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While most people are familiar with standard blackjack (remember James Bond: License To Kill?), there are in fact other versions of the famous card game. If you do your gambling online, you’ll surely have seen some of the other variants of blackjack, but how do they work?

If you’re game to stick around for a hand or two, we’ll go over each blackjack variant and how they are fundamentally different from the original style. However, we’ll be sure to cover the basics first.

Blackjack Classic

Blackjack classic is played with one deck and pits you and other players against the dealer who will delegate two cards to each player and themselves. This will occur every round as a new deck comes into the mix each time a round ends. Now, surely some consider online casino a game of chance, but you still need strategy to increase your chances of winning – something you’ll be able to do once you fully understand the rules of the game and how each hand plays out.

One card will be face down and the other face up. One by one, the dealer will flip over the players’ cards. When the two cards in each pair are added together, the dealer will ask each player individually if they want to “hit” or “stay.” The goal is to get as close to 21 without going over (going above 21 makes you automatically lose the game), in order to beat the dealer.

Number cards are the number they show, Jack through King count as 10 and an Ace can either be one or 10 depending on how it best suits the hand. You are also allowed to double down once in the game, which means that you can wager twice the amount of the original bet but can only do so if your cards total up to 9, 10 or 11.

Lastly, if the card that is flipped over matches the card that was face up, you can then choose to separate those two cards and the dealer will pair them up with two more face-down cards. This means you will continue the game with two hands.

Of the many casino games out there, blackjack is fairly simple in comparison, but even a game as accessible as blackjack will create different play styles to remain competitive, because it’s based on wits and strategy and also because it’s so popular. For more advanced guides on standard blackjack, analyst website analyticsvidhya.com has published an article talking about how to develop “flawless” strategies based on data science. That’s pretty complex stuff for a game that only demands people be able to count to 21!

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Blackjack Multi Hand

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s move on to something slightly more complex – but only slightly. Blackjack multihand, as the name implies, has the player playing the game with the same rules except they now are dealt two hands at the beginning of the game. This variant is typically employed by players of a higher skill level as it allows them the opportunity to win more money in one round.

However, it’s in the player’s best interest to play classic blackjack as the house has less of an edge when the player only has one pair of cards. But sometimes you’re playing too well to pass up the opportunity to play two hands, so a smart player will know when to make that call.

European Blackjack Gold 

Unlike classic blackjack, European blackjack gold is played with two decks. This variant also has a different rule when it comes to splitting aces. In classic blackjack, you are only allowed one extra card when you split your aces, but in European blackjack gold, you’re allowed multiple cards on your split Aces.

In this variant, the house has an even bigger advantage, so while you might be given more chances on a split ace, having two decks puts play in the favor of the dealer. Do keep in mind that if a split Ace pairs with a 10, you have a 21 rather than a blackjack. This means the dealer will win if he gets 21.

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European Blackjack

If we take what we know about the gold version and tweak just a few things, European blackjack is easy to understand. Firstly, this variant is played with six decks, which makes for more possibilities than European blackjack gold. Next, this goes back to the original rule that split aces are only given one card. And that’s it! Those aren’t major changes, but ones that make all the difference in the world to a seasoned player.

Single Deck Blackjack Pro

Again, this variation of blackjack is similar to the standard game, the only difference is that you are only allowed to double down when your two cards equal a 10 or 11. Much like classic blackjack, the house has a relatively small edge over the player due to the fact that only one deck is being used – which makes smart play easier to accomplish.

Blackjack

Lastly, we have blackjack.  We see again that the variant in this blackjack style comes from the rules regarding doubling down. In blackjack, you are only able to double down when your two cards are equal to 10 or 11.

Overall, most of the differences in these games are miniscule but have huge effects on the amount of money you can win, the way you’ll make your bets and even the number of cards that are played in each game. It’s up to you to determine which game meshes with your playstyle the most and how you can best take advantage of the rules dictating each form of blackjack. For more advice on how to develop your own personal strategy and a more detailed breakdown of the odds, you can check out mathematics professor and author Edward O. Thorp’ s guide “Beat the Dealer.” Have fun developing your style and, most importantly, good luck!

 

The ability to look beyond your own hand is a skill every blackjack player should learn. Regardless of the stakes you play for or the variant you most enjoy, blackjack is a game where the dealer’s card is as important, if not more so, than your own. Why, you may ask? Well, let us explain.

When you play blackjack at any established online casino, you always know you’re getting a fair shake of the dice (or the deck as the case may be). For instance, when you visit a licensed casino site like Spin Palace Canada that offers a selection of real money card games, blackjack not only ranks high on the list of options, but each game is certified as fair by eCOGRA.

Once you’ve got the confidence that the game is eCOGRA fair, you start to think about strategy and this is where spotting the dealer’s up card comes to play. Basically, what we mean by this is that you should assess the value of the dealer’s exposed card (i.e. the one on show) before you decide how to play your hand. Essentially, when you consider blackjack in this way, it starts to become like a game of poker.

Learning to Play Blackjack Like a Poker Player

 

Before any hand of poker, a skilled player will look around the table for subtle clues to help guide their moves. For example, if a player noticed an opponent had a  tell (i.e. their body language), such as touching the table just before they placed a bet, they would wait to spot this before deciding what to do with their own hand. Indeed, it may be the case the physical tell is a sign of supreme strength, so the player could take this as a sign to fold.

This is similar to the moves you’ll make at the blackjack table if you’re a skilled player. So, let’s say you have a total of 13 and the dealer is showing a five. If you only considered your own hand in this example, the chances are you’d hit because 13 is a weak total that you’ll likely need to improve if you want to win. However, when you factor in the dealer’s card, this actually becomes a position where you should stand.

Make the Dealer Make a Move

 

Under the rules of most blackjack variants, the dealer must draw to at least 17 and stand on 17+. When you combine this with the fact there will be more high-value cards in the deck than low ones, we can make an assumption that an exposed 5 will turn into a total such as 15 when the dealer reveals their second card. Based on this assumption, we can then see that standing on 13 becomes the best move because it puts the pressure on the dealer.

Anytime you can make the dealer take a card in a bad position rather than doing it yourself is a good thing. Let them go bust while you sit and wait. Naturally, this dynamic also works the other way. If the dealer is showing a strong card (i.e. an ace, 9 or 10), you should be hitting more totals than normal. When you break it down in this way, you can see that blackjack strategy really isn’t that complicated. As long as you look beyond your own hand and consider the other variables in play, you should start to see more winning hands during a session.