Blackjack Game Variants

There are countless Blackjack game variants both online and in land casinos; however, the online variants seem to be far outnumbering the typical variants as we have known them to date.

Variations in Deck Quantity

Blackjack can be played with either a single- or more decks of 52 cards; ranging from 1 to 8-deck game variants. Here is a short summary:

• Single-deck Blackjack
• 2-deck Blackjack
• 4-deck Blackjack
• 5-deck Blackjack
• 6-deck Blackjack
• 8-deck Blackjack

Variations on what the Dealer does on a ‘17′

A player who is beginning to play at Blackjack must note a few things, amongst them - what the Dealer is required to do on a 17; variants on 17 are as follows:

• Hit on 17s - typically Dealers are always required to stand on a 17 but this particular rule allows them to hit on 17.
• Stand on Soft 17 - The dealer stands if he or she has 17 or better and an ace in the hand.
• Stand on Hard 17 - This is the accepted rule of Blackjack that the Dealer must stand as soon as his or her hand has reached 17 or over and is the ‘classic’ way to play Blackjack.

Variations in Doubling - There are also variations on Doubling or when to double; doubling essentially improves the players odds to achieve Blackjack and therefore many casinos do not offer this option. Online casinos offer double more than once and also after Splitting; if this is the case, beware that the win in that Blackjack game may be less than 3:2 as the player’s chances have increased to win and therefore the win may be less.

Certain rules changes are employed to create new variant games. These changes, while attracting a Beginner, do actually increase the house edge overall.

In the Double Exposure Blackjack variant, both of the dealer’s cards are dealt face-up. This game increases house edge by paying even money on blackjacks and players losing ties.

Double Attack Blackjack has very liberal blackjack rules and the option of increasing one’s wager after seeing the dealer’s up card. This game is dealt from a Spanish shoe, and blackjacks only pay even money.

Chinese Blackjack is played by many in Asia, and typically does not allow the player to split cards.

Asian Blackjack, a 6-deck Blackjack variant, is offered by Red Lounge Casino, a UK online casino. In their Asian Blackjack, the following rules apply:

• 7-7-7 of any suit and 6-7-8 of the same suit pays 3 to 1;
• a Player may surrender half of his or her bet, provided dealer does not have an Ace showing, before a third card is dealt to any hand.
• If the player has a blackjack and the dealer is showing an Ace, player may claim even money (1:1) or continue the game.
• Dealer does not draw a hole card (i.e. the face down card).
• Uses six 52-card decks.

Elimination Blackjack is a tournament form of blackjack and Poker combined.

Optional and Side Bets - Many casinos offer optional side bets at standard blackjack tables. A common side-bet is the “Royal Match”, in which the player is paid if his first two cards are in the same suit, and receives a higher payout if they are a suited queen and king; the player also receives a jackpot payout if both the player and the dealer have a suited queen-king hand.

21+3 - This variant is becoming increasingly common in land casinos and Virgin Casino offers this exciting game online. In 21+3, the player’s two cards and the dealer’s up card form a three-card poker hand; players are paid 9 to 1 on a straight, flush or three of a kind. It is importnat to note that though exciting and thrilling, these types of side bets invariably offer worse odds for the player than classic blackjack.

Lazy Blackjack - Lazy Variant Blackjack is a term used when playing Blackjack with a much longer time limit. As far as we know, there are no more online casinos offering Lazy Blackjack. The Lazy Blackjack tables all have the same rules as the classical ones, except for the time limits, which are much longer. Lazy variant games are suitable for players who do not mind if the game goes very slowly or want it to go slow.

There is a program called Lazy Blackjack which is intended for right organization and conducting of Blackjack both in “real” and in Internet casino.

The program does your card counting gives all the necessary prompts in different game situations and is indispensable whilst playing online Blackjack. The program lays out a basic game strategy and prompts various game situations. We haven’t tried the program at all so are unable to vouch for its authenticity.