JL4 Blackjack Dealer Rules: Card Values, Splits and the Draw

The blackjack dealer rules leave the dealer no choices, and they rest on card values that every other rule in the game builds on. This page puts the values in one table, then shows how splitting a pair and the dealer’s drawing rule use them. It belongs to our set of Filipino card games with a dealer, where blackjack sits beside baccarat and Pai Gow Poker.

Blackjack card values at a glance

Your total is the sum of your cards. The goal is a total closer to 21 than the dealer’s, without going over. Going over 21 is a bust and loses the hand at once.

Soft and hard hands

An ace makes a hand soft or hard. The same two cards can behave very differently.

1. Soft hand. An ace counts as 11. Ace and 6 make a soft 17, and one more card cannot bust you.
2. Hard hand. No ace, or an ace forced to count as 1. A 10, a 6 and an ace make a hard 17.
3. Switching. A soft hand turns hard when taking another card would put the 11 over 21.

Blackjack split: when a pair may be split

A blackjack split turns one pair into two separate hands. You place a second stake equal to the first, and each card becomes the start of its own hand. The dealer then plays the usual round against both.

Whether split hands may be split again, doubled or played after an ace is also a table rule. Open the table’s info screen and read it before you put the second stake down.

Blackjack dealer rules: when the dealer draws or stands

The dealer has no choices. The table prints a fixed rule, and the dealer follows it on every hand. The usual shape is that the dealer draws on a low total and stands from a set total up.

1. The dealer shows one card face up and takes the second after the players act.
2. If the dealer’s total is under the table’s standing number, the dealer draws another card.
3. At or above that number the dealer stands, and your total is compared.
4. The standing number and how a soft 17 is treated are printed on the table.

Because the dealer’s play is fixed, your only decisions are your own: hit, stand, split or double, where the table allows them.

Where to go next

1. Compare how online baccarat counts to 9.
2. See how the Pai Gow Poker hands are set from seven cards.
3. Open the Cards tab in the JL4 lobby, search blackjack by name, and read the table’s info screen.

Blackjack card values carry over to every game with a target total. You must be 21 or older to play.