How it Works

While top online casinos these days offer a plethora of Blackjack variants, it is important to note that most of these games are based on either European or American blackjack. The American version, played in casinos across Las Vegas and also available at certain online blackjack sites, is at the centre of our attention here.

Playing Blackjack online for free will reward you with this American variant: it is an excellently designed and executed game; it will provide you with experience in the American Blackjack. American Blackjack Blackjack, or Twenty-One (as it was called in Europe before crossing the ocean) remains one of the most popular casino games to the date. After arriving to America, the game underwent certain modifications in order to adapt to the market. Atlantic City American Blackjack is played by almost the same rules as Las Vegas Strip Blackjack, with the exception of the following rules: Atlantic City Blackjack is played with 8 decks of cards.

Actually, in most cases, American blackjack is referred simply as blackjack. It’s kind of a default game on which different variations are based. Nevertheless, there are some casinos that offer specifically American blackjack game. Online, there are three of those developed by different software providers: Playtech, SkillonNet and BetSoft. You can play all free blackjack games here below.

European vs American Blackjack

Available in single-hand and multi-hand mode, American Blackjack resembles its European counterpart in many ways, but it is the dealer’s hole card that separates the two. Namely, rather than receiving his second card after the player has finished his hands as it happens in European blackjack, here the dealer gets his hole card before the player can make his first decision and this makes all the difference to the gameplay and your winning chances.

Why it matters? Simple. In American version, in case the dealer has an Ace (and sometimes 10) card, he checks for blackjack. If he indeed has 21, the game ends. In European variation, he obviously can’t do that, therefore your risk is higher: you may split or double, just to loose everything to dealer’s perfect hand.

Below you can find some free American blackjack variations.

American Blackjack

Free American Blackjack

Where to Play for Real Cash

American Blackjack Rules

American Blackjack tends to follow Las Vegas Strip rules, with minor exceptions that depend on the variant you are playing. All American Blackjack titles are called hole card games and the most popular versions include Vegas Strip, Atlantic City Blackjack, and even more unique titles such as Double Attack and Progressive blackjack.

The hole card rule can be beneficial for the player due to the fact that you will lose only your initial stake if the dealer has blackjack rather than splitting and doubling your hands only to find out later that it had been a bad decision.

On top of that, you will know that the dealer does not have blackjack before making your decisions and this should also increase your winning chances.

American Blackjack Play online, free

In addition to said main rule, other rules include:

• 6-8 decks in play
• Dealer stands on soft 17
• Dealer checks for blackjack when face card is Ace or 10 value
• Blackjack pays 3 to 2
• Double down after splitting
• 21 after split Aces does not count as blackjack
• Aces can only be split once, with one card dealt to each hand
• Insurance offered when dealer’s face card is Ace, pays 2 to 1

American Blackjack Tips and Strategies

As a game of chance, Blackjack can get the better of you no matter how well you play, but players do have an opportunity to improve their winning chances by following the basic strategy and advice from experienced gamers.

You should always bear in mind that if it is your turn to play, the dealer definitely does not have blackjack, and you can, therefore, play with more confidence and adopt a somewhat riskier approach than you would normally.

When dealer’s face card is 6 or lower, you should stand even when you have what is normally considered a weak hand, due to the fact that the dealer will be forced to draw another card if he gets a ten-value card, meaning he is more likely to bust.

Doubling down on 10 or 11 when dealer’s face card is nine or lower is usually a good idea, but certain versions do not allow hitting after doubling down, and you need to be more careful when playing such titles as you will not always get a ten-value card after doubling down.

American blackjack is one of the most popular versions of blackjack in the USA. The basic rules of blackjack are described in our Guide section.

Main Features

1. During the deal, the dealer receives not one, but two cards. The first card (the upcard) is face-up and the second (the holecard) is face-down. If the first card is either an Ace or Ten, the dealer checks the second card (without showing it to the player) to see if he has blackjack. If he has blackjack, the second card is turned over and results on all boxes are determined. Otherwise, the game continues as usual.

2. The player can play on up to four boxes. The player can make a bet on the bonus in addition to the basic bet. There are two bonus bets, on blackjack and on sevens.

3. Any two cards can be doubled down, including after a split.

4. Hands can be split no more than three times, meaning the maximum number of combinations on a single box is four.

5. After being dealt two cards, the player can surrender. However, as it follows from paragraph 1, if the dealer has blackjack, surrendering is not allowed. That type of surrender is called a late surrender.

6. The player is offered a chance to surrender before the play on the relevant box.

7. It is clear after dealing whether or not the dealer has blackjack. Therefore, there is no place for concepts like even money or insurance in this game.

8. The game uses six decks and the cards are shuffled before every hand.

BetVoyager features our conventional version of this game and a version with no house edge. In the version with no house edge, blackjack with an Ace-King of spades pays 4:1, eliminating the house edge on the basic bet. All other forms of blackjack pay 3:2. Please note that the casino retains its advantage for any bets on the bonus.

Basic Rules

1. Before the cards are dealt, the player chooses which boxes he wants to play on and makes his bets. The minimum and maximum bets for the table are clearly stated. In addition to the basic bet, the player can bet on bonus. There are two bonus bets - on blackjack and on sevens (paragraph 11).

2. To make a bet, it is first necessary to choose a chip with the desired face-value. At the beginning of the game, this chip is chosen by default, and the chip with the minimum face-value fixes itself onto the cursor. If the player wants a chip with a different face-value, he can select it by clicking on that chip with the cursor. The player can also use the scroll wheel on his mouse to change the chip’s value. After the chip is selected, the player can place a bet by clicking the mouse on the desired part of the game table and his bet will appear there. Each subsequent click adds another chip of the selected face-value to the bet. If the player wants to remove the last chip from his bet, he can remove the chip fixed onto the cursor by clicking the cursor on any empty part of the game window and then clicking on this bet.

3. The 'Clear' button can be pressed to remove all the bets from table. If the player wishes to repeat his bets from the previous hand, he can press the 'Rebet' button. The 'Deal' button will begin the game after all bets have been made.

4. During the deal two face-up cards are placed on each box. The dealer also receives two cards, one face-up and the other in the hole. If the first card could be used to make blackjack (an Ace or a Ten), the second card is checked. The check procedure is shown on the screen as it is conducted in the majority of American casinos: the second card is passed over the scanner and then either a red or a green light flashes. If the dealer has blackjack (the red light), the second card is opened, and final results on all boxes are determined: the player loses all his bets except for any boxes with blackjack (on these boxes the game ends up in a draw, the bets are returned to the player). If the dealer doesn’t have blackjack (the green light), the game continues according to a common scheme described below.

5. If any of the player’s boxes have blackjack, the player wins automatically. On the remaining boxes, the player has several options:

   • hit, by taking another card, to strengthen his hand (the 'Hit' button)
   • stand, or keep the hand unchanged so as to compare it with the dealer’s hand (the 'Stand' button)
   • stand on all his combinations remaining in the game (the 'Stand All' button)
   • double the bet (the 'Double' button)
   • split the cards, if both of the player’s cards have the same value (the 'Split' button)
   • surrender, ending the game and losing one half of the bet (the 'Surrender' button)

6. If the player takes an additional card and busts, his bet is lost immediately. If the card gives him 21, the hitting ends automatically. In all other cases, after getting a new card, the player has three options:

   • hit again, taking another card (the 'Hit' button)
   • stand (the 'Stand' button)
   • stand on all his combinations (the 'Stand All' button)

7. If the player doubles a bet, he automatically receives one extra card. Further hitting is impossible.

8. If the player splits his cards, then instead of one two-card combination he receives two, each consisting of a single card. He has to bet on each new combination. The bet must be equal to the original one, so he is in effect doubling his bet. The player first plays the first hand and, once it is finished, the other. The second card in each new hand is dealt automatically. After that, the player has the following options:

   • hit, taking another card (the 'Hit' button)
   • stand (the 'Stand' button)
   • stand on all his combinations (the 'Stand All' button)
   • double the bet (the 'Double' button)
   • split the cards again, if both of the player’s cards have the same value (the 'Split' button)

   The maximum number of combinations received after repeated splits is four. If the new combination is an Ace and a Ten, the new hand is not considered blackjack and is simply 21. When Aces are split, the second card a player receives is the final one. Further hitting is impossible and doubling is not allowed. However, if the new card is another Ace, the player can split his cards again.

9. If the player surrenders, he loses one half of his bet and the game on that box is over. The other half of the bet is returned to the player.

10. When decisions on all the boxes have been made, the dealer turns over his second card. If the first two cards are not equal at least to 17 (hard or soft), the dealer continues to add cards until his combination reaches at least 17. After that, each player’s combination that is still in the game is compared with the dealer’s hand, and final results are determined. If both sides have the same number of points, the game ends in a draw, and the player’s bet is returned to him.

11. The bet on the bonus is a separate bet that doesn’t have any relationship to the main course of the game. The bet on blackjack wins if the player is dealt blackjack. The bet on sevens wins if the first card dealt on the box is a 7. If the second card is a 7 too, the payout increases. Maximum payout can be received if the third card dealt on the box is a 7 again. The sevens’ suits do not matter.

    The size of any bet on the bonus is limited to €20. The minimum size is defined by the cheapest chip allowed at the table. The payout for these bets works according to the following table:

    Blackjack	7	77	777
    19:1	8:1	40:1	250:1

    The reward for three sevens can only be received if all sevens are from the same combination. If the player splits a pair of sevens, he is paid for two sevens, but nothing more.

12. If during the hand the player makes a very bad decision (for example, if he stands with 11 points), he will receive a warning message. As a rule, this happens when the player presses the wrong button by mistake. If the player wants, he can turn off these messages by using the settings.

    For players' convenience, any changes made to the settings will be saved in the parameters of the player's browser. If the player finishes the game session and then opens a new one, his settings will be automatically restored.