Atlassino Academy · Blackjack · Lesson 3
Hit, stand, double, split, retiro
The five moves a blackjack hand allows under Chile’s catalogue of games: when you may double, split or take the retiro, and what each move is worth.
Your first two cards make 11 and the dealer’s card is a 6. What may you do with this hand at a blackjack table in Chile?
The short answer
Five things. You may stand, or ask for cards one at a time. On a two-card 9, 10 or 11 — this hand — you may double, for the same amount again and one more card. With a pair you may split, up to four hands. And after your first two cards you may take the retiro: give up the hand for half the bet, unless the dealer’s card is an ace. On this 11 the chart doubles.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
Every move at the table has a condition attached, and the catalogue of games the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) publishes writes each one down, the same for every casino in Chile. Learn the conditions first; which move to choose on which hand is the chart, and the chart only works with moves the table allows.
Five moves, and when each is allowed
| The move | When the table allows it |
|---|---|
| Stand | On any hand: you stop on the cards you have. |
| Hit | One card at a time, for as long as you like — but not once the hand has reached 21 or more. Over 21, the hand is lost at once. |
| Double | Only when your first two cards make 9, 10 or 11; the second bet is the same amount as the first, and you get exactly one more card. Split hands may be doubled too. |
| Split | When your first two cards have the same value; the second hand needs a bet equal to the first. Up to three splits, four hands in all. Split aces get one card each and are not split again. |
| Retiro | After your first two cards, on your turn: you give up the hand and lose half of the bet. Not when the dealer’s first card is an ace. |
Every move is made on your own turn, after your first two cards, while the dealer has one card on the felt. The round around that turn has a lesson of its own: One round, every card face up.
The hand is yours to play. Another player may not play it, nor interfere in your decision to stand, split, double, insure or take the retiro.
Doubling: 9, 10 or 11, for the same amount
The double is the narrowest of the five. Your first two cards must make 9, 10 or 11, and the raise is made for the same amount as your original bet — there is no doubling for less. In return you get exactly one more card, whatever it is.
Dealer
You
One card after a double, even when it is a 3: this 14 is the hand that plays against the dealer.
The double is authorised for all hands, pairs included: a split hand that makes 9, 10 or 11 on its first two cards may be doubled like any other. A 12 or more cannot be doubled, and neither can 8 or less. Which of those three totals the chart doubles, and against which card, has a lesson of its own: Doubling down: a second bet on one card.
Splitting: up to four hands
When your first two cards have the same value, you may play them as two hands. The second hand needs a bet equal to the first, and from then on the two are separate hands, each with its own total and its own result. You may split up to three times — four hands at most.
Aces are the exception. Each split ace gets one card only, and a new pair of aces cannot be split again. And a two-card 21 after a split — an ace and a 10 on a split hand — is not a blackjack: it is paid like a 21 with more than two cards, 1 to 1.
Dealer
You
A split king and an ace: 21, paid 1 to 1 if it ends above the dealer’s hand — not the 3 to 2 of a blackjack.
The retiro: half the bet, except against an ace
The retiro is the move the dealer can never make: you give the hand up and lose half of your bet. You take it after your first two cards, saying so plainly on your turn, and the dealer pays out the other half before going on. It is not allowed when the dealer’s first face-up card is an ace.
Because the half is paid out on your turn, before the dealer takes a second card, a dealer blackjack later in the round no longer reaches it. A hand you keep playing has no such protection: what a dealer blackjack does to a double or a split, the catalogue does not say, and the figures on this page assume it takes every bet on the hand.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
Players treat the retiro as giving up. It is a price: half the bet, paid to get out of a hand that is worth less than that. On a hard 16 against a 10 the hand is worth less than that — and against an ace you do not get the choice at all.
What a move is worth
A move the table allows is not always a move worth making; the chart is what decides. On four hands, here is what the chart’s move is worth next to the plain alternative.
| The hand | The chart’s move | The plain alternative |
|---|---|---|
| 11 against a 6 | double: +6.77 units | one card: +3.38 units |
| 9 against a 4 | double: +1.98 units | one card: +1.37 units |
| 8 and 8 against a 6 | split: +4.06 units | hit 16: −4.25 units |
| 16 against a 10 | retiro: −5 units | hit: −5.71 units |
A plus sign means the hand is in your favour on average; it can still lose. The retiro row is a loss either way: 0.71 units smaller on an example bet of 10 units with the retiro than with a card. Against a 10, the chart for these rules gives up a pair of 8s with the retiro as well (−5 units) rather than splitting them (−6.10 units).
Played by the full chart for these rules, the house keeps 0.36% of every bet. The moves lower that share; they do not remove it. When to hit and when to stand has a lesson of its own: When to hit or stand on a hard total; every hand on one chart, another: The whole chart and your printed card.
At the table, with Maya
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
A double and a split both put a second bet on the table, out of the same money you brought. Decide how much the evening gets before you sit down, and count every second bet inside that amount.
If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, stop there and read the box below: it says where self-exclusion and the regulator are reached.
If it stops being fun
If gambling stops being fun, the SCJ self-exclusion applies in every casino in the country. Minimum entry age: 18 (age of majority under Law 19.221; Law 19.995 bars minors from gaming rooms). The casino may ask for an official ID. More on responsible gaming.
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Practice: allowed at this table?
Ten moves you may want to make, one hand each, and the same question every time: does the catalogue allow it? Where it does, the answer says what the move is worth on an example bet of 10 units. Nothing here is scored: it is a reference in the shape of a hand.
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These table rules · the national catalogue of games · a double on 9, 10 or 11 · splits up to four hands · retiro, except against an ace
Dealer
You
Your two cards make 9 and the dealer’s card is a 4. You want to double. Does the table allow it?
The answer: Yes: two cards that make 9, 10 or 11 may be doubled.
Yes. When your first two cards make 9, 10 or 11 you may raise your bet by the same amount again, for exactly one more card. Against a 4, doubling a 9 is worth +1.98 units on an example bet of 10 units and one plain card +1.37 units.
Cuando el jugador obtiene 9,10 u 11 puntos con las dos primeras cartas, tiene la opción de incrementar su apuesta original. Este incremento debe efectuarse por el mismo monto de su apuesta original.Free translation: When the player obtains 9,10 or 11 points with the first two cards, he has the option of increasing his original bet. This increase must be made for the same amount as his original bet.
Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) · Catálogo de Juegos que podrán desarrollarse en los casinos de juego (texto de marzo 2023) · section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales · readCuando se aumenta la apuesta el jugador tiene derecho a una sola carta adicional.Free translation: When the bet is increased, the player is entitled to only one additional card.
Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) · Catálogo de Juegos que podrán desarrollarse en los casinos de juego (texto de marzo 2023) · section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales · readThe other moments work the same way: a move you may want to make, whether the catalogue allows it, and what it is worth when it does.
How the practice works
The hands. All ten are fixed, not dealt: each one tests one condition of one move. The amounts come from the same engine as the figures on this page.
No score. There is no round to pass and no threshold. Your answers stay in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
The example bet. Every amount is for an example bet of 10 units. It is an example, not a suggested bet.
Check yourself
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
Where to play, and further reading
18+ across Chile · Play responsibly · the help box is further up this page
Further reading
- Catálogo de Juegos (Black Jack) · Superintendencia de Casinos de JuegoThe regulator’s rules for blackjack: six decks, how the dealer plays, doubling, splitting, retiro and the seguro.
- Funcionamiento de los juegos: Juegos de cartas · Superintendencia de Casinos de JuegoThe regulator’s plain-language page on card games: which games are allowed and what equipment is approved.
How it’s worked out
Rules, numbers and hosts
Rules. Every condition on this page follows the catalogue of games the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) sets for every casino in Chile, the modality “Black Jack o Veintiuno”: six decks, the dealer stopping on every 17, a double on a two-card 9, 10 or 11 for the same amount, the double allowed after a split, splits up to four hands with one card on each split ace, a two-card 21 after a split paid 1 to 1, and the retiro for half the bet except against an ace. Each button shows the catalogue’s own sentence, in Spanish, with the section and the date we read it. The catalogue does not say whether a dealer blackjack also takes a second bet or a split; the figures assume that it does, the costlier reading. It is a preset for learning, not a statement about any one casino.
Numbers. Every figure is worked out when the page is built, by our blackjack engine, on a six-deck shoe. The value of a move is its average result over every two-card hand of the total (for a pair, those two cards), on an example bet of 10 units, each average rounded to the hundredth first, so a difference is always the difference of two amounts shown. The house edge assumes the full chart and cards shuffled after every hand. Amounts are in betting units.
Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.
No promise. Blackjack is played against the house. The moves on this page make the price smaller; nothing here says the game can be played at no cost, or how an evening will end.
Standing and asking for cards
Cada jugador puede plantarse en aquellas dos cartas o pedir cartas complementarias, una por una, hasta que lo crea oportuno.Free translation: Each player may stand on those two cards or ask for additional cards, one by one, until he sees fit.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Asking for cards
Cada jugador puede plantarse en aquellas dos cartas o pedir cartas complementarias, una por una, hasta que lo crea oportuno.Free translation: Each player may stand on those two cards or ask for additional cards, one by one, until he sees fit.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
En ningún caso puede pedir cartas adicionales si ya ha obtenido una puntuación de 21 o más.Free translation: Under no circumstances may he ask for additional cards if he has already obtained a score of 21 or more.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Cuando una mano obtiene una puntuación superior a 21 pierde, el croupier recoge inmediatamente esa apuesta y las cartas antes de pasar a la mano siguiente, en que se procede de la misma forma.Free translation: When a hand obtains a score above 21 it loses, and the dealer immediately collects that bet and the cards before moving on to the next hand, which is handled in the same way.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Doubling
Cuando el jugador obtiene 9,10 u 11 puntos con las dos primeras cartas, tiene la opción de incrementar su apuesta original. Este incremento debe efectuarse por el mismo monto de su apuesta original.Free translation: When the player obtains 9,10 or 11 points with the first two cards, he has the option of increasing his original bet. This increase must be made for the same amount as his original bet.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Cuando se aumenta la apuesta el jugador tiene derecho a una sola carta adicional.Free translation: When the bet is increased, the player is entitled to only one additional card.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Esta doble apuesta está autorizada para todas las manos incluyendo los pares.Free translation: This double bet is authorized for all hands including pairs.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Splitting
Cuando un jugador recibe las dos primeras cartas del mismo valor, puede jugar "a dos manos".Free translation: When a player receives the first two cards of the same value, he may play "two hands".
pudiendo ejercerse la referida opción hasta un máximo de 3 veces, es decir, pudiendo jugar un máximo de 4 manos.Free translation: the said option may be exercised up to a maximum of 3 times, that is, allowing a maximum of 4 hands to be played.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Si utiliza esta posibilidad debe hacer una apuesta igual a la suya original en la otra mano.Free translation: If the player uses this option, he must place a bet equal to his original one on the other hand.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Cuando un jugador separa un par de ases en dos manos, en la pedida de cartas del jugador no se le permite pedir más que una sola carta por cada as que ha formado una nueva mano.Free translation: When a player splits a pair of aces into two hands, when drawing cards the player is not allowed to ask for more than a single card for each ace that has formed a new hand.
En este caso, si se forma un nuevo par, no se podrá separar nuevamente.Free translation: In this case, if a new pair is formed, it may not be split again.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
The retiro
Un jugador puede usar la opción de retiro después de haber recibido sus dos cartas iniciales, manifestándolo expresamente en el momento en le corresponda su turno en la ronda de entrega de cartas adicionalesFree translation: A player may use the surrender option after having received his two initial cards, stating it expressly when his turn comes in the round of dealing additional cards
El jugador que use la opción de retiro pierde la mitad de sus apuestas (50%) y debe renunciar al juego.Free translation: The player who uses the surrender option loses half of his bets (50%) and must give up the hand.
El retiro no procede cuando la primera carta descubierta del croupier es un as.Free translation: Surrender is not allowed when the dealer's first face-up card is an ace.
Antes de proceder al retiro, el croupier paga el monto equivalente al 50% de las apuestasFree translation: Before proceeding with the surrender, the dealer pays the amount equivalent to 50% of the bets
Section III.1 Black Jack, f) Retiro
Doubling
Cuando el jugador obtiene 9,10 u 11 puntos con las dos primeras cartas, tiene la opción de incrementar su apuesta original. Este incremento debe efectuarse por el mismo monto de su apuesta original.Free translation: When the player obtains 9,10 or 11 points with the first two cards, he has the option of increasing his original bet. This increase must be made for the same amount as his original bet.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Doubling
Cuando el jugador obtiene 9,10 u 11 puntos con las dos primeras cartas, tiene la opción de incrementar su apuesta original. Este incremento debe efectuarse por el mismo monto de su apuesta original.Free translation: When the player obtains 9,10 or 11 points with the first two cards, he has the option of increasing his original bet. This increase must be made for the same amount as his original bet.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Cuando se aumenta la apuesta el jugador tiene derecho a una sola carta adicional.Free translation: When the bet is increased, the player is entitled to only one additional card.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
21 after a split
Si un jugador separa un par de ases o un par de cartas que valgan 10 puntos cada una, y en cualquiera de sus dos manos totaliza 21 puntos con dos cartas, esta jugada no se considera como Black Jack.Free translation: If a player splits a pair of aces or a pair of cards worth 10 points each, and in either of the two hands totals 21 points with two cards, this play is not considered Black Jack.
Por lo tanto, si le corresponde pago éste es equivalente a hacer 21 con más de dos cartas.Free translation: Therefore, if a payout is due, it is equivalent to making 21 with more than two cards.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
The retiro
El jugador que use la opción de retiro pierde la mitad de sus apuestas (50%) y debe renunciar al juego.Free translation: The player who uses the surrender option loses half of his bets (50%) and must give up the hand.
El retiro no procede cuando la primera carta descubierta del croupier es un as.Free translation: Surrender is not allowed when the dealer's first face-up card is an ace.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
The retiro
Un jugador puede usar la opción de retiro después de haber recibido sus dos cartas iniciales, manifestándolo expresamente en el momento en le corresponda su turno en la ronda de entrega de cartas adicionalesFree translation: A player may use the surrender option after having received his two initial cards, stating it expressly when his turn comes in the round of dealing additional cards
El jugador que use la opción de retiro pierde la mitad de sus apuestas (50%) y debe renunciar al juego.Free translation: The player who uses the surrender option loses half of his bets (50%) and must give up the hand.
El retiro no procede cuando la primera carta descubierta del croupier es un as.Free translation: Surrender is not allowed when the dealer's first face-up card is an ace.
Antes de proceder al retiro, el croupier paga el monto equivalente al 50% de las apuestasFree translation: Before proceeding with the surrender, the dealer pays the amount equivalent to 50% of the bets
Section III.1 Black Jack, f) Retiro
Who decides the hand
Un jugador no puede jugar la mano de otro.Free translation: A player may not play another player's hand.
No pueden interferir en la decisión de otro jugador (plantarse, abrir, doblar, asegurarse o retirarse),Free translation: They may not interfere in another player's decision (to stand, open, double down, take insurance or fold),
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Doubling
Cuando el jugador obtiene 9,10 u 11 puntos con las dos primeras cartas, tiene la opción de incrementar su apuesta original. Este incremento debe efectuarse por el mismo monto de su apuesta original.Free translation: When the player obtains 9,10 or 11 points with the first two cards, he has the option of increasing his original bet. This increase must be made for the same amount as his original bet.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Cuando se aumenta la apuesta el jugador tiene derecho a una sola carta adicional.Free translation: When the bet is increased, the player is entitled to only one additional card.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Doubling after a split
Esta doble apuesta está autorizada para todas las manos incluyendo los pares.Free translation: This double bet is authorized for all hands including pairs.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Splitting
Cuando un jugador recibe las dos primeras cartas del mismo valor, puede jugar "a dos manos".Free translation: When a player receives the first two cards of the same value, he may play "two hands".
pudiendo ejercerse la referida opción hasta un máximo de 3 veces, es decir, pudiendo jugar un máximo de 4 manos.Free translation: the said option may be exercised up to a maximum of 3 times, that is, allowing a maximum of 4 hands to be played.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Si utiliza esta posibilidad debe hacer una apuesta igual a la suya original en la otra mano.Free translation: If the player uses this option, he must place a bet equal to his original one on the other hand.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
Split aces
Cuando un jugador separa un par de ases en dos manos, en la pedida de cartas del jugador no se le permite pedir más que una sola carta por cada as que ha formado una nueva mano.Free translation: When a player splits a pair of aces into two hands, when drawing cards the player is not allowed to ask for more than a single card for each ace that has formed a new hand.
En este caso, si se forma un nuevo par, no se podrá separar nuevamente.Free translation: In this case, if a new pair is formed, it may not be split again.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
21 after a split
Si un jugador separa un par de ases o un par de cartas que valgan 10 puntos cada una, y en cualquiera de sus dos manos totaliza 21 puntos con dos cartas, esta jugada no se considera como Black Jack.Free translation: If a player splits a pair of aces or a pair of cards worth 10 points each, and in either of the two hands totals 21 points with two cards, this play is not considered Black Jack.
Por lo tanto, si le corresponde pago éste es equivalente a hacer 21 con más de dos cartas.Free translation: Therefore, if a payout is due, it is equivalent to making 21 with more than two cards.
Section III.1 Black Jack (modalidad Black Jack o Veintiuno); I. Cuestiones generales
The retiro
Un jugador puede usar la opción de retiro después de haber recibido sus dos cartas iniciales, manifestándolo expresamente en el momento en le corresponda su turno en la ronda de entrega de cartas adicionalesFree translation: A player may use the surrender option after having received his two initial cards, stating it expressly when his turn comes in the round of dealing additional cards
El jugador que use la opción de retiro pierde la mitad de sus apuestas (50%) y debe renunciar al juego.Free translation: The player who uses the surrender option loses half of his bets (50%) and must give up the hand.
El retiro no procede cuando la primera carta descubierta del croupier es un as.Free translation: Surrender is not allowed when the dealer's first face-up card is an ace.
Antes de proceder al retiro, el croupier paga el monto equivalente al 50% de las apuestasFree translation: Before proceeding with the surrender, the dealer pays the amount equivalent to 50% of the bets
Section III.1 Black Jack, f) Retiro