Blackjack, sometimes known as Twenty One, is often regarded as the most popular card game in the world. A staple of land-based casinos the world over, many of the biggest online casino sites in the UK host various versions of the classic card game.
If you’ve been looking to start your online casino journey, blackjack is arguably one of the best places to start. And on this page, we’ll give you a brief overview of the game to get you up to speed.
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Standard blackjack games employ one or more decks of 52 cards. After a shuffle, the dealer or croupier will give each player a hand of two cards each before drawing a hand of their own. One of the dealer’s two cards will be drawn face-up on the table, while the other is drawn face-down (typically called the hole card). From here, you have several decisions you can make: hit, stand, split, double down, or surrender.
To win a round of blackjack, you must make decisions such that you end up with a hand with a value closer to 21 than the dealer. Any hand that exceeds 21 is called a ‘bust’ and is an immediate loss.
A “hit” requests another card from the dealer to add to your hand until you’re satisfied with the hand’s value. At any point during this, you can “stand“, which passes your turn and waits until the showdown where all players and the dealer show their cards and winnings are paid out.
If the first two cards in your hand are of the same number, you have the option to “split“, which splits your cards into two hands that will each get an additional card and its own bet.
“Doubling down” is a move you can make that has you placing double of your original bet and drawing one extra card only. While risky, the double-down move can let you land a pretty serious win if the cards are in your favour.
Meanwhile, if you aren’t very confident in your cards, you also have the option of “surrendering“, which forfeits half of your bet and sits out until the next game.
A winning hand will pay out even money, or 1-to-1. This means that a bet of £10 will get you another £10 if you win. If you get a blackjack, though, your payout is 3-to-2, although different online casinos in the UK will have different payout rates.
With developers like Microgaming, NetEnt, and Playtech continually pushing the limits of online casino gaming, playing modern online blackjack is becoming more and more similar to the land-based casino experience. The only major difference is that you can’t feel the actual cards in your hands.
As the software business gets more and more competitive, developers are always looking for ways to improve their products. Additional side bets and unique add-on games geared at online players are common examples of this. Progressive blackjack games have even been released by certain developers.
One of the reasons blackjack is so popular is that it has one of the lowest house margins of any game. Take the time to understand some of the methods and you’ll find yourself immersed in the game, as well as potentially making more money. PCs, Android devices, and iPads and iPhones may all be used to play most blackjack games. Check out some of the examples below for some of the best online blackjack games in the UK.
