Player Options

There are several actions that the player could take when they're trying to determine their hand. Staying is one of them. Staying is when the player wants to stay with what they have. They don't want another card. They want to stay with the total that they have. Now, typically the player will stay if they have a total of 17 through 21.

And if the player wants to stay, they have to show a hand signal. So, if you have, let's say 17, for example, and you want to stay on 17, you're going to put your hand out, flat, like so. You can either put your fingers together or you could spread them. It's up to you and you're going to wave the bet off. You're going to wave to the dealer. And this little wave right here indicates that the player wants to stay with that. Some people give a short wave, so they'll just do real quick. Any kind of movement beside or behind the player's bet is acceptable. You don't want the player waving their hand over their bet, or over their cards.

So, look for that hand signal before moving on to the next player. Now let us continue what other actions the player has available to them? We covered staying, which again happens if the player has a good hand such as the 17 through 21. But what if they don't have a good hand? What if they want to add more cards than they would hit?

Hitting means that the player wants to add one card to their total. Usually, the player will keep hitting until they reach a total value of between 18 and 21. Again, they'll have to show a hand signal. For example, the player has a 13 and they want to hit. They're going to take their two fingers and they're going to scratch the table. The player is going to scratch beside or behind their bet. They're never going to scratch in front of their bet or on the cards. So, when they take their two fingers and they scratch, they are hitting. And the dealer will add one card to their total.

Besides hitting and staying, there's a few other options the player has available to them, such as Splitting. If the player's first two cards are of the same value, then they may choose to split. Unlike doubling down, the player must place an equal amount next to their original bet. They cannot split for less. The player's hand will be split into two different hands, and the player could hit, stay, or double down as they please, but he can only play one hand at a time. When splitting aces, the player will only receive one card per hand.

Now let's go over a quick example of this. If the player bets $20 and they get two of the same cards, or a pair, they could split those cards. Now, again, you could split for the same amount. So the player would bet another $20, placing it next to their original bet, to split his hand, making his one hand into two hands. Now the player can hit, stay, double down, or they can split again. The player can split up to four times. The hand signal that the player will give, to indicate to the dealer that they want to split, is a V-shape, using their forefinger and their middle finger.

Next is Double Down. A double down is an optional bet of an equal or lesser amount. The player will only receive one card, and it's customary to perform this action if the player has a nine, ten, or eleven. The hand signal for a double down in to hold up one finger, indicating to the dealer that you only want one card.

For example, if the player has a $20 bet and their first two cards equal an 11, and the dealer has a 6 up card, the player will place another $20 next to their original bet and hold up one finger. The dealer will give the player one card, and the hand is now done.

The last option the player has is to Surrender. If the player is sure they are going to lose, they can surrender and only lose half of their bet instead of losing all of their bet. The hand signal the player would give for this, is they would draw a line behind their bet, indicating to the dealer that they want to surrender their hand. Now, the procedure for the dealer is to first take the player’s original bet and place it in the middle of the table. The dealer is going to take out half of the bet. We have a $20 bet, so half of the bet is $10. The dealer is going to place the $10 next to the $20 bet and then give the player the $10 (also known as Clean Money). Then the dealer will place the $20 (also known as Dirty Money) in the rack. In a normal casino, the dealer will never want to pay a player with dirty money, however casino parties are more relaxed, and clean money and dirty money aren’t talked about in that setting. Afterwards, you're going to make sure you discard the cards in the discard rack.

You never want to forget to discard the cards in the discard rack afterwards, because after the player has surrendered, they are completely done with their hand, and nothing can happen after this. I know that there have been times when dealers have forgotten to take the cards and put them in the discard rack, and then they'll bust, and they'll end up paying the player when they shouldn't have, because they don't remember that player surrendered.