The deal

In a shoe game the deal begins in a clockwise direction with each player receiving one card face up. The dealer then deals himself a single card face down.

In earlier times this card was placed in an indentation in the table and has therefore come to be known as the dealers “hole card”.

Each player then receives a second card face up after which the dealer takes a second card, which he places face up on top of his hole card.

A small number of casinos reverse the order in which a dealer receives their cards in order to give the player a little less time to view the dealers up-card before making their first playing decision.

In a shoe game the player is never permitted to handle their cards. The rule for single and double-deck games usually differ in that players may handle their cards with only one hand at a time.

Many online casino versions of blackjack do not involve a hole card for the dealer. In these games, the cards are dealt in the order player – dealer – player, leaving the player with two cards face up and the dealer one. The player then plays out his hand to its conclusion, while the dealers second card is only dealt if the player does not go bust.