Beat the dealer's hand without going over 21. You and the dealer each get two cards; one of the dealer's stays face down until you are done.

• -Cards 2 to 10 count their face value.
• -Jack, Queen and King count 10.
• -An Ace counts 11, or 1 if 11 would bust you.
• -21 on your first two cards is a blackjack.
• -Go over 21 and you lose straight away, whatever the dealer has.

• -Hit - take another card. You can keep hitting until you stand or bust.
• -Stand - keep your total and hand over to the dealer.
• -Double - double your bet and take exactly one more card. Allowed on any two cards, including after a split.
• -Split - turn a pair into two separate hands, each with its own bet. One split per round, so two hands at most.

Up to three players sit at this table, one per spot, and anyone else signed in can bet behind them. You can sit at more than one spot.

• -Sit at an empty spot, then add chips with the buttons under it. Chips leave your balance as soon as they're on the table.
• -Betting closes 15 seconds after the first bet, or straight away once every seated player has pressed Deal.
• -The player sitting at a spot plays its hand. Players betting behind win or lose with that hand.
• -When the player you're behind doubles or splits, you're asked whether to match. If you don't, your bet stays as it was, on the first hand only after a split.
• -If the dealer shows an Ace, everyone with a bet can take insurance for half their stake. It pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack.
• -You get 15 seconds per decision. If time runs out, or you leave, your hand stands.
• -If a seated player leaves, the first player betting behind them gets the seat after the round.

The dealer has no choices. They draw until reaching 17 or more, and at this table they also hit a soft 17 - a 17 that uses an Ace as 11.

Eight decks are used and the shoe is reshuffled every round, so counting cards will not help you here.

A blackjack against a dealer blackjack is a push, not a win. Split hands that reach 21 pay as a normal win, not as a blackjack.

Blackjack has one mathematically correct play for every situation. Follow these and the house edge drops to well under one percent - guessing instead can cost you several times that.

• -Hard 17 or more - always stand.
• -Hard 8 or less - always hit.
• -Hard 12 to 16 - stand if the dealer shows 2 to 6, hit if they show 7 through Ace.
• -Soft hands (with an Ace as 11) - never stand on 17 or less.
• -Double on 11 against anything, on 10 against 2 to 9, on 9 against 3 to 6.
• -Always split Aces and 8s.
• -Never split 5s, and never split 10-value cards even though this table allows it.

The single biggest leak is standing on 12 to 16 against a high dealer card. It feels safe, but the dealer is likely to make a strong hand, so you have to risk the bust.