Atlassino Academy · Blackjack · Lesson 19 of 21

Zappit: trading a bad hand for two new cards

Under its rule book, Zappit lets a hard 15 to 18 be handed back for the next two cards in the shoe, and charges for that trade by turning a dealer 22 into a push.

About 23 minutes
Illustrated hosts: Maya and Leo
Last checked 2 October 2026

You hold a hard 16 against a dealer’s 10, and the table will take your two cards back and deal you two new ones if you ask. Should you ask, and what does that offer cost?

The short answer

Zappit lets you hand back a hard 15, 16 or 17 and take two new cards, and it charges for that with a dealer 22 that pushes. A hard 18 may be handed back too, and the chart for this game does that only against a 9, a 10 or an ace. The trade is part of the price rather than a gift: played by the chart for this game on every hand, the house still keeps a share of every bet.

Maya slides a ten of spades and a six of hearts away across the felt while two new cards lie face down in front of the seat in their place; Leo watches from the rail, one chip sits in the betting circle, and the dealer shows a seven of diamonds.

Maya looking down at an open notebook, pen in hand.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

A zap feels like the table being kind: the dealer takes back a hand nobody wants and gives you another go. It is not kindness. The same rules that offer the trade make a dealer 22 a push, and that push is charged on every hand you play here, including the hands you would never zap.

So learn where the zap belongs on the chart: the hard 15 to 18 rows and two pairs. You are paying for the trade either way, and knowing where it belongs is how the price buys you something.

What a zap is

Zappit is dealt one card to each player and one face up to the dealer, then a second card to each player and a second card face down to the dealer. While the dealer has no blackjack and has not turned that face-down card over, a player whose first two cards make a hard 15, 16, 17 or 18 may keep those two cards as dealt, or ask the dealer to exchange them for the next two cards in the shoe. That exchange is the zap.

The two cards that come are the next two cards out of the shoe, and the hand is played on from those two cards — except that, under the rule book, an ace and a ten-value card are no longer a blackjack.

A hand of a king and a 6 against a dealer’s 7 is handed back to the dealer, and the next two cards from the shoe, a 9 and a queen, take the place of the king and the 6.

The dealer shows

The hand you are dealt
A hard 16 against the dealer’s 7.
Handed back
The king and the 6 go back to the dealer, before any other move on the hand.
The next two cards in the shoe
A hard 19, and the hand is played on from here.

The next two cards in the shoe could as easily have made a 12.

The terms of the zap under the rule book, and what each term means at the table.
The term	What it means when you are sitting there
Which hands may be zapped	Two cards that make a hard 15, 16, 17 or 18. Hard means no ace among the two cards, so an ace and a 6 cannot be zapped under these terms.
How often	Once on a hand, and before any other move: before a card is taken, before a double and before a split.

The zap turns on your first two cards and on when you act, not on the dealer’s card or the size of your bet. The dealer’s card only decides whether the zap is worth taking — that is the chart’s job further down.

What the table takes back

The zap is paid for in how the dealer’s hand is settled. At an ordinary table a dealer hand that goes over 21 pays every hand still standing. At a Zappit table a dealer hand that ends on a hard 22 is a push for a hand of 21 or less: the bet comes back and nothing is added to it.

22A push for a hand of 21 or less
23Every hand still standing is paid
24Every hand still standing is paid
25Every hand still standing is paid
26Every hand still standing is paid

The zap also costs the blackjack. A blackjack dealt as your first two cards is paid three to two unless the dealer has a blackjack too, or another figure the table posts. After a zap the same two cards are only a soft 21, and a dealer 21 ties it.

Dealt as your first two cards

A blackjack, paid three to two unless the dealer has a blackjack too.

Arrived after a zap

Under the rule book: a soft 21, not a blackjack.
Under the player guide: a blackjack paid one to one.

Two texts, two readings of the rules

The terms above are the operator’s, from its rule book in French. A player guide from another province reads the game differently on two points.

Where the rule book and the player guide settle the rules of Zappit, side by side.
What the text settles	The rule book	The player guide
Which two-card totals may be zapped	A hard 15, 16, 17 or 18.	15, 16, 17 or 18, with no word hard in front of the totals. It does not say a soft total may be zapped; read in the player’s favour, it allows one.
A blackjack after a zap	None: an ace and a ten-value card make a soft 21.	Paid one to one.
A blackjack dealt as the first two cards	Three to two unless the dealer has a blackjack too, or another figure posted at the table.	Three to two.
When the zap comes	While the dealer has no blackjack and has not turned the face-down card.	Before the dealer looks at the cards.
Decks, and the dealer’s rule on a soft 17	One to eight decks, and the dealer’s rule posted at the table as one of two.	Not in the guide’s text about this game.
Split aces	Split once, with one more card on each ace.	Split aces cannot be split again.
A figure for the share the house keeps	None in the rule book’s text.	A figure of its own, printed without the rules it was worked out under.

The guide pays a blackjack after a zap one to one, and by never saying hard it can be read as letting a soft total be zapped too. Both hand the player something the rule book does not, so the guide’s reading leaves the house a smaller share. The rule book’s own price turns on one line posted at the table: what the dealer must do on a soft 17.

The rule book, dealer hits a soft 171.21%

The rule book’s terms at a table where the dealer hits a soft 17.

The rule book, dealer stands on a soft 170.85%

The rule book’s terms at a table where the dealer stands on a soft 17.

The player guide’s reading, if a soft total may be zapped too0.82%

The player guide’s reading at six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17, if a soft total may be zapped too.

The longer the bar, the larger the share of every bet the house keeps. The two upper bars are the same rule book at two tables, and the one line between them is what the dealer must do on a soft 17: 0.36 percentage points. The bottom bar is the player guide’s reading, with a soft total zapped too, under the same table rules as the upper bar, and it sits 0.39 percentage points under the upper bar.

Where the game is dealt is hard to pin down.

The player guide’s provinceZappit is dealt at select casinos there, none of them named.
A province in the westZappit is on a list of variations that some casinos there offer, with no casino named and no rules set out.

Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

Two texts saying slightly different things about one game is not unusual. What matters at the table is which reading that table follows, and two questions settle it: may a soft 17 be zapped, and what does a blackjack after a zap pay? If the sign at the table does not say, ask the dealer before the first hand rather than after the first zap.

The chart for this game

The chart below is worked out for this game under the rule book’s terms, at six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17. A Z in a cell means zap: hand the two cards back for the next two cards in the shoe. Three rows carry most of what is new.

Hard 15, 16 and 17: zap every timeAgainst every dealer card from a 2 to an ace, even a hard 17 against a 6, which the ordinary chart stands on. A pair of 8s against a 5, a 6 or a 7 is the one exception: it is split.
Hard 18: zap only against a 9, a 10 or an aceAgainst a dealer card from a 2 to an 8, keep the 18 and stand.
A pair of 8s and a pair of 9s: a split or a zapSplit a pair of 8s only against a 5, a 6 or a 7, and zap the pair against every other dealer card. Zap a pair of 9s against a 9, a 10 or an ace.

Hard totals
Hard	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
5–8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	H	H	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
10	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H
11	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H
12	H	H	H	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	H	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z
16	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z
17	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z
18	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	Z	Z	Z
19+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Hhit
Sstand
Dhdouble, otherwise hit
Zzap: hand both cards back for two new ones

Read a cell as on any chart: your hand down the left-hand side, the dealer’s card along the row of headings. The rows from a hard 15 to a hard 18 are the rows where the zap is open, and in three of those four rows the zap is the move against every dealer card.

Soft hands
Soft	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,2	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
A,3	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
A,4	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
A,5	H	H	H	H	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,6	H	H	H	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,7	S	S	S	Ds	Ds	S	S	H	H	H
A,8	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Hhit
Sstand
Dhdouble, otherwise hit
Dsdouble, otherwise stand

Pairs
Pair	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
2,2	H	H	H	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
3,3	H	H	H	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H
6,6	H	H	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
7,7	S	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
8,8	Z	Z	Z	P	P	P	Z	Z	Z	Z
9,9	S	S	P	P	P	S	P	Z	Z	Z
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

Hhit
Sstand
Dhdouble, otherwise hit
Psplit
Zzap: hand both cards back for two new ones

The soft hands carry no Z under the rule book’s terms, because only a hard total may be zapped. In the pairs table a pair of 8s and a pair of 9s are also a hard 16 and a hard 18, so a zap is open to those two pairs as well as a split.

Set beside the chart for ordinary blackjack with the same decks and the same dealer rule, 79 of the 330 cells name a different move, and 43 of those cells are cells where the new move is the zap. Outside the rows where the zap is open, what changed the move is the push on a dealer 22: every move that counts on the dealer going over is worth less here, most of all one that puts a second bet on it, so this chart doubles and splits less often.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

A second chance at a bad hand is built into the price, not given away. Decide how much money the evening gets and how long it runs before you sit down, and stop when either one is used up. A zap that brings a 12 instead of a 19 is not a debt the table owes you, and putting more money down to get it back only makes the evening dearer. If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, call one of the lines below — that is what they are for.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. 19+ in most of Canada; 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. More on responsible gaming.

1-866-531-2600Ontario · ConnexOntario · 24 hours

1-800-461-0140Quebec · Jeu: aide et référence · 24 hours

1-888-795-6111British Columbia · Gambling Support BC · 24 hours

1-866-332-2322Alberta · Addiction Helpline (Recovery Alberta) · 24 hours

1-800-463-1554Manitoba · Problem Gambling Helpline · 24 hours

1-800-306-6789Saskatchewan · Problem Gambling Help Line · 24 hours

1-888-429-8167Nova Scotia · Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line · 24 hours

1-800-461-1234New Brunswick · Gambling Information Line

1-855-255-4255Prince Edward Island · PEI Gambling Support Line · 24 hours

811Newfoundland and Labrador · Gambling Help Line · 24 hours

1-844-533-3030Yukon · Reach Out Support Line (CMHA Yukon)

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

The chart on one card

That is the lesson. The chart for this game is on one card: print it, or keep it on your phone.

ZappitRule book terms · six decks · dealer hits a soft 17

Hard totals
Hard	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
5–8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	H	H	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
10	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H
11	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H
12	H	H	H	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	H	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z
16	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z
17	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z	Z
18	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	Z	Z	Z
19+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Soft hands
Soft	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,2	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
A,3	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
A,4	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
A,5	H	H	H	H	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,6	H	H	H	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,7	S	S	S	Ds	Ds	S	S	H	H	H
A,8	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

Pairs
Pair	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
2,2	H	H	H	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
3,3	H	H	H	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H
6,6	H	H	P	P	P	H	H	H	H	H
7,7	S	P	P	P	P	P	H	H	H	H
8,8	Z	Z	Z	P	P	P	Z	Z	Z	Z
9,9	S	S	P	P	P	S	P	Z	Z	Z
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

Hhit
Sstand
Dhdouble, otherwise hit
Dsdouble, otherwise stand
Psplit
Zzap: hand both cards back for two new ones

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Set a limit before you sit down · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

Practice: zap or keep?

Level 1 deals a hard 15, 16, 17 or 18 against a dealer card, and you choose between the zap, standing and taking a card. Level 2 deals a pair of 8s or a pair of 9s, and you choose between splitting the pair, zapping it and standing. Level 3 deals the cells outside the zap rows where the push on a dealer 22 changes the ordinary move. Every answer is a cell of the chart for this game.

The practice table follows the rule book’s terms, with the dealer hitting a soft 17. The player guide’s reading and a table where the dealer stands on a soft 17 are not in the practice run, and nothing is bet here.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one hand from it, with the answer.

Zappit · six decks · dealer hits a soft 17

You hold a king and a 5, a hard 15, and the dealer shows a 4. Zap the hand, stand, or take a card?

The answer: Zap: hand both cards back for two new ones.

In this game’s chart the hard 15 row says “zap” against every dealer card. A zap swaps the first two cards for two new ones, before any other move.

Every answer in the practice table comes from the engine that works out the chart for this game; none of them is typed in by hand.

How the practice run works

Where the hands come from. Every answer is a cell of the chart worked out for this game under the rule book’s terms, and the cards in each scene are dealt to make the hand the question names. No answer is typed in by hand, so a change to the engine moves the practice run with it.

One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one hand of this lesson, and all the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square that hand belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself. Practising a hand you got wrong marks it fixed in practice and does not change the count, because only first answers count.

Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Where to play, and further reading

Blackjack in Canada The casinos that list blackjack, with the minimum bets they quote. Blackjack Switch Two hands, and a trade of their second cards before anything else is played.Double Down Madness One card to start, and a double that does not end the hand.Bahama Bonus A deck without tens, and a double that may be doubled again.Spanish 21 Four cards out of every deck, and a chart of its own.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page

How it’s worked out

Rules, numbers and hosts

Where this happens. Every table on this page is a table in a room you can walk into, and every rule quoted on it comes from a text its publisher makes public. A blackjack game on a screen at home is asked for different things by a different book of rules, and it belongs to a track of its own.

Two texts, one game. The rules of Zappit on this page come from two public texts: the operator’s rule book, quoted in French as it is published, and a player guide published in another province. Where the two texts differ, both readings are named side by side; where the player guide is silent, the rule book’s terms are used. A casino site for players in a third province is quoted for one thing only, that the game appears in its list of variations.

Numbers. Every share of a bet on this page is worked out when the page is built, by our blackjack engine, for a player who follows the full chart for those rules on every hand. The rule book allows one to eight decks and no text quoted here names the count at a given table, so six decks is an assumption, not a fact about any table. The rule book leaves the dealer’s rule on a soft 17 to the table as one of two rules, so both figures are shown. The player guide prints neither a deck count nor a dealer rule for this game; its reading is worked out at the same six decks with the dealer hitting a soft 17, and only two terms are changed: the one it prints (a blackjack after a zap paid one to one) and the one it leaves open (it never says hard, so a soft total is allowed to be zapped too). The figure printed in the player guide is quoted behind its button and is not repeated or used, because the guide does not say which rules it was worked out under. A difference between two shares on this page is the difference of the two shares as printed.

The count of cells. The chart for this game is compared cell by cell with the chart for ordinary blackjack at the same deck count and the same dealer rule. A cell counts when the two charts name different moves, and the count of zap cells is the part of that count where the new move is the zap. The chart and the practice run are both worked out for a table where the dealer hits a soft 17.

What is deliberately absent. There is no figure here for what an hour at this table costs, and no figure for how long money lasts at it. No casino is named as dealing Zappit, because none of the texts quoted on this page names one. Side bets, Free Bet Blackjack, Spanish 21, Blackjack Switch, Double Down Madness and Bahama Bonus each have a lesson of their own in this track.

Hosts. Maya and Leo are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former floor supervisor and a former dealer, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. Zappit is played against the house, like every other game named in this course. The zap trades two cards for two other cards and makes nothing free of cost; nothing on this page says how an evening at this table will end.

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