Section 4: Gameplay
Drawing and standing
Schedule 2, section 28(1) permits a player whose total is below 21 to draw additional cards. Section 28(3) permits a player to stand on any hand containing two or more cards.
Schedule 2, section 21(4) requires every additional player card to be dealt face up. After each card, the dealer announces the player’s new point total before the player makes any further permitted decision.
Doubling down
Schedule 2, section 26(1) permits doubling down only when the first two cards of an original or split hand total 9, 10, or 11. The additional wager may not exceed the amount of the player’s original wager.
Schedule 2, section 26(2) allows exactly one additional card after a double down. Section 26(3) requires that card to be dealt face up and placed sideways on the layout.
For a double down, Schedule 2, section 26(4) assigns an ace in the first two cards a value of 1 rather than 11. If the dealer subsequently obtains blackjack, section 26(5) permits collection only of the original wager; the additional double-down wager is not collected.
Splitting
Schedule 2, section 27(1) permits a split when the player’s first two cards are identical in value. Each card becomes the first card of a separate hand, and section 27(2) requires an additional wager equal to the original wager.
Under Schedule 2, section 27(3), the dealer gives a second card to the first split hand and completes all decisions for that hand before dealing to the second split hand.
- Schedule 2, section 27(4)(a) prohibits resplitting.
- Schedule 2, section 27(4)(b) allows only one additional card on each split ace and prohibits further draws to those hands.
- Schedule 2, section 27(4)(c) provides that splitting aces or 10-value cards cannot produce a blackjack.
- Schedule 2, section 27(4) otherwise permits the player to stand, draw, or double down after the second card is dealt to a split hand.
Insurance and even-money settlement
Schedule 2, section 25(1) requires the dealer to call for insurance wagers when the dealer’s first card is an ace. Under section 25(2), insurance may not exceed one-half of the amount staked on the player’s original wager.
Schedule 2, section 25(4) provides that insurance wins at odds of 2 to 1 when the dealer’s second card has a value of 10. Insurance loses if the dealer’s second card is an ace or a card valued from 2 through 9.
Schedule 2, section 24(4) permits a player holding blackjack against a dealer ace to request immediate payment at odds of 1 to 1 as full settlement of the original wager.
Dealer’s hand
After every player has acted, Schedule 2, sections 21(5) and 21(6) require the dealer to take a second face-up card, deal any further dealer cards face up, and announce the resulting total.
Schedule 2, section 29(1) requires the dealer to draw until reaching a hard or soft total from 17 through 21, after which no further card may be drawn. Thus, under the standard Schedule 2 game, the dealer stands on soft 17 as well as hard 17.
Schedule 2, section 29(2) prohibits unnecessary dealer draws when all player-hand decisions have been made and another card could have no effect on the round’s outcome.