Classic Blackjack or 21 is played worldwide with decks of 52 “international” cards – better known as French cards here – without Jokers. And all the variations that derive from it have appeared to add some spice to the fans’ possible bets and winnings. Various online and land-based Blackjack systems also emerge from here, but those depend on the variants’ particularities and always rely on the basic rules of the game.
List of Blackjack versions
Among the variants of Blackjack, we find:
The American – The dealer has one card face up and one face down. Any initial doubling is allowed, as is surrender at any time. The dealer must fold with a Soft 17. He can reveal the cards in the case of Blackjack.
The European – Played with eight decks, shuffled after each round. The dealer cannot see the hole card until all players decide their move. It is not allowed to peek as in the American, nor to declare surrender. Finally, some splits may not be allowed (depending on the casino rules, maybe splitting 4, 5, or 10 won’t be allowed). Often the dealer calls soft 17.
The Spanish 21 – It is played with only 48 cards (10 are removed), and this gives a greater edge to the house. The “Super Bonus rule “instead rewards the player who manages to do Blackjack with three 7s of the same suit against a 7 drawn by the dealer. And with 6 or 8 decks, this isn’t all that unlikely. Other combinations of 6, 7, and 8 of the same suit increase the payout to 2: 1, while with only spades, the prize goes to 3: 1. However, these bonuses exclude doubling. The “No Match rule “does not allow ties with the player making 21 – the dealer’s peers are won! – and this guarantees the player a benefit against the casino edge.
Atlantic City – The dealer stands on soft 17. He is allowed to peek to see if he has Blackjack. Splitting is allowed up to 3 times (except with Aces, which can only be split once with only one card). L’ late surrender is the main feature at the Atlantic City BJ – after the dealer has checked his cards for Blackjack! You lose half of the stake, but still, you will already have a benefit.
Blackjack Switch – Also known by us as Exchange Blackjack, it is particular for distributing two hands for each gaming station. The player can then exchange their cards with the first two on top of the remaining overall deck. If the dealer has a hand that totals 22 (Hard 22), it is not considered bust but as a tie, except that the player has not got Blackjack without trading or splitting. There are Super Match bets – with 3 cards of a kind, two pairs, or 4 of a kind that pays out between 5: 1 and 40: 1 depending on the casino you choose.
Multi-Hand (Multi-Hand) Blackjack – Often also called Blackjack Unlimited, this variant allows you to play up to five separate hands. Also, and especially famous for online gambling, a seasoned player could control various hands on the screen with a simple click in real-time. The decisions to be made concern the number of hands to play, the separate bets, and any other strategy related to the classic Blackjack game. Given the complexity of multiple hand management, at least here, the minimum Blackjack bets are usually lower.
