Category Archives: Blackjack

How to advance past Beginner status in Blackjack

Despite being a game that doesn’t count much towards fulfilling casino bonus wagering requirements, Blackjack is one of the few casino games where you can significantly increase your odds of winning based on your skills and ability to play the game.

The majority of players start out by learning the rules of the game and then advancing to basic game play principles, but many never really advance much further than this due to the time and effort required to do so. As such, they never really advance past beginner levels and their bankrolls suffer as they continue to play the game at a basic level.

If however, you’re one of the few who want to up your game and start to win more than you lose when playing blackjack, we have a few tips that will help you to push past the mediocre and get you on the path to earning 99% plus payouts.

In order to do this you will need to be aware of the fact that each option you have during at game at any given time will have an associated average win or loss implication. You may imagine that surrendering your hand or doubling with a hard 20 against a dealer with an up card of six would payout at a low rate in comparison to standing, but the differences are not always as large as they seem. Likewise, knowing whether you should hit or double when you’re holding a soft total of 14 when the dealer is showing four will come down to very small margins.

The key to improving your game is to eliminate as many, if not all, of the mistakes that you make that have large margins and to also work toward eliminating mistakes that have smaller margins.

There are a few key areas to focus on in order to do this, the first is knowing exactly when to hit and stand if you are holding a total of 12 or higher and are up against weak dealer hands. Each of these situations will require that you learn the fine guidelines set out in blackjack strategy and follow them every time.

Another important area of interest that has small margins for error is when you are holding a soft total against a weak dealer hand because sometimes it will be more profitable to hit and at other times, doubling will be better. This scenario does come up quite often in the game so it’s important to know how to play each hand.

A single mistake will not send you spiralling into disaster, but making the same mistakes time after time will definitely affect your win rate and bankroll, so instead of wasting money, invest the time and learn to play skilfully so that you can see a return on your efforts.

Playtech Releases best Double Blackjack Attack version yet

Derived from the rule that enables a blackjack player to double his bet after seeing the dealer’s face up Card, Double Attack Blackjack has become a very popular game and while the majority of online casinos offer variants of this game, Playtech has recently released a version that is more entertaining and exciting than all of the others combined.

Playtech’s Double Attack Blackjack utilises eight Spanish decks (each consisting of 48 cards). For those who are not aware, Spanish Card decks contain no ten cards at all. Once you have placed your initial wager a single dealer card is dealt facing upwards in plain view. At this point, the player cards are not yet dealt and based on the dealer’s face up card; you have the option to place an added Double Attack bet up to the value of the initial wager. After you’ve made your choice on whether or not to place a Double Attack bet you first to cards will be dealt facing upwards while the dealer’s second card is dealt facing downwards and the game continues in the same way as standard Blackjack does.

Detailed rules of this game are available in the Help file in the Menu section of your player dashboard and it is advised that you read these before player but here are a few of the most important rules to keep in mind when playing Blackjack Double Attack:

Split hand wagering totals are equal to the sum of both the initial and Double Attack wagers.
You may only double the first bet and the Double Attack bet.
Dealer checks for blackjack.
If the dealer holds an Ace as his/her face up card, insurance will be offered before checking for blackjack.
You may surrender after hitting, doubling or splitting but not after opting to “stand’
If you place a Double Attack wager against an Ace or Face Card you will only lose your initial wager if the dealer holds blackjack.

As can be expected from game variations with changes in standard rules, payouts are also altered as follows:

Player win (including blackjack win) pays out at even money
Insurance Bet pays 5:2

Playtech’s Double Attack Blackjack also offers the very exciting Bust It side bet feature which is an optional bet but has to be placed at the beginning of each hand with the initial wager in the primary game. The Bust It Side Bet works as follows:

You have to be participating in the main game to place this bet.
This bet pays out if the dealer busts with exactly 3 cards.
In order to fulfil and settle this bet, the dealer draws a third card even if you have busted or hold blackjack.
You can win with the Bust It bet even if you lost in the primary game.

As you can see from the above, Playtech’s exciting version of Double Attack Blackjack is packed with action and possible rewards. So if you’re a blackjack fan in the mood for a change, why not play it at Europa Casino now!

To enhance your blackjack experience and improve your chances of making money when you play, check out our winning blackjack tips.

Which players get the best bonus benefits?

A recent study of online casinos and gamblers was was undertaken to establish whether blackjack players are afforded the same benefits when it comes to casino bonuses and the results probably won’t surprise you…

It is no secret that the majority of online slots players switch between casinos not only to try out new games on offer but also to take advantage of the variety of bonus offers available, and let’s face it, there are continuously new games launched new bonuses made available to these players by nearly every casino out there.

Blackjack players on the other hand are a different kettle of fish. Profiles of blackjack players revealed that most play the original or standard version of the game and may only on occasion try something different. They also switch casinos less frequently and usually prefer to stick to a select casino and take advantage of the occasional loyalty bonuses on offer (which are considerably fewer than for those offered to slots players). New versions of blackjack are not regularly launched so there is no real need to switch casinos based on game offerings either.

From the study it seems that online slots players are afforded way more bonuses and games offerings than the more loyal blackjack players, this is simply due to the fact that they generally spend more (with slots having greater margins for casinos than blackjack where the players skill can affect the house edge) and are therefore more profitable to casinos and are worthy of the retention efforts.

This is not to say that Blackjack players are treated badly by any means and some casinos like Spin Palace and Ruby Fortune offer regular bonuses and tournaments to loyal blackjack players. So the trick is to find the best casinos for the game of your choice.

Turn the odds in your favour

It is possible to turn the casino’s odds in your favour. And, I’m not talking about special software or cheating the casino. Then how? The answer is as simple as counting to 21. I’m talking Blackjack, folks! Blackjack is the only casino game where you can turn the casino’s odds in your favour. Forget Craps or even Roulette. You see the difference between games like Blackjack and Roulette is randomness. In Roulette, the wheel spins, a button is pressed, and the ball lands on a number. This happens over and over again. However, the first spin does not influence or have any influence over the 2nd or 3rd or any other spins. The spins are random.

This is not the case in Blackjack, however, because when a hand is played, the cards are removed from the deck, thus changing the proportion of threes and sevens and Aces. And, if you know how to play your cards strategically, then you could have the upper hand, thereby turning the odds in your favour.

It’s not difficult to do. It’s just a matter of counting cards. There is a strategy to counting cards. When a good card is dealt, count up and when a bad card is dealt, count down. Below, is a fairly simple card counting guide:

Card 2 – Count +1
Card 3 – Count +1
Card 4 – Count +1
Card 5 – Count +1
Card 6 – Count +1
Card 7 – Count 0
Card 8 – Count 0
Card 9 – Count 0
Card 10 – Count -1
Card Jack – Count -1
Card Queen – Count -1
Card King – Count -1
Card Ace – Count -1

The easiest way to do this and understand the concept is to start from zero. Whenever you observe a given card, change the count by the indicated amount. When the count is positive, the deck is in your favour and you should increase the size of your wager. The larger the count, the more favourable the deck is to you.

The next question people usually ask is “Is card counting legal?”. In my opinion, it isn’t illegal or cheating. It’s just good mathematics. However, many casinos don’t take too kindly to card counters, because in their opinion, card counters know how to win, which undermines their overall goal – to win money from Players. So, now, you’re probably wondering if it even makes sense to count cards because it seems like a lot of work. Well, that depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re trying to become a millionaire counting cards; then forget it. Even the best card counters only get a one percent advantage over casinos; meaning they need to bet $100 to make back $1. If, however, you are trying to hone your skills and come away with a small stash; then you’re in the right field.