Loading...
£1200 Bonus + 200 Spins
BLACKJACK’S HISTORY AND HOW TO PLAY
Blackjack is the most widely played of all casino games in the world, and its popularity in gaming houses has carried over to the world of online casinos. It is first recorded in print in the early 17th century in a story by Miguel deCervantes, author of Don Quixote, under its original name of Twenty-One.
Blackjack is played with either one or several decks of 52 cards, with court cards counting as ten and aces worth one or 11. A game of Blackjack commences with the dealer dealing two cards to each player as well as to himself. The aim of the game is to score a hand adding up to 21, as the original name suggests, with either the first two dealt cards, or reaching the total nearest to 21 with subsequent cards or until other players have all exceeded that number.
Players then decide in turn whether to take another card (also called to ‘hit’), stick with the cards that they have (also called ‘stand’) or double. This means that the player draws another card but must immediately stick with the cards he has. This is a risky strategy, as the player does not know what card he will be dealt, but the risk can be offset by the fact that his stake is doubled. If a player has two cards of the same value, he may choose to ‘split’ – turning the two cards into two separate hands, or he may choose to surrender, retiring from the round but losing only half of his stake. In many casinos, it is also possible to make an insurance bet on the side against the dealer holding an ace in his hand.
Top Blackjack Sites
BLACKJACK VERSIONS AND VARIETIES
The main two varieties of Blackjack offered by the top UK online casinos are known as European and American, but there are many variations of each, depending mainly on where the online casino is based. There are also Spanish Blackjack, which is a more exciting game played with a 48-card deck after all the Tens have been removed, and other variations such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas and dozens of others based on the original game.
Another version of the game is Multihand Blackjack, which is played with five decks of cards and where players can play with as many as five different hands at once. This is certainly not one for beginners, but is growing increasingly popular in UK online casinos with players who have gathered a deep knowledge of strategies.
BLACKJACK WITH LIVE DEALERS
As with roulette, poker and other online casino games, Blackjack can either be played as a video game on a PC or other device or with a live dealer, the nearest thing to reproducing the experience of playing in a real-life casino. From wherever you are, at whatever time, a croupier is standing by to play either against you alone or with others.
STRATEGIES OF BLACKJACK
Ask ten people who enjoy playing Blackjack at online casinos and you will receive ten different answers about how much luck is involved. However, they will all agree that strategies have a great deal of influence on the successful outcome of any game at an online casino. It takes a lot of experience to know when to draw another card, stick with your hand or just fold and walk away from the round. These are decisions that need to be taken quickly, almost instinctively, but experience learned by playing at your favoured online casino, even not always successfully, will count towards you becoming a more successful player later on.
However, the majority of top players will agree that it is essential to:
Double whenever you are holding 11, except when the dealer is holding an ace;
Stick or stand whenever holding a pair of tens, but split when holding a pair of aces or eights;
Stick or stand whenever your hand includes an ace as well as an eight or a nine’
Draw another card whenever you find you are holding a ‘hard’ hand – that is, a hand that does not include an ace.
YOUR BLACKJACK LEARNING CURVE
Blackjack is one of those infuriating games that may be learned in minutes but take a lifetime to master. However,starting small and just enjoying the game will teach you a lot and give you more confidence when playing at one of Top Five Casinos’ recommended online blackjack sites.
As your confidence and experience grows, so will your chances of winning improve. Look at our independently-reviewed sites, choose the one you like and start playing to win today!
