After receiving an initial two cards, the player has four standard options: “hit,” “stand,” “double down,” or “split a pair.” Each option requires the use of a hand signal. At some casinos or tables, the player may have a fifth option, called a “surrender.”

* Hit: Take another card from the dealer.

signal: (handheld) Scrape cards against table. (face up) Touch finger to table or wave hand toward himself or herself.

* Stand: Take no more cards; also known as “stand pat”, “stick”, or “stay”.

signal: (handheld) Slide cards under chips. (face up) Wave hand horizontally.

* Double down (only available as first decision of a hand): The player is allowed to increase the initial bet by up to 100% in exchange for committing to stand after receiving exactly one more card. The additional bet is placed in the betting box next to the original bet. Some games do not permit the player to increase the bet by amounts other than 100%. Non-controlling players may double their wager or decline to do so, but they are bound by the controlling player’s decision to take only one card.

signal: Place additional chips next to (not on top of) the original bet. Point with one finger.

* Split a pair (only available as first decision of a hand): If the first two cards are a “pair” (of the same denomination), the player can split them into two hands, by moving a second bet equal to the first into an area outside the betting box of the original bet. The dealer separates the two cards and draws a further card on each, placing one bet with each hand. The player then plays out the two separate hands in turn, with some restrictions. In the case of ten-valued cards, some casinos allow splitting only when the cards have the identical symbols; for instance, a hand of T-T or K-K may be split, but not of T-K or K-T. Other casinos allow splitting of any pair of ten-valued cards. Common restrictions on playing hands which originate from a split relate to doubling, re-splitting, blackjack and hitting split aces. Non-controlling players may follow the controlling player by putting down an additional bet, or decline to do so, instead associating their existing wager with one of the two spawned hands. In that case they must choose which hand to play behind before the second cards are drawn.

signal: Place additional chips next to the original bet outside the betting box. Point with two fingers spread into a V formation.

* Surrender (only available as first decision of a hand): Some games offer the option to “surrender.” After the dealer has checked for blackjack, the player may “surrender”, whereupon the house will take half the player’s bet and return the other half to the player; this terminates the player’s interest in the hand. The request to surrender is made verbally, there being no commonly accepted hand signal.

Hand signals are used to assist the “eye in the sky,” a person or video camera located above the table and sometimes concealed behind one-way glass. The recording provides a means of resolving disputes or identifying mistakes, and is also used to protect the casino against dealers who steal chips or players who cheat. It may also be used by the casino to identify advantage players whose activities, while legal, make them undesirable customers. If there’s any disagreement between a player’s hand signals and their words, the hand signal still stands.

Each player may normally “hit” as many times as desired so long as the total in hand is not above hard-20. On achieving 21 (including soft 21), a player is normally required to stand; busting is an irrevocable loss and the player’s wager is immediately forefeited to the house. After a bust or a stand, play proceeds to the next player clockwise around the table. When the last player has finished, the dealer then reveals the hole card and stands or draws further cards according to the rules of the game. After the dealer’s final outcome is established, any bets remaining on the table associated with losing hands are forefeited, and winners are paid out.

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During the course of a blackjack game, the dealer progressively exposes cards which are dealt to his own and the players’ hands. Careful observation of the exposed cards allows a player to make inferences about the cards which remain to be dealt, and use these inferences in one of two ways:

* The player can make larger bets when he has the advantage. For example, the player can increase the starting bet if there are many aces and tens left in the deck, in the hope of hitting a blackjack
* The player can deviate from basic strategy according to the composition of his or her undealt cards. For example, with many tens left in the deck, the player may double down in more situations since there is a better chance of getting a good hand.

A typical card-counting system applies a point score for each rank of card (e.g. 1 point for 2-6 , 0 points for 7-9 and -1 point for 10-A). Whenever a card is exposed, a counter adds the score of that card to his running total score, which is used to make betting and playing decisions according to a table which he has learned. The count starts at 0 for a freshly shuffled deck for “balanced” counting systems. Unbalanced counts are often started at a number which reflects the total number of decks.

Depending on the particular blackjack rules in a given casino, basic strategy reduces the house advantage to less than 1%. Card-counting, if done correctly, can give the player an advantage, typically ranging from 0 to 2% over the house.

Card-counting is most rewarding near the end of a complete shoe when as few as possible cards remain. Single-deck games are therefore particularly susceptible to card counting. As a result, casinos are more likely to insist that players do not reveal their cards to one another in single-deck games. In games with more decks of cards, casinos limit penetration by ending the shoe and initiating a reshuffle when one or more decks remain undealt, or by using a shuffling machine to reintroduce the exhausted cards every time a deck has been played.

Card-counting mentally is legal and is not considered cheating. However, most casinos have the right to ban players, with or without cause, and card-counting is frequently a reason for banning a player. Usually, the casino will inform the player that he is no longer welcome to play blackjack at that casino and he or she may be banned from the property. Players must be careful not to signal the fact that they are counting, and the use of electronic or other counting devices is usually illegal.