What Does It Mean to Bust in Blackjack?

In blackjack, “busting” occurs when a player’s hand exceeds 21, at which point they automatically lose the hand. There are a few different ways that this can happen:

If a player is dealt a hand with an ace valued at 11 (known as a “soft hand”), and then drAWS another card which puts them over 21, they have “busted”.

If a player is dealt a hand with no ace, or an ace valued at 1 (known as a “hard hand”), and then drAWS another card which puts them over 21, they have also “busted”.

If a player splits their hand into two separate hands, and one of those hands exceeds 21, they have also “busted”.

Once a player has “busted”, their hand is immediately forfeited and they cannot win the pot, no matter what the other players do. If all other players also bust, then the pot will be awarded to the player with the next highest hand.

So what does it mean to “bust” in blackjack? It means that you have automatically lost the hand, and cannot win the pot. If you bust, your hand is immediately forfeited.