Dealer Rules
How the dealer plays. Automatic strategy, soft 17, and hole card rules.
The dealer in True Count plays automatically according to fixed house rules. There are no decisions. The dealer follows a rigid strategy every time. The specific rules depend on which dealer table you are playing and your Settings.
Dealer Strategy
After all player hands are resolved, the dealer reveals the hole card and draws according to these rules:
- Hit on any total of 16 or below
- Stand on any hard total of 17 or above
- Soft 17: behavior depends on the active rule set (see below)
If all player hands have busted, the dealer doesn't need to play. The round settles immediately.
Soft 17
A "soft" hand contains an Ace counted as 11. Soft 17 is specifically Ace + 6 (or any combination totaling 17 with a flexible Ace).
Dealer behavior on soft 17 is controlled by your setting in Settings.
| Rule | Dealer Behavior | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Stands on Soft 17 | Dealer stands on all 17s including soft 17 | S17 |
| Hits Soft 17 | Dealer hits soft 17, stands on hard 17+ | H17 |
House Edge Impact
Choosing H17 increases the house edge by approximately 0.22% compared to S17. See Dealer Hits on Soft 17 for details.
Dealer Blackjack Check
Dealer blackjack is resolved from the opening deal flow, before normal player actions:
- If the dealer shows an Ace and insurance is enabled, the insurance decision occurs first.
- The dealer then peeks at the hole card for blackjack whenever the upcard is an Ace or a 10-value card.
- If the upcard is a 10-value card, there is no insurance offer. The peek still occurs.
If the dealer has blackjack:
- All non-blackjack player hands lose immediately
- A player blackjack against a dealer blackjack is a push (bet returned)
When dealer blackjack occurs, the hand ends immediately and normal player actions do not begin.
Dealer Animation
During the dealer's turn, action text updates in real time as the dealer plays:
- Reveals: hole card is flipped face-up
- Thinking: brief pause before drawing
- Hits: a card is drawn
- Stands: dealer stops drawing
- Busts: dealer total exceeds 21
The bankroll display waits until the dealer's animation finishes before updating, so the outcome isn't spoiled.
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