blackjack games.

As a rule of thumb, the key to successful blackjack betting is to remember that the most likely value of the next card will be ten since all tens, jacks, queens and kings in the deck have that value.

This will help you make better decisions about whether to take another card. And it will guide you in predicting the overall value of the dealer’s two starting cards.

Hard or Soft Hand?

A hard hand in blackjack contains no ace. So, a ten and an eight is a hard hand of 18. But a soft hand is one containing an ace. If you have an ace and a seven, you have a soft 18 (or you can elect to play it as a total of 8 and take another card).

Why does this matter? Well, if the dealer shows strength, perhaps with an up-card of a nine or a ten, you might think a soft 18 is not strong enough to win, and play it as a total of eight, hoping to improve to a total of 19, 20 or 21.

If you think this all sounds a little complicated, it’s not. To help, you’ll find plenty of free blackjack hand charts online, advising on the best way to play any combination of starting hands. You can also learn more with our online casino guide, our table game guide, or our guide to casino card games at Stake.com. We also have guides and blackjack resources on our blog, including a rundown on card counting and our best tips on when to hit, stand, double down or split.

For help developing a betting blackjack strategy of your own, check out our different guides. We have tips on popular betting systems like positive and negative progressions, the Fibonacci system, the Martingale strategy, the 1-3-2-6 sequence, the Paroli system and more!

How to Deposit Funds to Play Blackjack Online?

To start playing, make a deposit using local currency or crypto. The following local currencies are all supported at Stake: ARS, CLP, CAD, VND, INR, and TRY. You can find more information about our local currency options on our community forum, as well as our local currency payment guide.

If crypto has caught your eye, you can deposit any of the following coins into your account: BTC, ETH, USDT, EOS, Doge, LTC, SOL, TRX and more. Using a payment system like Mesh makes this process even easier! For the full list of available cryptocurrencies, our recommendations, and our guide for choosing the right coin for you, be sure to visit our blog. To buy your chosen crypto, use fast and reliable crypto exchange platforms such as Moonpay and Swapped.com .

If you’re in need of help, our support team is available 24/7 to assist with issues like depositing and withdrawing units and more. They can also help you better understand how our Stake Vault works to securely store your funds online. For all the information you need, read our crypto security guide.

Whether you’re on a winning streak, learning to count cards, or attempting to learn more about wagering requirements, always remember to gamble responsibly. You can find out how to stay in control with our Stake Smart guidelines. Use our monthly budget calculator and betting limit guide to set up bankroll management that works for you and your budget.

Casino Promotions, Bonuses & Stake VIP Club

If you want even more exciting ways to enjoy online gambling at Stake Casino, be sure to check out our top casino bonuses and ongoing promotions!

Keep an eye on our casino promotions page and Stake Community promotions for ongoing Blackjack specific challenges. Learn how to sign up to the Stake Community Forum, and our best tips for winning big on Stake Community over on our blog.

Our regular players can also look forward to receiving big rewards when joining our VIP Club. The exclusive rewards up for grabs include rakeback bonuses, reload offers, and even a personal VIP host as you climb the levels. To learn more, take a look at our VIP FAQs post.

Casino How to Guides