You may find it hard to believe but a player and the Dealer play Blackjack with separate rules altogether. As a matter of fact, the Dealer plays according to the casino rules. This does not make one better than the other at winning though.

While you have the option of doubling or splitting, the Dealer does not. You can stand at your own will, whereas a Dealer cannot. The rules that the Dealer plays with are decided by the casino and clearly marked on a Blackjack table. Casinos sometimes force additional rules on their Blackjack Dealers to increase the house edge. However, there are certain rules that are common across most casinos. On this page you will the most common rules followed by Blackjack Dealers.

Dealer Hits Soft 17s
Under this rule, the Dealer has no option but to hit if they get a soft 17. A hand that contains an Ace counted as 11 is called a soft hand. A soft 17 includes an Ace and 6 or an Ace, 2, and 4. It’s the Dealer responsibility to draw another card if they get a soft 17 hand.

Dealer Stands 17s
Under this rule, the Dealer must hit a hand total less than 17. Let’s say you decide to stand on a hand total of 12. Even at a hand total of 14, which beats your hand, the Dealer cannot stand. The Dealer must keep hitting until a hand total of 17. Many a times, this fetches you a win. The Dealer deliberately attempts to improve the hand total and sometimes goes bust in attempting so.

When you go play Blackjack at a casino, find out beforehand what rules are applied on you, the Blackjack player and what rules are applied on the Dealer. Find out how the payouts are carried out and if specific rules such as surrender and even money are applicable or not. Good Blackjack luck!