Double Exposure Blackjack Rules: Both Dealer Cards Face Up

The Washington State Gambling Commission calls Double Exposure "standard Blackjack with slight variations". Everything not changed below plays as ordinary blackjack.

1. One bet and two cards#

You place a bet and receive two cards. The dealer also receives two cards, and here is the change: both dealer cards are turned face up. The Washington rules put it this way: "both of the dealer's first two cards are dealt face up".

2. You see the dealer's whole hand#

Before you act you know the dealer's starting total. Whether that hand is a hard 18, a soft 17 or a stiff 16, it is on the table. Insurance has no purpose, because there is no hidden card to insure against. The Washington rules say insurance may or may not be offered, and the casino rules sheet is silent on it.

3. A dealer blackjack shows at once#

A dealer ace with a ten-value card is visible from the first moment. You never double or split into a dealer natural. Your only hope in that round is a natural of your own.

4. You play your hand#

You hit, stand, double or split, within the limits of the next section. The difference is that every choice is made against a known dealer hand.

5. The dealer finishes and hands are settled#

If the dealer's two cards total less than the standing total, the dealer draws. The Washington rules say the dealer may hit or stand on a soft 17, and the casino rules sheet says the dealer hits it. Then each hand is compared. The dealer wins ties, except when both sides have a blackjack.

The colours show only the drawing rule: below 17 the dealer draws, and hard 17 and up, and soft 18 and up, stand. Soft 17 is the one total the casino chooses. Pick a pair, and the panel says what the dealer does and what your hand must beat.

Two documents describe this game. The Washington State Gambling Commission lists the rules and the points that can vary. A casino-published rules sheet from Hard Rock in Tampa gives one complete set, and this page labels it as a casino document wherever it is used. No document states the number of decks.

The dealer wins ties#

If your hand and the dealer's have the same value, you lose your bet. The Washington rules say the dealer wins all ties "except when a player receives a natural blackjack". This is the largest single change. In ordinary blackjack a tie is a push, and here a tie costs you.

Naturals pay 1 to 1#

A blackjack, an ace with a ten-value card as your first two cards, pays even money. Ordinary blackjack pays more for the same hand. Whether a tied blackjack is a push or a win for the player is a variation: the casino rules sheet makes it a push.

Doubling and splitting are limited#

The Washington rules state that you may only split your hands once, and they list what can vary: doubling on any first two cards or not, doubling after a split or not, splitting unlike ten-value cards or not, and splitting more than once. The casino rules sheet resolves those points:

The play table on this page follows that sheet where it speaks. Where it is silent, the table uses an ordinary rule: six decks, split aces receive one card each, no surrender, and a dealer 22 is an ordinary bust. Each of those is labelled here as a choice and not as a quotation.

The documents list rules and do not say what any rule is worth. This section reasons in words and prints no number.

The view gives you information. You choose with the dealer's exact hand in front of you. In ordinary blackjack you guess at the hole card from the odds. Here, the guessing is over.

The tie rule takes it back. Every hand that equals the dealer's total is now a loss. A hand that would have pushed in ordinary play does not.

The 1 to 1 natural takes back more. Every blackjack you are dealt is paid less than ordinary blackjack pays it.

Restricted doubling and splitting cost you options. The casino rules sheet allows doubling only on hard 9, 10 and 11, and no doubling after a split. Those limits remove plays that ordinary tables often give you.

The sizes of these effects are not published here, because no calculation of the game exists.

Knowing the dealer's hand turns some decisions from a bet into a fact.

A standing dealer total is a target. If the dealer's two cards make 18, the dealer stands. Your 17 loses, your 18 loses too because ties go to the dealer, and you must reach 19 to win. Standing on a 17 or 18 is a certain loss, so hitting is the only way to win that round.

A drawing dealer total is a cliff you can see. With a dealer 16 you cannot know what the dealer will draw, but you know the dealer must draw, so your stiff hand is not as lost as it looks. Standing on a low total is a real plan against a dealer who is forced to draw.

Soft 17 is the casino's call. It is the one dealer total where the table rule decides whether the dealer draws.

Ties change your standard hands. A 20 that would push in ordinary play loses against a dealer 20 here.

No chart is published for these decisions. It would need a calculation for the two-card dealer hand, and none has been built. The explorer above tells you when the dealer stands, and what must be beaten.

Each hand carries a bet of 10. The cards show the rules, not what usually happens.

A tie is a loss#

You hold a ten and an eight for 18. The dealer shows a nine and a nine for 18 and must stand. You stand, and the tie goes to the dealer. You lose 10. In ordinary blackjack this would have been a push.

A dealer who has to draw#

You hold a ten and a five for 15. The dealer shows a ten and a six for 16 and must draw. You know your 15 loses to a dealer who stands, and you know the dealer does not stand. Standing hopes the dealer's draw goes wrong. The dealer draws a five for 21 and you lose 10.

Doubling only on 9, 10 and 11#

You hold a six and a five for 11 against a dealer eight and a seven for 15. Doubling on 11 is allowed under the casino rules sheet, so you may double for a total bet of 20. A hard 12 would not allow it.

A tied blackjack#

You are dealt an ace and a king, and the dealer has an ace and a queen. Both have a blackjack. In the casino rules sheet the tied blackjack is a push and your bet is returned. In a version where tied blackjacks go to the player, the round pays 10.

The table below deals Double Exposure blackjack with play money: both dealer cards face up, the dealer hitting soft 17, the dealer winning ties, and a natural paying 1 to 1. Hints are off, and the chip says "Not computed for this game". Nothing is wagered and nothing can be won.

Real-money Double Exposure is licensed only where a regulator allows it. This site names no venues and no operators, so ask your local gaming regulator what is offered near you. If play ever stops being fun, the responsible play page lists where to find help.

Other game pages here print a house edge from an exact calculation of every decision. Double Exposure has none. The dealer's two-card hand changes the correct play for every cell, and the calculation behind the other pages handles a hidden hole card, with no version built for two face-up dealer cards. Beyond that, no document states the deck count, so any figure would rest on an assumption.

So the page prints no number. When a calculation exists, the number will be added with what it covers. The house edge page shows which games have a figure today, and European Blackjack shows a different way of changing when the dealer's second card arrives.

The rules come from the Washington State Gambling Commission's Double Exposure Blackjack rules, revised October 2013, and its blackjack rules of April 2018, which apply to every variant, plus the casino-published rules sheet from Hard Rock in Tampa. The methodology page explains how they are read, and the sources page lists them all.