See full list on casino.guru. Of course, there are many other types of non-threatening players who may make sudden large bets. Here are a few examples: The newlywed wagering gift money. The drunken college kid on a weekend binge. While blackjack is known to have a relatively low house edge compared to many other table games, side bets aren’t as great for the player value-wise. Side bets have a worse house edge than the game of blackjack does, but they’re still a fun way to add extra flavor to a regular game of blackjack.

The first mention of a from the history of blackjack came from a Spanish dictionary dating back to 1611. Blackjack, the American card game where players try to reach 21, was originally known as Ventiuno. In 1613, Miguel de Cervantes mentioned this game in one of his novellas. While Cervantes is famous for writing Don Quixote, one of the most influential works of literature in the world, he was also an avid gambler. In fact, many of his famous characters were cheats and miscreants.

While Cervantes’ novel was written about two characters in the Spanish province of Seville trying to cheat at the game that would later become blackjack, other countries like France also picked up a variant of the game in the 18^th century.

When Ventiuno became popular in France, it was known as Vingt-Un. The game would be known by that name as it traveled through the rest of Europe, becoming popular in Britain and Germany by the second half of the 18^th century.

Upon arrival in America in the 1800s, the popular card game went through another name change. This time the name was changed from the French Vingt-Un to its current name of blackjack. Common folklore holds that blackjack got its American name when casinos were trying to increase the game’s popularity.

Casinos would payout 10 times more than usual if the player’s hand consisted of an ace of spades and a “black” jack. While this is a cute story, there’s no evidence to back it up, and blackjack likely received its name a different way. The game increased in popularity during the Gold Rush and was a popular pastime among prospectors.

Sphalerite, a mineral known to indicate if gold or silver ore deposits were nearby, was nicknamed blackjack by miners thanks to its color. It’s suggested by scholars that the top bonus in the original game was referred to by players as blackjack, leading to the game itself taking on that name. Blackjack has many variants because the game has such a long history and has been played in so many countries.

If you’re in a casino, you may be perplexed when a dealer is offering a blackjack variant you’ve never heard of. Luckily, many alternatives are easy to understand if you already know how to play blackjack, so you’ll be able to fit right in and play at the table.

How American Blackjack Works

Real money blackjack is played differently around the world, but we’ll describe the US rules a little bit before moving on to blackjack’s other popular variants.

In the US, each player and the dealer are dealt two cards at the start of the hand. One of the dealer’s cards is face up and one is face down. The values of numbered cards are as shown. Face cards like jacks, queens, or kings have a value of 10, and aces have a value of one or 11.

Players draw cards until they bust. You bust if your sum exceeds 21. Your sum will be different depending on whether the ace is high or low.

Let’s say you have an original hand of a five and a six, meaning your sum is 11. Then, you draw an ace. If the ace were to be high, your sum would be 22 and a bust. But because aces can be high or low, your sum is now 12. You draw a five, then decide to hold because you don’t want to risk busting.

While busting means you automatically lose, you still want to draw enough cards to get close to 21 without going over. Once you and other players finish drawing, it’s the dealer’s turn. The dealer will hit until he reaches 17.

A blackjack is when a player receives an ace and a card with a value of 10. The player will win if he receives a blackjack, but the dealer will not. And the player loses if he busts, even if the dealer busts, too.

If the player has a higher sum than the dealer without going over 21, the player wins. If the dealer and player end up with the same sum, then the bet is a push, and all stakes are returned.

Side Bets

Once you’ve gotten the hang of simply placing wagers on blackjack games, you may be interested in spicing up your game with side wagers. In a designated area next to the box for the main wager, you’ll find a box where you can make a side wager at most blackjack tables.

Some games will require the blackjack wager to equal or exceed the side bet wager, so you won’t be able to make a huge side bet without betting just as much on the actual game itself.

While blackjack is known to have a relatively low house edge compared to many other table games, side bets aren’t as great for the player value-wise. Side bets have a worse house edge than the game of blackjack does, but they’re still a fun way to add extra flavor to a regular game of blackjack.

1 – Spanish 21

Spanish 21 has a few key differences from regular blackjack.

If you’ve been frustrated by hitting 21 at the same time as the dealer in regular blackjack, you’ll appreciate Spanish 21. The game pays out 3:2 any time a player hits a blackjack. Many venues offer late surrender in Spanish 21. If the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack, players can surrender and get half their stake back.

Spanish 21 and blackjack both have the dealer dealing two cards to themself to start the game. However, a key difference is if the dealer receives a visible ace in their hand, they’ll peak under the hole card to see if they have a blackjack.

If the dealer is dealt a blackjack, they’ll automatically win and the round is over (except if a player also hits a blackjack, then the player wins and gets paid 3:2).

2 – European Blackjack

The form of blackjack from which the American game evolved, European Blackjack, has a few rule differences from its American counterpart. European Blackjack is played with six decks while American Blackjack can be played with anywhere from one to eight decks.

In European Blackjack, the dealer will only get one face-up card to start the game. The dealer won’t deal himself the second card until the player has finished their hand. Compared to Spanish 21, European Blackjack doesn’t allow the dealer to check for blackjack if his face-up card is an ace.

This prevents the player from being able to double down as easily as other blackjack games since the player doesn’t know if the dealer has a blackjack until the game is over.

3 – Pontoon

Pontoon can be played amongst a group of people without a dealer. At the beginning of the game, no player will be the dealer. Then, the first player to draw a jack will become the banker, which is another way of saying “dealer.”

The combination of an ace and a face card, or a 10, is known as a pontoon. Like blackjack, a pontoon is the best possible hand to receive in the game. Unlike blackjack, pontoon’s next best hand is known as a five-card trick.

A five-card trick is any hand that has five cards in it but has a sum of less than 21. A five-card trick will beat a hand of three or four cards, even if the hand has a higher sum than the five-card trick. The banker will always win in pontoon if he has a hand equal to the players. Pontoon gives the banker a bigger advantage than the dealer has in American blackjack.

4 – Perfect Pairs

One of the most popular blackjack variants, Perfect Pairs is played all around the world. Playing perfect pairs is like playing a regular hand of blackjack but automatically includes a side bet. The side bet is whether the player will be dealt a pair as their first two cards.

There are three types of perfect pairs in the game:

• Two cards with the same number value. For example, two nines or two kings
• Two cards with the same number value and color, like an ace of spades and an ace of clubs
• A perfect pair where the two cards are identical with the same value and suit

Conclusion

We hope this shed some light on blackjack history and provided you with information of the different variations of blackjack that are popular. What is your favorite variant of blackjack? Let us know in the comments.

Table Of Contents

• American Blackjack is a variant of the classic game of Blackjack
• It has better odds than European Blackjack

Blackjack, respectably being the most popular card game at Casinos, has plenty of variants for you to choose from.

Whether you play online or visit the brick-and-mortar Casinos, you’ll come across American Blackjack tables.

How does American Blackjack differ from other variants? Is it worth your time and money? Find out once and for all in this article.

Know all about American Blackjack but looking for free/real money American Blackjack games to play?Head to this online Casino and play at 5+ different American Blackjack tables!

Before we start…

Let’s get one thing straight. Many online Casinos don't call American Blackjack tables 'American Blackjack'.

But you can find American Blackjack tables by other names, for example, Atlantic City Blackjack or Vegas Strip / Vegas Downtown / Vegas Single Hand Blackjack.

The biggest difference between American Blackjack rules and other variants is how the cards are dealt for the dealer. And all of the mentioned games are dealt the same way as American Blackjack is.

American Blackjack vs European Blackjack

In European Blackjack, the dealer gets only one card and the second one comes only after the players make their moves.

In American Blackjack, the dealer gets both cards right away: one card face up and one (hole card) face down.

Let’s be honest now.

It seems like a minor thing to consider in the game of Blackjack. You may not even notice the dealing unless you really pay attention to it.

But it makes a difference in the house edge and the rules.

American Blackjack House Edge

Many things affect the Blackjack odds. It starts with the number of decks used, blackjack (a combination of + , or aka a natural) payouts, specific rules of when the dealer stands, and more.

The card dealing also makes a difference.

When the dealer gets an Ace or 10-value card as a face-up card, they can peek at their second card to see if it makes a natural (a two-card hand of 21 points in value).

If it does, unless you have a natural blackjack, too, you lose your wager before you decide whether to hit or stand on your dealt cards.

If it doesn’t, the game goes on as usual.

However, when it comes to the European Blackjack table, the dealer wouldn’t have a card to peek at.

So, you would make your move, perhaps double down and increase your wager, just to end up losing anyway against the dealer’s natural.

This small difference - option to avoid increasing wager in case of the dealer having a natural - counts for the 0.05 percent lower house edge in American Blackjack games.

While the house edge still depends on other factors, American Blackjack tables therefore usually have only 0.31-0.35 percent edge.

How to Play American Blackjack

One thing that doesn’t change much among Blackjack games is the basic rules.

No matter which variant of Blackjack you play, your goal is to beat the dealer. You can do so by having a higher-in-value hand while not going over 21.

You start American Blackjack game by making your bets. Like with most table games, they usually start at $1.

Both you and the dealer get two cards each.

You see your hand and its value. Also, one of the dealer’s cards. Based on this information you need to make your move:

Unless you surrender, after you make your last move, you see the dealer’s hole card. Then the dealer plays out their hand.

There are three outcomes of the game:

Types Of Roulette Bets

American Blackjack Payouts

There are three types of Blackjack payouts: a natural win payout, other wins payouts, and insurance payout.

The same ones are available at American Blackjack tables, too:

• a natural (blackjack) pays 3 to 2
• insurance pays 2 to 1
• beating the dealer other way pays 1 to 1

How to Win at American Blackjack

I've written it many times before and I’ll write it many times again: following the basic strategy is the best way to play Blackjack.

American Blackjack is no exception.

Whether you play American or European Blackjack, you see your cards and you see the dealer’s face-up card.

It’s enough to base your moves according to the basic strategy. Read more about the basic strategy here or download a pdf of printable basic strategy chart here.

Another thing that increases your chances of winning at Blackjack is card counting.

It’s a lot easier to learn than it sounds and you can use this card counting guide to do it like a pro.

Types Of Blackjack Systems

However, card counters may find different Blackjack variants more convenient.

In American Blackjack online, the dealer uses up to eight decks of cards at the same time. In European Blackjack often only two while you can find Classic Blackjack games where only one deck of cards is used.

With fewer decks, it's easier to count cards. Especially when you’re a beginner.

American Blackjack Games Online

Now that you know how to play American Blackjack and how to beat the dealer at the game, are you ready to play?

If so, online Casinos are heaven for American Blackjack players.

As mentioned before, don’t look for games called exactly American Blackjack.

The developers tend to give Blackjack games various names but you’ll be able to recognize Blackjack that follows American Blackjack rules from the very beginning.

Read the info section of the game or place your first bet to see how the cards are dealt.

At many online Casinos (e.g. here) you can do it completely for free.

Of course, when you play for free you can’t win real money. But it’s a great way to practice online Blackjack basic strategy or the art of card counting.

Once you’re ready to play for real money (and win real money, obviously), top up your Casino account and place real money wagers.

After all, Blackjack is the best game you can play for real money. And once you’ll start playing American Blackjack, it won’t be long until you see why.

Spoiler alert: It has everything to do with Blackjack odds.

Good luck!