Double Exposure Blackjack

About Double Exposure Blackjack

In Double Exposure Blackjack the dealer's first two cards are both dealt face up. There is no hole card to guess about: you know the dealer's total before you make a single decision.

That information is worth a great deal, so the game takes it back with two rules. Blackjacks pay only even money instead of 3:2, and the player loses on ties — a push in standard blackjack is a loss here.

Playing it well means forgetting the standard chart and playing against the dealer's actual total.

vs Your 20 against a visible dealer 20. Because ties lose, standing loses every time — hit, and win whenever you draw an Ace.

Rules at a glance

Rule sets vary between casinos and between online operators. Always check the table or the game's rules screen — the blackjack payout and the dealer's soft 17 rule move the house edge more than anything else on this page.

What makes it different

How seeing both cards changes play

A few decisions become certainties once the dealer's total is on the table. The standard play shown is the one for the dealer's up-card alone.

Hand	Standard play	In Double Exposure	Why
vs Hard 20 vs dealer 20	Stand	Hit	Standing is a guaranteed loss because ties go to the dealer. Only an Ace wins, but that beats certain defeat.
vs Hard 12 vs dealer 16	Hit (dealer shows a 10)	Stand	The dealer must hit a hard 16 and will bust more often than not. Any card you take only adds risk.
vs Hard 11 vs dealer 20	Double (dealer shows a 10)	Hit	Only 21 beats a visible 20. A double gets one card; hitting lets you keep drawing towards 21.

Drill the underlying decisions first with the basic strategy trainer, or look up any single hand in the strategy calculator.

Frequently asked questions