The blackjack strategy choices

Hit - The player indicates that he wants another card, and the dealer immediately deals it to him. (in the land based casino, if the player's cards are dealt face up, the player signals a hit by tapping the table near his bet. If the player's cards are dealt face down, the player signals a hit by scratching the cards lightly against the table in a motion toward himself).

Stand - The player indicates that he does not want any more cards for this hand. (in the land based casino, if the player's cards are dealt face up, the player signals to stand by waving his hand from side to side with his palm facing downward over his bet. If the player's cards are dealt face down, the player signals to stand by simply tucking his cards under his chips in the betting circle and leaving them there.)

Split - If the player has a hand with two initial cards having equal value (i.e. two 8's), the player may choose to split those cards into two separate hands and play them individually. This also requires that the player match his original bet by making an equal bet on the newly created 2nd hand. Each hand is then played separately, with the player taking as many cards as he wants on the first hand and then taking as many cards as he wants on the 2nd hand. If one of the split hands ends up having exactly two cards of equal value again, most casinos will allow the player to re-split the hand again - as long as the player doesn't end up with more than four (4) split hands from one original hand. (If the player's cards are dealt face up, the player signals a split by simply putting additional chips equal to his orig­nal bet right next to the original bet. If the player's cards are dealt face down, the player signals a split by turning his cards face up on the table and then putting additional chips equal to his original bet right next to the original bet.)

* Note: Most casinos will only give the player one additional card on each split hand, when the player splits aces. Some tables may allow the player to re-split aces. Casinos will also let you split any two 10-value cards (i.e. a 10 and a king), but you should never do this. If you already have a total of 20 (10+10), it's best not to split up your strong winning hand. Most likely, you will end up with two hands that are worse than your original 20.

Double Down - If the player has a hand with exactly two cards, the player can double his original bet on the hand, and the dealer gives him exactly one additional card. The player does not have the choice to take any more cards after that. However, the player must take the one additional card - giving him a total of three (3) cards. Some casi-nos will also allow the player to double down after splitting a hand, but it can only be done when the hand (or split hand) has exactly two cards. Doubling down is most typically done when the player has 10 or 11, giving him a good chance of drawing a 10-card for a total of 20 or 21. In some games, the player can only double down with a 9, 10, or 11. In most Vegas games, the player can double down with any two cards. (The player signal for doubling down is exactly the same as the signal for splitting. If the two cards are of different val-ues, the dealer will automatically know that the player is doubling down. If the two cards have the same value, the dealer will ask the player if he wants one card - doubling down - or if he wants to split the hand.)

Surrender - If the player has a hand with exactly two cards and he thinks his chances of winning are very poor, he can concede the hand by surrendering and he only loses half of his original bet. This option is not available if the player has already split the hand. He can only surrender the initial two cards dealt in that hand. (Strangely, there is no signal for surrendering in the U.S. In fact, most games that offer surrender here don't even have any signs or text written on the table to indicate that surrender is an option. Ultimately, the player must ask the dealer if surrender is available and tell the deal-er verbally when he wants to exercise the surrender option. Be care-ful not to make any hand gestures that could be misinterpreted by the dealer to mean Hit or Stand. I have been told that in Latin America and Asia, they signal surrender by pointing one or more fingers in front of their bets and dragging them across the felt from left to right in a cutting motion. Do not attempt to use that signal in the U.S. without first explaining it to the dealer.)

These five choices are the only ones available to the player (except for the side bet of insurance, which you should never take). As you can see, the last three choices are only available on two-card hands. Once a player has drawn (hit) a 3rd card, his only remaining choices are hit or stand. Again, the player can continue to hit additional cards on the hand until he stands or busts. At that point, the play of the hand moves to the next player to the dealer's right.