Playing Blackjack Online

I can't think of a single online casino that doesn't have a Blackjack game. Blackjack is by far the most popular table game. The game is familiar to many players and most people know the basics of Blackjack, but there is many players that don't know when it is advisable to hit, stand, double down or when to split a pair. This is actually a good thing if you are advanced player, because if the newbie were not making any mistakes, then the casino would be forced to increase the house advantage by altering the rules of the game. Some casinos in Las Vegas and at some online casinos have already done this by not letting you double down as much and paying a BJ 6:5.
    Watching a novice hit his hand when he should be standing, and taking the card that would've busted the dealer is rather annoying at times, but luckily at Internet casinos only you and the dealer is playing at the table. So the only mistakes you have to worry about online are the mistakes you make at the blackjack tables.
    The wagering limits for blackjack will depend at which online casino you choose to play at. Most Internet casinos have a minimum wager of $1, but the maximum wagers varies from $25 to $1000 per hand. The maximum allowable wager for a blackjack hand is at the Platinum Play online casino which accepts wagers up to $1000 at their high roller tables.
    The greatest casinos to play BJ is the Bovada Casino and the Platinum Play Casino. All of which offer an attractive blackjack bonus that greatly reduces the already small house edge for blackjack. Lately there has been some new innovative online casinos featuring online blackjack with live dealers.


Best Casinos to play Blackjack Online

  Casinos
Bonus
Bonus Play Through
Limits
Play Now
100% up to $250

500 x bonus wagering requirement for blackjack

$1 to $500
100% up to $600

500 x bonus wagering requirement for Blackjack

$1 to $500

 


Top Blackjack Bonus

It is hard not to offend a couple of casinos when you are picking the top online casino for Blackjack, but the Bovada Casino is such a great casino for playing blackjack, that it would be hard to argue a better place to play blackjack online. Playing at the Bovada Casino you will be able to get a 100% blackjack bonus up to $600. The bonus will be worked off at the rate of 500 times your blackjack deposit bonus. This will result in a house advantage decrease of 0.2%. Using the bonus you can expect a loss of 1.2 cents for every $1 wagered compared to a loss of 1.4 cents for playing without a bonus. This is assuming you are using proper blackjack strategy.

Blackjack Bonus: 100% up to $600
Deposit $600 and get a $600 bonus.
Wagering requirements: 500 x bonus
Deposit $250, and play (25 x ($250 + $250)) ÷ 0.10 = $125000/$250 bonus = 500 x bonus.
Pay out %: 98.6%
Expect to lose 1.4 cents for every $1 wagered.
Pay out with bonus: 98.8%
$200 Bonus x 500 = $100000 play through, $100000 x (98.6%) = $98600 winnings, $98600 + $200 bonus = $98800, $98800(payouts)/$100000(wagers) = 98.8%


Blackjack Facts

Skill Level Needed: High
Aces: 1 and 11
Type of game: Playing cards
House Edge: less than 1% depending on house rules and your strategy
What to look for: Try to find a casino that offers a player friendly rules.


Object of Blackjack

To beat the dealer by having a higher hand or making the dealer bust.


Blackjack Terminology

Surrender: The player surrenders half his bet after looking at his cards and seeing the dealer's up card.
Stand: The player stops receiving cards from the dealer.
Hit: The player is asking the dealer for another card.
Insurance: Is a side bet whether or not the dealer has a blackjack or not, the bet is only available when the dealer has an Ace showing.
Double: The player will double his bet and will get one more card and only one more card from the dealer. This bet is only available if you haven't hit or stand yet.
Split: The player decides to split a pair into two separate hands.
Blackjack: An Ace and a ten card (10, Jack, Queen, King).
Bust: When the player's or dealer's hand is over 21.


Blackjack Variations

The way blackjack works is that you must be closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over.  Blackjack variations have different rules and sometimes unique game play.  Most blackjack games have 52 cards in a deck and allow you to see your first two cards and one of the dealer's, but some have 48 cards in a deck and allow you to see both of the dealer's cards.  Knowing the blackjack rules for the game you are playing is very important and you should do a little reading to find out the best possible blackjack strategy.


European Blackjack

This is a regular game of blackjack that doesn't have any bizarre rules.  Some of the rules you should take note of are that the dealer will stand on a soft 17 and you are allowed to hit after splitting aces.  Some negative rules are that you can not re-split any pair, no surrendering is allowed, dealer doesn't check for blackjacks until all hands are played and you can only double down on a 9, 10 or a 11.


Atlantic City

Atlantic City blackjack is played like most blackjack games.  Some of the rules to remember are that the dealer will check his down card for blackjacks when a ten or a Ace is showing, the dealer will stand on a soft 17, late surrender is allowed, you can double down on any two cards and after splits.  You can re-split up to three times and insurance is available whenever an Ace is up.  The only drawbacks are that you when you are splitting Aces you will only get one more card and you can not re-split them.  Also blackjacks made by splitting Aces will only be counted as 21 instead of a blackjack.


Vegas Downtown

Vegas Downtown is very similar to Atlantic City blackjack.  The only major differences is that the dealer hits on a soft 17.  There is one Vegas Downtown table, but Atlantic City has slightly better rules, so it would be better to play on those tables instead.


The Vegas Strip

Vegas Strip rules are similar to the Atlantic City blackjack rules except that you can not surrender your hand.


Blackjack Surrender

BJ Surrender is vary similar to Vegas Strip except you can surrender your two card hand after the dealer has checked for a Blackjack and you will not be able to re-split a pair.


Pontoon

In this game a 21 will be called a Pontoon.  A Pontoon will be paid out 2:1, a five card trick (a hand that has been hit to the point of having five cards) will beat any hand that has four or less cards in it, this will also be paid out 2:1.  Ties are counted as a loss to the player, players must hit a hard 14 or less and the most unique rule is that both of the dealer's cards will be hole cards.  Which means you will not see any of the dealer's cards until after you have finished playing your hand.  Okay this may seem all that crazy and hard to understand.  That is why we have found you a Pontoon strategy chart.


Double Exposure

Playing this game, you may think there is a glitch in the software, but there probably isn't.  In this game you will see both of the dealer's cards.  As you might expect there are some different rules for this game when compared to the standard blackjack games.  The dealer will win all ties except the player will win whenever there is a blackjack.  Blackjacks pay 1:1 and of course there isn't any insurance available.  Some more normal rules include, doubling down after splits is allowed, Aces can be re-split, hands can be re-split three times, dealer will hit a soft 17 and doubling down is only allow on a 9, 10 or a 11.  This game is truly unique and does take some getting used to.  Some things you should remember is that you have to beat the dealer.  So if you and the dealer both have 20, then you will need to hit your hand to have a chance at winning.


Spanish 21

This game is played with only 48 cards per deck.  The four tens have bee removed from the deck.  That would be a huge player disadvantage, but there are some unique rules to balance it out.  Almost every possible player friendly rule is allowed except that the dealer will hit a soft 17.  Also a player's 21 will beat the dealer's 21 and the player's blackjack will beat the dealer's blackjack.  There are more truly unique rules for Spanish 21.  To learn more about it check out the full Spanish 21 rules.  There is also a Super Fun 21 table.


Lucky Blackjack

In this game you will not have a hand to play.  All you will be doing is betting on the outcome of the dealer's hand.  You can bet if the dealer will end up with a 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, a blackjack or a busted hand.  If you are correct you will paid out based on the pay out odds for that hand.  In this game the dealer will continue to hit until he has a hand that is 17 or higher.  The dealer will always stand on a soft 17 and the wagering limits is $1 to $5 per bet.


Blackjack Switch

Playing this game, you will be playing two hands at the same time and will actually be able to switch out the second card between the two hands.  After this the rules follow the basic rules of a regular blackjack game.  This may seem like a fool proof way to make money, but of course there are some rules that will help the casino out as well.  First, blackjacks will be paid out 1:1, no re-splitting is allowed and the most important rule is that a dealer's 22 hand will be a push for all active non-blackjack hands.  This is a fun unique variation, that should be practised at the play for free casino first until you have a better grasp of the Blackjack Switch rules.


21 Duel Blackjack

First off you will be dealt two cards, one face down and one face up, the dealer will be dealt two cards and there will also be two communal cards dealt face up where you and the dealer will share.  Next you will either fold your bet or choose one of the two communal cards to go with your up card.  If you choose a card you will be placing a wager equal to your original wager and if you fold your bet, then you will forfeit your original wager.  After choosing your card you will have the option to stay or hit your hand.  If you stand, then you will keep your current hand.  If you hit your hand, then you will have your second card, that was faced down, flipped over and added to your hand.  The dealer will then do the same.  If you have a better hand than the dealer, then you will be paid out 1:1 on your original wager and the raised bet.  If the dealer has a hand that is 12 or lower than you will be paid out 1:1 on your original wager only.  If you have a lesser hand than the dealer and the dealer qualifies (13 or better hand) than you will lose both of your wagers.


Blackjack Strategy

For a casino game, blackjack has a lot of strategy.  Players should follow a blackjack strategy table while playing.  Some noteworthy points are, don't buy insurance, find casinos with player friendly rules and if you are serious about winning in blackjack, learn to count cards to get a small edge over the casino.


Blackjack Table

Blackjack Pay Out Table


Blackjack Games

Hand

Vegas Strip

Blackjack 3:2

Vegas Strip

Winning hand 1:1

BJ Surrender

Blackjack 3:2

BJ Surrender

Winning hand 1:1

Pontoon

Pontoon 2:1

Pontoon

5-Card Trick 2:1

Pontoon

Winning hand 1:1

Lucky BJ

17 hand = 5:1

Lucky BJ

18 hand = 6:1

Lucky BJ

19 hand = 6:1

Lucky BJ

20 hand = 4:1

Lucky BJ

21 hand = 12:1

Lucky BJ

Blackjack = 19:1

Lucky BJ

Busted hand = 2:1

Blackjack Switch

Blackjack 1:1

Blackjack Switch

Winning hand 1:1