4 Casino Blackjack Formats – Which is Best For You?
These days, casinos usually offer four blackjack formats in the casino. 4 Casino Blackjack Formats – Which is Best For You? Let’s look at all four.
BLACKJACK – WHICH FORMAT IS BEST FOR YOU?
It used to be simple – one real-live dealer and cards we could feel. But as game rules and payouts changed, other ways to play appeared.
The game became hugely popular before the 1800s in France. Casino owners offered terrific bonuses. For a hand with the Jack and Ace of Spades, the player received a 10 to 1 payout, thus the origin of Blackjack’s name. – Related Post – Roll The Bones By Dr. Schwartz
There are four formats to play Blackjack in casinos:
- the traditional live table game with a live dealer
- stadium gameplay, with a live dealer, but played with community cards by many players
- electronic Blackjack, played by up to six players around a blackjack table with a video dealer
- Video blackjack on a solitary machine, usually the same terminal with video poker, keno, and a few slots.
Is it better to play video blackjack at a video poker terminal or shimmy up to the table and play the game the way it was meant to be played? Either blackjack format depends on what you are looking for in your blackjack experience. Some players out there refuse to play a video blackjack game. Some players feel video blackjack can’t be trusted. But there ARE reasons to play video blackjack. Let’s compare:
ADVANTAGES OF PLAYING VIDEO BLACKJACK
- LOWER MINIMUMS – Video blackjack machines often have a lower minimum bet of as little as $1. Even $5 seems low compared to traditional tables, especially on weekends, where limits can start as high as $15 – $25.
- BETTER RULES – Video blackjack games can have better rules than any live game in the same casino. Check the rules, and you may find standing on all 17s, offering surrender, doubling after the split, and splitting up into three hands.
- BETTER COMPS – Casinos’ free perks are calculated higher for machine players. Playing live tables under $25 makes it difficult to earn comps.
- More Info Single Player machines? – Many of us have played at those serious “No Fun Blackjack” tables. The dealer might be grumpy, the players are antagonistic, and Heaven help you if you play the wrong way (according to basic strategy). Some players can be very intimidating, if not downright nasty.
STADIUM BLACKJACK
This a hybrid that crosses all lines. First, being social at the machine isn’t necessary for solitary players. You still have a live dealer, so it’s slower than video BJ but faster due to automatic payouts. Other games, such as Baccarat, give more variety and no pressure to play every hand. Skipping hands or socializing with friends is a less-stress situation and more fun. Besides Blackjack, Baccarat and roulette are also usually provided. Most New England casinos have stadium gambling.
RULES and REWARDS
Points accrued at a classic table game are earned according to the following:
- Amount of Wager per hand
- Time spent at the table
- The table game house edge is being played.
- Average hands played per hour.
But any video format, including stadium gaming, is more like slots and video poker, where the casino software decides your play and your points.
NOW A WORD OF CAUTION FROM OUR FRIEND, THE CASINO ANSWER MAN JOHN GROCHOWSKI:
CHECK THE PAYOFFS – “Given the basic strategy for a single-deck game, the house edge is about 2.5 percent. If you got the total 3-2 payoff on blackjacks, it would be a 0.24 percent game, but even money paid on two-card 21s adds 2.27 percent to the house edge. That’s equivalent to a slot payback percentage of 97.5 percent, so it’s a higher payback than on penny slots. Returns vary from game to game, casino to casino, and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but penny slot paybacks almost always are less than 90 percent.
FASTER PLAY – A word of caution: video blackjack plays much faster than table blackjack. The video game doesn’t need time to deal cards with other players, settle bets, stack chips in trays, buy-ins, cash-outs of multiple players, shuffles, or cuts. You can play as fast as possible as a video player, make decisions, and hit the buttons. You might play only 50 to 60 hands per hour at a full table. If you’re betting $10 a hand, you risk $500 to $600. At your video blackjack game, it’s easy to get in 500 hands per hour. Even with $1 bets, you’re betting $500 per hour.
Your hourly wager total is right up there with the $10 table players, and you’re playing against a house edge that probably is much higher than the table edge. For example, on a six-deck game where the dealer hits soft 17, you may double on any first two cards, including after splits, may split any pair up to three times and blackjacks pay 3-2. The house edge against a primary strategy player is 0.62 percent. If your budget extends only to $1 bets and you’re going to set a low loss limit, then you can have some fun at the blackjack machines. But for extended play, the table usually is the better play.
BAD VIDEO BLACKJACK MACHINES – BEWARE
The machines that can be played advantageously are multi-seat machines where Blackjack pays 3 to 2. 4 In this type of Casino, Blackjack Formats, some video poker machines such as Game Kings and Game Makers, made by IGT, have a heads-up blackjack game on them. But unfortunately, these games typically pay even money on Blackjack. And do not allow doubling after the split, either. So it is best to avoid these games.
One more word of caution concerns IGT Multigame machines. Usually, this blackjack format earns the comps depending on the game with the tightest house edge. That includes the rest of the games on that machine, including the rest of VP, Keno, Slots, and Blackjack. Find video blackjack on machines with poorer VP paytables to ensure the highest amount of earning comps.
ADVANTAGES TO PLAYING LIVE BLACKJACK
WHILE VIDEO BLACKJACK IS A CASINO BLACKJACK FORMAT MORE SUITED TO A BEGINNER FOLLOWING, THERE ARE CERTAINLY ADVANTAGES TO A LIVE DEALER BLACKJACK AND LIVE-ACTION.
BETTER COMPS FOR HIGHER ROLLERS – If you average $25 or more a bet, you will get noticed in the pit and likely get better comps.
COUNTING CARDS – If you count cards, it will be much easier to do so at the table games. It is impossible to count cards on some blackjack machines. A full-table blackjack game will likely be faster than a video blackjack game because novice players are likelier to be on the machines.
SOCIAL – Table blackjack games are also more social than video blackjack machines. No, it’s not the group fun of the craps table, but it can bring a bit of “the players vs. the casino” excitement with the right people.
Related Post – Blackjack Not a Team Game
Summary
There are advantages to playing both live and video blackjack formats. Each player has their own goal of what they would like to get out of a blackjack game. Blackjack can be fun; whether a video or a live game, it is up to the player to decide which they enjoy more. Even with $1 bets, you’re betting $500 per hour.
RELATED POST – 12 Blackjack Tips For Beginners
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