European Blackjack
Loading...Among eight blackjack variations offered by Realtime Gaming, European Blackjack is believed to be one the most balanced and mainstream table games available in the USA as of now. Its visual setup is a little bit dated as it was released back in 2013, yet it is a robust and very popular BJ with an approximate return of 99.35% to 99.53%. This uncertainty in player’s edge is because online casinos are given an option to configure manually the number of decks used (2–8), hence the varied edge. Payouts in this casino game are regular: BJ, Insurance bet and normal wins award 3:2, 2:1 and 1:1.
Table limits of $1 to $250 (or in bitcoin values) are always displayed on the table and so are the most basic rules such as “Dealer must stand on soft 17”. All the four decisions (Split, Double, Stand and Hit) and the Deal button are shown under the table; some are greyed out if the related option is not applicable in a given play situation.
All European blackjack games, including the reviewed BJ, are played with no hole card. Dealer receives a single face up card and no hole card. An evident implication is that the dealer does not check for blackjack and this further means a player may lose all splitting and doubling related wagers if the dealer does have blackjack at the end. With this in view, a proper strategy needs to be applied, especially if real money bets are in play.
Other rules peculiar to European Blackjack from Realtime Gaming:
- “Double” option applies to hard nines through elevens
- Player may split cards up to 3 hands and continue hitting each hand except if two aces were split, in which case only one Hit is available for each hand
- Insurance is offered on dealer’s ace. It costs half the ante and is resolved as soon as the player has finished their move (in contrast to American rules in which Insurance is resolved immediately).
There are three ways of winning a round in European blackjack:
- Player gets blackjack in the two initial cards
- Player’s hand scores higher than the dealer’s without exceeding 21
- Dealer busts (scores in excess of 21).
Written & published:
26.11.2020 By author
Michael P.
Reviewed & updated:
13.12.2024 By gambling expert
Brad I.
