Usually, the players will be free to narrate what their characters are doing as they explore, often with the intent to move on from their current location and possibly closer to their current goal. When one of them declares that they are doing something the dealer feels would bring them closer to their current goal, the dealer will declare that the player must PERFORM AN ACTION to do so. This means the success and failure of that action, as well as the potency of a potential success, will be based on the results of a hand of blackjack.
When you perform an action you bet an amount of your character's effort of your choosing, but must bet at least one and may bet no more than the current stakes on the scene. If multiple team members are performing actions at the same time (or close enough to happen under the same circumstances) they may all place bets at once.
The dealer will then shuffle the deck and deal out two face-up cards to each player with a bet, starting from the dealer's left at the table and dealing one card at a time. The dealer also deals themself a hand, but the dealer's first card is dealt face-down so that only the dealer knows what their hand value is.
Each player, starting with the one to the dealer's left, is then given the opportunity to play their hand. The goal is to be closer than the dealer to a total hand value of 21 without going over. To play your hand you ask to hit or to stand.
When you ask to hit, you are dealt a single card face-up and your new hand value will be assessed. Reaching a value of 22 or higher is called a bust, and you must stand on that hand. When you stand, your hand will be locked in until the final reveal.
In a standard deck, the cards with a value of 2 through 10 add their value directly to total hand value. Face cards (J, Q, K) have a value of ten. Ace cards may be used as either a value of one or eleven, at the player's choice.
Once all players have played their hand, the dealer will flip their first card face-up and play their own hand. The dealer's choice to hit or stand is not entirely their own: they must hit to a total hand value of 16, and must stand on any value of 17 or higher.
After the dealer has played their hand the table moves to the reveal. Each player's hand is compared to the dealer's, starting on the left. Any players with a hand value closer to 21 without going over have won their hands and their actions were successful. If the dealer’s hand has gone over 21, any players with a hand of 21 or lower have also won their hand. Players who have a value lower than the dealer's unbusted hand, are of an equal value to the dealer's hand, or who have a value of 22 or higher, have lost their hands and their actions have failed. Winning players recover their bet, and are awarded an additional payout of effort chips equal to their bet. Losing players’ bet effort is returned to the bank.