How Do You Deal in Blackjack? The Dealer's Procedure Step by Step

So how do you deal in blackjack? After the shuffle and cut, you burn the top card. Then you deal one card face up to each player who has a bet down, working from your left to your right, and one card to yourself. A second round follows the same way. Your second card goes face down as the hole card. Players act in turn from your left, you play your own hand by fixed rules, and then you settle every bet.

The order matters. A fixed sequence keeps the game fair, makes every decision easy to check and stops disputes before they start. That applies whether you’re running a kitchen-table game or learning what a casino dealer does.

This guide takes you through the full procedure: setting up, the deal itself, checking for blackjack, playing out hands, paying winners at the right odds, house rule differences and the mistakes new dealers make most often.

You need one or more standard 52-card decks. Casino tables usually use a multi-deck shoe, while single- and double-deck games are often dealt from the hand. If you’re unsure what’s in a deck, see our guide to the 52-card deck. In blackjack, 2–10 count at face value, jacks, queens and kings count as 10, and an ace counts as 1 or 11.

Agree the house rules before anyone bets:

• Blackjack payout: 3:2 is the traditional rate. Avoid 6:5.
• Soft 17: does the dealer stand on soft 17 (S17) or hit it (H17)?
• Doubling and splitting: can players double on any two cards, and can they double after a split?
• Surrender: is it offered or not?
• Bet limits: set a minimum and a maximum stake.

For a shoe game, shuffle thoroughly and offer the cut to a player. Then place a cut card (a plain coloured plastic card) well into the stack. When that card comes out, finish the current round and reshuffle before the next one. Casinos don’t deal right to the end of the shoe. They reshuffle while some cards are still undealt.

This is the standard sequence for a hole-card game, the version used at most American-style tables:

1. Bets first. Every player puts chips in their betting box. A position with no bet gets no cards.
2. Burn a card. After a fresh shuffle, take the top card and put it face down in the discard pile without showing it.
3. First round. Start at your far left (“first base”) and deal one card face up to each active box, moving clockwise to “third base” on your right. Then deal one card face up to yourself. This is your upcard.
4. Second round. Deal a second face-up card to each box in the same order. Deal your own second card face down. This is the hole card.
5. Check the upcard. If it’s an ace, offer insurance. If it’s an ace or a ten-value card, peek at the hole card to check for blackjack (see the next section).
6. Player turns. If you don’t have blackjack, pay any player blackjacks. Then go to first base and play each hand to the end before moving on.
7. Dealer’s turn. Turn over the hole card and draw by the fixed rules.
8. Settle. Pay winners, take losing bets, return pushes, then collect the cards into the discard tray.

Some single- and double-deck games deal the players’ cards face down. Players then pick up their cards with one hand and only turn them over when they bust, double, split or have blackjack. The order of the deal stays the same.

Before players act, the dealer must know whether the house has a natural (an ace plus a ten-value card). In a hole-card game, the dealer peeks when the upcard is an ace or a ten-value card. Many casino tables have a small mirror or electronic reader for this, so the hole card never has to be lifted high enough for players to see it.

• Dealer has blackjack: turn the hole card over straight away. Players with blackjack push, everyone else loses their original bet and insurance bets are paid. The round ends there.
• Dealer doesn’t have blackjack: take any losing insurance bets, leave the hole card face down and carry on with player turns.

Insurance is a side bet of up to half the main stake that pays 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack. Example: on a £10 hand, a £5 insurance bet returns £10 profit if the dealer has a natural and loses £5 if not. With an infinite deck, 4 of the 13 ranks count as ten, so the bet’s expected value is (4/13 × 2) − (9/13 × 1) = −1/13, a house edge of about 7.7%. That’s why basic strategy says to decline it.

At European no-hole-card tables, the dealer takes only one card at the start and draws the second after all players have finished. If that second card makes blackjack, players can lose the extra money they put out to double or split as well as their original bet. Wizard of Odds puts the cost of this rule at about 0.10% extra house edge.

Deal with each player in turn and finish their hand before moving on. In face-up games, casinos use hand signals so the overhead cameras record every decision:

If a player goes over 21, take their bet and their cards straight away. That bet is lost even if the dealer busts later.

Once every player has finished, turn over the hole card. The dealer has no choices to make: draw on 16 or less, stand on 17 or more. The only variation is soft 17 (for example, ace-6). Under an H17 rule the dealer draws on it. Under S17 the dealer stands. Call out the total after each card so the table can follow along.

Compare each remaining hand with the dealer’s. A higher total wins at even money, a lower total loses and an equal total is a push, so the stake goes back. If the dealer busts, every hand still in play wins. The order of payment varies by casino. Many pay from the dealer’s right to left, but follow whatever your house rules say.

Two points catch new dealers out. First, an ace and a ten-value card after a split usually counts as 21, not blackjack, and pays 1:1. Second, a 3:2 payout on odd stakes can produce awkward amounts. A £5 blackjack pays £7.50, so keep low-value chips on hand. For a home game, a minimum bet in multiples of £2 keeps the maths simple.

The way a dealer handles the cards changes the odds. The figures below are the approximate effect on the house edge from the Wizard of Odds rule-variation table, compared with a baseline 8-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17 and players can double on any two cards and after a split:

The 6:5 payout costs players far more than any other common rule change. If you play online, check the game’s help screen before you sit down. Our guide to choosing an online blackjack table explains what to look for. Fewer decks and fewer rounds dealt per shoe also make card counting more effective, and that’s one reason casinos reshuffle well before the end of a shoe.

• Exposing the hole card. Keep it flat and low when you peek. Even a glimpse gives players information they shouldn’t have.
• Dealing out of order. Skipping a box or dealing yourself first changes which cards each player gets. If it happens, follow the house rule on misdeals, which usually means voiding the round.
• Letting the dealer make choices. The dealer never decides. Draw to 16 and stand on 17 every time, whatever the players are showing.
• Paying split aces as blackjack. Paying 3:2 on a two-card 21 after a split is the most common payout mistake.
• Accepting spoken decisions alone. Ask for a clear hand signal, especially with doubles and splits, so nobody can argue later.
• Forgetting the burn card or cut card. Both protect the game. Skipping them makes it easier for anyone to predict what’s coming.

At home, rotate the deal so one person isn’t always the bank. The dealer holds a real advantage, because players act first and can bust before the dealer even plays. Write the house rules down and use chips rather than cash.

In a casino, dealers follow written procedures approved by the regulator. These cover where the shoe sits, how cards are burned and in what order bets are settled, and the cards are kept so each hand can be reconstructed if there’s a dispute.

Online, RNG blackjack shuffles digitally, often before every hand. Live tables, on the other hand, stream a human dealer following the same physical procedure described here. Our live dealer guides explain how those streams work. For the player’s side of the game, including when to hit, stand, double and split, read how to play blackjack and basic strategy. You’ll find more variants on our casino games page.

• Shuffle, cut, burn one card, then deal clockwise from your left: one card to each box, one to the dealer, then repeat. The dealer’s second card is the hole card.
• Peek when your upcard is an ace or a ten-value card, and offer insurance only when it’s an ace.
• Players act first. The dealer draws to 16 and stands on 17, with the soft 17 rule fixed in advance.
• Pay 1:1 on wins, 3:2 on blackjack and 2:1 on insurance, and return pushes.
• Rules such as 6:5 payouts and H17 add to the house edge. Even with perfect basic strategy, blackjack has a house edge, so you’ll lose money over time.

Treat blackjack as paid entertainment, not a way to make money. Set a budget before you play and don’t chase losses. If gambling stops being fun, take a break and use the deposit limits and self-exclusion tools that licensed casinos provide. Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over only. More reading is in our blackjack guides.