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Blackjack Variants
Blackjack VariationsBlackjack Switch
Being able to switch cards from one hand to the other improves the player's odds dramatically, so casinos add other rules to get some of their edge back. In Blackjack Switch, a dealer 22 results in a push. And blackjack only pays even money. That helps put the odds back in the casino's favor somewhat. Blackjack Switch has other rules variations based on where you play the game. The house edge is anywhere from 0.2% to 0.5% if you play with perfect basic strategy. The strategy for whether or not to switch cards is usually obvious. If you want to play free Blackjack Switch games online, the game is available at Playtech casinos, so you can try out the play money version of Blackjack Switch there. California BlackjackI can't find a free California Blackjack game online to recommend, but I've included this blackjack variation here for people who are interested. California Blackjack is played in casinos in California, and it's a player-banked version of blackjack. The deck used for this game includes a joker. (Most games use six decks.) Two jokers is a premium hand and usually pays off at 2 to 1. Jokers are wild cards, and any two card hand with a joker is considered a 21 automatically. An ace and a ten are not considered a blackjack in this version of blackjack. The total is still 21, but the hand doesn't qualify for a higher payout. Like most player banked blackjack games, California Blackjack charges a commission of 1% to play, and they round off. So you should be able to afford to bet $100 per hand before considering playing this game, because of the effect that rounding will have on your advantage. The house edge on this game is around 0.5% if you play with perfect strategy. The rules for California Blackjack can vary dramatically from casino to casino. Caribbean 21Free Caribbean 21 is available from any Realtime Gaming powered online casino. Just choose the free play option. The main rules variation for Caribbean 21 is that you can split or double on any two cards, and you can hit and redouble after splitting. Also, aces don't count as 1 or 11 in Caribbean 21. They have a fixed value of 1. Played with perfect strategy, Caribbean 21 has a low house edge of only about 0.2%. Double Attack BlackjackI don't know of a casino online which offers a free Double Attack Blackjack game, but I've included some information about the game here. (Double Attack Blackjack is popular in Atlantic City.) Double Attack blackjack uses a Spanish deck of cards, which is a 48 card deck. It's just like a regular deck of cards, but all of the 10's are removed. In Double Attack Blackjack, the dealer gets her upcard first. After seeing the dealer's upcard, the players can decide to "Double Attack" the dealer by doubling their bets. The game also offers a "Bust It" side bet which has a payoff if the dealer busts. (For example, paying off 200 to 1 if the dealer has three 8's of the same suit.) Exchange BlackjackBetfair Casino offers a blackjack variation called "Exchange Blackjack". The game is played player versus player instead of player versus dealer, and a variety of prop bets are available. Exchange Blackjack has a house edge of 3.9%, which is pretty high for any blackjack game. Extreme 21In "Extreme 21", the dealer hits until she beats the player or busts trying to beat the player. There is no standing on 16 or 17 for a dealer in an Extreme Blackjack game. I don't know of any online casinos offering free Extreme 21 games to play. The game isn't particularly common in casinos either. PontoonI cover free Pontoon games pretty extensively on a page devoted exclusively to that blackjack variation. Click on the "Free Pontoon Games" link in the left menu. Spanish 21I'll eventually cover Spanish 21 in the same kind of detail in which I cover Pontoon, but until then, here's a quick overview of the game. (Spanish 21 is called Pontoon in some Asian countries and in Australia, but for our purposes, Pontoon is a different game entirely.) Spanish 21 games us a "spanish" deck of cards, where all of the 10's are removed. Then a bunch of bonuses and additional rules are added to compensate for the lower chance of hitting a blackjack. For example, any player 21 is always a winner, no matter what the dealer has. A players can also double no matter how many cards he has. Five card, six card, and seven card totals of 21 have bonus payouts: 3 to 2, 2 to 1, and 3 to 1, respectively. 678 and 777 offer bonus payouts too. When played with perfect strategy, Spanish 21 games offer a lower house edge than many other blackjack games. Free Spanish 21 games are pretty easy to find, because a lot of online casinos offer the game. The rules vary from casino to casino though. Super Fun 21Free Super Fun 21 games are easy to find - any Microgaming casino offers the game, including Blackjack Ballroom. Super Fun 21 games are also common in Las Vegas casinos. Most blackjacks in Super Fun 21 only offer even money payouts, but there are a lot of bonuses and quirky rules which help bring some of the odds back to the player, including:
The big disadvantage to Super Fun 21 is the lower payout for most blackjacks. 3 Way ActionI don't know of any online casinos offering free Three Way Action games. This is only considered a blackjack variation because it's three games in one, like Tripoley, but only one of the three games is a blackjack game. The three games in a game of Three Way Action include:
The house edge on this game is way high compared to other blackjack games. 13% or so.) You'd be better off playing roulette even. More Blackjack VariationsI'll add more blackjack variations to this page upon request. You can find strategies and details for almost all of these games at Michael Shackleford's site. My recommendation for most players who want to try a variety of free blackjack games is to check out Free Flash Blackjack or give Blackjack Ballroom a try. |
One really cool blackjack variation is called "Blackjack Switch".
In a game of Blackjack Switch, you play two blackjack hands at a
time. You're allowed to "switch" the 2nd card from either hand to
the other hand. This would be considered a method of cheating at
blackjack if it weren't for the theme of this particular game. All content copyright Free Blackjack.net 2008.