Categories: Australia |
Published by: The Orb
Online blackjack is one of the most popular casino table games in Australia along with roulette and poker. No wonder this game has found its way into the online casino.
Blackjack @ The Orb
In this review we have several guides for you that will introduce you to Blackjack, explain the rules and important phrases. So you can study the rules before you start playing.
The advantages of Blackjack are quickly listed: it’s a game that’s as simple as it is fun, it comes in many variations and you can constantly improve if you know the rules and strategies.
You will also find online casinos with the best welcome bonuses on this page. You can also use bonus money for Blackjack, the better the offer, the more opportunities you have to enjoy the game.
Here at The Orb we not only introduce you to the best online casinos to play Blackjack, we also show you what you need to know as a beginner, what Blackjack variations there are and who makes the best Blackjack games. Here we go!
Online Blackjack Bonus
A Blackjack bonus is basically just bonus money. You don’t need a special Blackjack bonus. All you have to do is find an online casino that offers a good selection of Blackjack variations and table games and make sure you can use the welcome bonus on it and you can play Blackjack with a bonus.
Of course, the best online casinos go one step further and offer you prizes and bonuses for playing Blackjack at irregular intervals. These can be special rewards for winning at certain live casino tables over the weekend or other incentives to try Blackjack.
Play Blackjack for Free and Get to Know the Game
Similar to online pokies, you can try Blackjack as a demo in many casinos and on developer websites. This will give you a good feel for the Blackjack game in practice.
Learn How to Win Blackjack with The Orb
Of course, we don’t just teach you what blackjack is and where to play it and then leave you out in the rain. We want to make you a winner. As with all casino games, the winnings are not insignificant, although the fun should always come first.
That’s why we’ve got guides for you on how to improve your Blackjack strategy and how to win in Blackjack.
The Orb’s Online Blackjack Tips
You can already find many tips on how to play Blackjack on our site. This section will be expanded with more Blackjack variations.
Online casinos themselves also often offer Blackjack resources. Also, don’t forget to chat about Blackjack with other players, for example in forums, because a hobby together is always a lot of fun.
In classic Blackjack, you and the dealer are playing for a card value that is as close to 21 as possible without exceeding 21.
Compare Online Blackjack and Classic Casino Blackjack
What advantages and disadvantages Blackjack can have for you in the online casino depends a bit on what kind of casino you have nearby. If you live near a big casino, you’ll have more choice than in the small casino around the corner, so much is clear.
But there are also some basic advantages of online casinos that show why online gambling has become so popular.
You get bonuses that allow you to win real money and prolong your game.
In the online casino you will often find more Blackjack variants than in the classic casino.
The possible winning amounts online are often higher than in small casinos in your city.
Online Blackjack may still have a few minor drawbacks, depending on your personal taste:
Compared to Blackjack in a real casino, even Live Casino Blackjack can seem a bit impersonal.
Large, glamorous casinos invest a lot in atmosphere to make you feel like something special – online casinos often have a hard time doing that, even with sophisticated technology.
Playing a table game against a computer is of course completely different from playing against a real dealer – so for the most accurate comparison of the two, we recommend playing Online Blackjack at Live Casino.
Snacks and drinks must be provided before the game.
Due to the huge choice you have to make sure that an online casino is safe and agree to the terms and conditions, because you give personal information for a casino account.
But online casinos are an ideal place to learn Blackjack. We’ll help you find the safest and most trustworthy casinos, and there’s always guaranteed to be a seat at the table for you.
Compare Online Blackjack and Live Blackjack
There are also significant differences between the online blackjack variant against a computer and the game against a live dealer. We’ve put them together to help you find the game that suits you best.
When you play Blackjack against the computer, but in the Table Games category of your online casino, for example, the cards are determined by a random number generator. The principle is the same as for pokie machines to guarantee absolute randomness and fairness in the cards. Since there are several variations, you can choose the game where you like the bet and the house advantage.
The choice of Blackjack in the live casino is usually limited to one or two games, meaning there is less room for betting. And you never know what dealer you’ll get. If you don’t like the dealer, however, you can easily find a live Blackjack variant from another game provider and change the dealer.
If you have a problem at the live casino, you can talk to the Pit Boss, but if you have a problem with automated Blackjack, you must report it to your online casino customer service. This process is much more complicated.
Blackjack against the computer is always a good option if you want to play in peace without talking to a dealer. It’s also a good opportunity to practice, and Blackjack against the computer can often be played for free as a demo.
In the live casino, on the other hand, you have the opportunity to count cards, even if it’s even harder to do so via webcam than it is anyway.
Popular Online Blackjack Variations
There are many different Blackjack variations and here we explain the most popular ones.
Classic Blackjack
In Classic Blackjack, you and the dealer play to have a card value in your hand that is as close as possible to 21 without exceeding 21. This variant is also known as “21” or “Seventeen and Four”. It is played with several decks of 52 cards.
Players start with one card face up, pay their bet and receive another card, from then on they can request multiple cards from the dealer. If the player’s first two cards are an ace and a 10 or an ace and a booth, queen or king, this is called Blackjack. If the dealer has a hand of less than 16 points, he must draw a card.
Due to the open cards and the fact that the dealer must act under certain conditions, a Blackjack strategy can be developed. Read more about the Blackjack strategy and the rules here.
European Blackjack
This variant is very similar to classic blackjack. It is played with two decks of cards, and there are a number of special rules, including –
If the dealer and player have Blackjack, the game ends in a tie.
Unlike Classic Blackjack, the dealer does not control his hand for Blackjack.
In a Soft 17, the dealer is not dealt another card.
Players can only double if their cards have a total value of 9, 10 or 11.
Free Bet Blackjack Online
Free Bet Blackjack allows free splitting and doubling.
Blackjack Switch
In Blackjack Switch, you play two hands simultaneously. You may switch the second card dealt to you from one hand to the other and improve your hands. The trick is to know when is the best time to do this.
Blackjack Two-Card Game
You may see the first two cards of the dealer’s hand. This advantage is offset by the fact that a Blackjack is worth less than in classic Blackjack, and that a tie means the player loses his bet.
Multiplayer Online Blackjack
In Multiplayer Blackjack, each player still plays against their own dealer, but the player who gets the best result, i.e. wins the most hands possible, is the winner. Multiplayer Blackjack just adds another exciting competitive level to the game, similar to pokie tournaments.
Single Deck Blackjack
Blackjack with only one card game is the Blackjack variant with the lowest house advantage, unless an online casino adjusts the rules accordingly.
Progressive Blackjack
This Blackjack variation comes with a side bet that allows you to play for a progressive jackpot. This variant was invented because otherwise it can take quite a long time to win large amounts of money in BlackJack.
Blackjack Surrender
Blackjack Surrender is a form where you can give up immediately after dealing the first two cards. This will cost you half your bet. This variant is very common online Australian casinos.
5 Hand Blackjack
This is a Blackjack variant specially developed by game developer Playtech, which is played with 5 hands and a progressive jackpot.
Caribbean 21 Blackjack
A somewhat rare variant, developed by Realtime Gaming, where the ace has the value 1. The Blackjack hand becomes the Caribbean 21 hand, consisting of an ace and two tens. There are also other rules for doubling and splitting.
Face Up 21 Blackjack
This is also a Blackjack game developed by Realtime Gaming. The dealer’s first two cards are visible to you and he does not have to check for Blackjack if his first card is an Ace or 10.
Super Fun 21 Blackjack
Here, Aces count as either 11 or 1, all face cards have a value of 10. The player wins automatically if he holds six or more cards with a total value of 20 in his hand.
Match Play 21 Blackjack
Match Play 21 is about beating the dealer by points. You don’t have to get as close to 21 as possible, you just have to make sure you have more points than your opponent.
Spanish 21
In Spanish 21 there are no cards with the value ten. The face cards remain in play, but the cards with the value of ten no longer exist. The player’s 21 always beats the dealer’s 21.
Pontoon
Pontoon has similar rules to Spanish 21. Here are some peculiarities to classic Blackjack:
A hand of two cards with the value 21 is called “Pontoon
Players may only stop if they have a total value of 15 or more.
The dealer must draw another card on a Soft 17 and wins in the event of a tie.
Live Dealer Blackjack
Classic Blackjack or a variant played against a real human dealer in a live casino.
Blackjack Tournaments
Of course, online casinos also have tournaments. Sit and Go tournaments, a term used primarily in poker, are tournaments in which a fixed number of players play over a certain period of time. There can be different rules. Either you play according to the multiplayer blackjack rules until the player with the highest total and the best hands wins.
There are also Elimination Blackjack tournaments with the following rules:
For the dealer, Hit applies to a Soft 17 & everything below, & Stand applies to Hard 17 and everything above.
A player may split pairs up to four times with the exception of aces.
It is played with 6 decks of cards.
One bet is placed on each round.
Players get half of their bet back when they give up.
Insurance is only allowed if the dealer’s visible card is an Ace.
Doubling only works with two cards.
A maximum of seven players may participate.
Players must make a decision within 25 seconds.
The Best Blackjack Game Developers
Like pokie machines, many different game developers in the casino industry make blackjack games, both for live casinos and for games against the computer. Let’s take a look at some of the famous developers and what makes their games so special. Australian players should realise that not all these developers are accesible for the anymore unfortunately.
Betsoft ( AU friendly)
Betsoft may be better known for pokies, but the game developer also has many table games against the computer on offer. For Blackjack they are:
Single Deck Blackjack
Classic Blackjack
21 Burn Blackjack
Pontoon
Pirates 21
European Blackjack
Multiple award-winning and available in almost every good online casino, Betsoft Blackjack offers another way to try it out. You can also play Blackjack for free via our website.
Evolution Gaming
If you’ve already played live at the casino, Evolution Gaming will be familiar to you. It is one of the best known and most popular game developers especially for this area and has already won many awards. This developer’s games are available in many online casinos and are often the only live casino software used there.
Evolution Gaming offers three live blackjack variants:
Classic Blackjack
Free Bet Blackjack
Infinite Blackjack
Infinite Blackjack is a game developed by Evolution Gaming itself, with an infinite table and three side bets. In selected casinos, Evolution Gaming also operates extra Blackjack tables for VIPs.
Evolution Gaming games are available mobile.
Microgaming
Microgaming has the following online blackjack variants in its program:
Spanish Blackjack
Classic Blackjack
European Blackjack
Super Fun 21
Double Exposure (two cards)
Bonus Blackjack
Multihand Blackjack
Multihand Bonus Blackjack
Atlantic City Blackjack
Single Deck Blackjack
Considering how long Microgaming has been active in the casino industry (over 20 years!), it’s no wonder you get the widest selection of online Blackjack variations here. For the size of its portfolio and the quality of its software, Microgaming receives numerous awards every year. This is great because you can get Microgaming games in almost every online casino.
Play’n Go
Play’n Go clearly focuses more on pokies. The game developer offers just 10 table games in total, including classic Blackjack, Single Deck Blackjack and Multihand Blackjack. You can play these games for free on the Play’n Go page.
Yggdrasil
Pokie game developer Yggdrasil recently released his first table game. They are called Sonya Blackjack and Lucky Blackjack and are characterized by the fact that the computer-controlled dealer was completely animated in 3D. In the background, cheerful music is playing and you can watch the elaborately designed character deal.
Yggdrasil games are available in many online casinos because of their high quality, but these two table games are still a bit rare.
Why Should I play Blackjack?
Classic Blackjack is one of the easiest table games in the online casino and is a lot of fun once you master it. These are some of the reasons why Blackjack might be something for you:
You can play Blackjack even with very small bets.
Blackjack is one of the shorter table games, depending on the variant.
There are many interesting variations to try out.
You only play against the dealer – ideal when playing against experienced players makes you nervous.
It’s equally about luck and strategy.
Summary
As you will have noticed, the world of online blackjack is big and has many variations and strategies to deal with. We hope that with this review you will find a good starting point for your journey into the exciting world of this table game. We wish you lots of fun with your favorite variant.
