After players make their wagers, a dealer deals hands comprised of two cards to each player and a hand comprised of two cards to himself. When the player's hand as dealt has a predetermined point value (or one of a plurality of predetermined point values), the player is offered an early payout option. If the early payout option is elected, the player receives a portion of the original wager. In one embodiment, the early payout option is offered only when the dealer's hand is not a natural. In another embodiment, the early payout option is offered only if the dealer's face up card is a predetermined value (or one of a plurality of predetermined point values), such as ten.