The player achieves his final total by either `standing', which means drawing no more cards, or `hitting' (requesting another card from the dealer). The value of this drawn card is added to the player's current total and the decision as to whether to hit or stand is made again. If, in this fashion, the player's total exceeds 21 (a bust), then the player is obliged to turn in his cards right away, at which time his losing wager is collected. Otherwise, when the player desires no further cards, he will place his two original cards underneath his wager in the betting square, the cards being put face down by custom.
The dealer, however, has no choice in his hitting and standing activity and must proceed, when his turn comes after that of the players, by house rules which always require him to stand on a total of `hard' 17 or more. A total is called hard if either it does not contain an ace or it exceeds 11 counting any aces which may be present as one; otherwise the total is called `soft' and is determined by counting exactly one ace as eleven, any others as one. The house rules for the dealer's soft hitting and standing strategy will be either to `always hit soft 17' or to `stand on soft 17', and this will be posted on the table. Thus an ace and a three would be soft 14 and the dealer would draw again, but an ace and a seven would be soft 18 and the dealer would stand. Similarly the dealer would draw a card to a hard 16 which consisted of a ten, five, and an ace but stand with a ten, six, and an ace since this would be hard 17. When the dealer finishes he usually announces his total if he didn't bust and says `over' or `too many'* if he did break.