The dealer completes his own hand only after all players have completed theirs. The dealer has no options: He is not allowed to double down or split any pair, he's not allowed to surrender, and he must hit any hand totaling less than 17 and stand on any hand of 17 or more. The only exception to this is that some casinos require the dealer to hit a soft 17 (such as A, 6). In these casinos, the dealer stands on hard 17 or over, and soft 18 or over. In no casino does the dealer have any choice about how to play his hand. He must follow house rules. If, for instance, you are playing in a face-up game and the dealer sees that you have stood on a total of 15, when his hand totals 16, he does not automatically win. He must hit his hand when his total is less than 17, and he will only win your bet if he does not bust.

That covers all of the rules of standard casino blackjack, although there are some obscure practices you may encounter that do not affect the game significantly: A few casinos offer bonuses for certain player hands, such as three sevens, or 6, 7, 8 of the same suit; some casinos offer a blackjack variation called Double Exposure in which both of the dealer's first two cards are dealt face up, but the dealer wins all ties. This is a relatively rare game, requiring a different strategy.

A few casinos also offer various side-bet options—Over/Under, Royal Match, and Super Sevens are among the most common. These types of options allow the player to place a separate bet, usually in a specially marked area of the table, and do not affect the play of the regular blackjack hand.

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