The Basics Of Online Blackjack
A card game known as 21 and played in Europe in the seventeenth century was the forerunner of the modern day blackjack. In the early days, blackjack was a special dealt hand with a black jack and an ace. However, in order make the odds competitive, this hand now any ace and any ten value card. A high degree of skill is required to play blackjack correctly. In fact blackjack was popularized by a set of players in the 1990s that made large sums of money in American casinos. Strategy cards are available and can be used at Dutch online casinos.
Highlights & Main Points
- Online blackjack is a skill based game that offers an average return to player of over 99% if optimum strategy is used. Without optimum strategy the return is much lower.
- Optimum strategy is codified in a strategy card that can be used at online casinos but not at land casinos.
- The two main versions of blackjack are American blackjack games, like Vegas Strip Blackjack, and European Blackjack and both can be played at Dutch online casinos.
- The best online casinos also offer blackjack games with side bets, multi-hand blackjack games and live casino blackjack games.
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Online blackjack variants
Blackjack is played with slightly different rules at the land casinos in America and in Europe. In the American variants of blackjack, like Vegas Strip Blackjack and Atlantic City Blackjack, the dealer is dealt a face down hole card and checks for blackjack, if required, before the player makes any move. In European Blackjack the face down hole card is not dealt so the dealer does not check for blackjack. The American blackjack games offer marginally higher returns to players. Both versions of blackjack will be available at Dutch online casinos.
The regular blackjack games pay even money on wins and 3 to 2 for blackjacks. Some players seek larger payouts from the games they play. Therefore software providers have created online blackjack variants with different side bets that pay out considerably more. In many of these games the payouts are structured on the basis of the first two cards dealt to the player. The best online casinos offer multi-hand blackjack in which you can play a number of hands against the dealer. Live casinos offer blackjack games at real tables conducted by real people.
How to play online blackjack
The game play for the American blackjack version is being described. After you place your bet you will be dealt two cards face up. The dealer will be dealt one card face up and the second card face down. If the dealer’s face up card is an ace or a ten value card he will immediately check for blackjack. If the dealer has a blackjack then you lose. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, you start playing. If you are dealt a blackjack then you get paid 3 to 2. Your objective should be to get as close to a hand value of 21 without going over. You hit to take another card. If the hand value goes over 21 then you lose. If you do not want another card then you stand.
After the player stands then the dealer takes additional cards according to prescribed rules. If the dealer busts then you wins. Otherwise the hands are compared to decide the winner. If you win then you are paid even money.
There are some special moves in blackjack and two of them are described here. If your first two cards are of the same rank then you can split them to make two hands by being dealt an additional card in each. You will have to place an equal bet for the second hand. The second move is called double down. You can double your bet but will have to take only one additional card.
Online blackjack strategy
Playing most online blackjack variants offer average returns of over 99% if optimum strategy is used. But there are so many possibilities after each move that it is not possible to reason out the correct strategy sitting at the blackjack table. The optimum blackjack strategy has been arrived at after computer simulation of countless deals and has been codified in a strategy card. You can refer to this strategy card while playing blackjack at Dutch online casinos.
The blackjack strategy card is arranged in the form of a table. The row headers are the different possible values of the player’s hands. The column headers are the different values of the dealer’s face up card. The intersections include all the situations you will face in a blackjack deal. You locate the intersection for your present hand value and the dealer’s face up card and make the move indicated there.
Advantages and disadvantages of online blackjack
Online blackjack variants offer average returns of over 99%, when played with optimum strategy, so you should not lose a lot playing blackjack for long periods. You can use blackjack strategy cards while playing online. Playing blackjack at online casinos will give you confidence to play the game at land casinos. Because blackjack is a game of skill good blackjack players are respected in the gambling community.
The regular land casino blackjack variants have very low payouts as compared to most other casino games. Some online blackjack games offer larger payouts in side bets, but the average return for these bets is much lower than 99%. Online casino software providers rarely introduce new variants of online blackjack.