The Object of the Game
The object of the game is to amass a larger chip-stack than your opponent. Points are awarded in the form of casino chip "dollars". Beat the Dealer's hand of cards with as many of your hands as possible and build your chip-stack higher than your opponent! To beat the Dealer's hand, your hand must be worth more in terms of combined face value, without going over a total of 21. This is classic Blackjack. Both players start with an identical virtual chip-stack and play through a pre-set number of rounds, one hand per round.

Starting a Round
There is an initial deal of a single card to each player at the start of the match. The player dealt the lowest card will be on "First Base" and has to act first during each stage of the round. The order of play alternates after each round. A black button is displayed on the table next to the relevant player to indicate who is on First Base. The order of dealing cards is not affected.

When it is your turn to bet, choose your stake by moving the betting slider. It will automatically limit the size according to the maximum and minimum stakes, and the funds you have available. Alternatively you can type an exact amount into the box. When you are happy with this amount, click "Bet". To play the same amount you did on the last round, click "Last Bet".

Playing a Typical Round
Once all the cards have been dealt to the players, you play your hand in turn depending on where the First Base button is. Your hand is highlighted by a glow, and its value is shown just to the left of it. The value is calculated by adding up all the cards. Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth 10. Aces are worth 1 or 11 (and in such cases the 2 possible totals are shown). Depending what cards you have been dealt, you can do one of several things by clicking the buttons at the bottom of the screen:

Hit. This requests another card from the Dealer. It is added to your hand and the new total is shown. You can ‘Hit’ as many times as you like, as long as your total doesn't exceed 21. Exceeding 21 is called going ‘Bust’.

Stand. This finishes the current hand.

Double Down. This doubles the bet on your hand, requests one more card from the dealer, and then finishes the hand. You must have sufficient funds to do this.

Split. If both the cards in the hand are of the same value, then you can split them into 2 new hands and play them as normal. You must also have sufficient funds to do this.

Once both players have finished their hand (either by Standing or going Bust) then it is the Dealer's turn. The Dealer will always ‘Hit’ until their cards total have reached 17 or more, then they will Stand.

Finishing a Round
Once the Dealer has finished playing, your hands will be resolved by comparing its total to the Dealer's total:

If your hand's total is less than the Dealer's total, you lose the bet.

If your hand's total is the same as the Dealer's total, this is called a "Push" and you are refunded your bet.

If your hand's total is more than the Dealer's total, you win twice your bet.

Exceptions to the Typical Round
The best hand you can be dealt is called Blackjack. This consists of an Ace and a 10 (or card of value 10 i.e. a jack, queen or king), which is worth 21. If a player has Blackjack or it looks like the Dealer may have, then some special rules apply:

If the Dealer's face-up card is an Ace, then they may have Blackjack. In this situation the Player is offered the chance to buy ‘Insurance’ for their hand, assuming they have sufficient funds.

Insurance takes the form of an additional bet on whether or not the Dealer has Blackjack. If the Dealer does have Blackjack, then the player loses their original bet but wins twice the Insurance bet, thereby breaking even, and the hand is over. If the Dealer does not have Blackjack, the player loses their Insurance bet and the hand continues as normal.

After the Insurance stage, the next step is to check whether the player has been dealt Blackjack. If they have, the hand is immediately resolved and the player wins 2.5 x their bet.

In rare situations, the Dealer's face-up card will be an Ace and the player will have Blackjack. In this case the Player is offered the chance to take ‘Even Money’, as an alternative to Insurance. This basically skips the Insurance process, and if taken the player wins twice their bet straight away.

The cards will inevitably run out during the game, so there is a cut card/shuffle marker placed into the shoe at the start. Once this has been past the current round will be completed and then a new 208 card shoe will be shuffled up and replace the existing one.

The players will be notified in the dealer's message window each time this happens during the game (which will be between rounds).

Finishing the Game
The winner of the game is the player who has the largest chip stack once all the rounds have been completed. If the stacks are tied, play will continue until a winner emerges. If both players are bankrupt, an amount equal to the minimum betting stake will be credited to each player's funds so that they can continue.