Blackjack is a special game because in order to win, you need a blend between luck, skills and strategy. I was never too fond of slots, for example, simply because I feel like I have no control whatsoever over the outcome. It doesn’t matter how hard you press the spin button or whether or not you manually stop the reels or simply let them spin. The outcome is decided by the RNG (random number generator) and that’s that. Online blackjack, on the other hand, gives you the opportunity to try more variations, which have different rules and features. Here are some of the most popular ones:
- Single Deck Blackjack
- Blackjack Switch
- Super Fun 21
- Pontoon
- Pick’em Blackjack
You can tell from the title that the first variation is played with only one deck of cards, which makes it one of the most profitable ones. Actually, this is something you should always consider when you are wondering which game to play: the less decks of cards it’s played with, the higher the RTP (return to player), so the better for the player. In fact, for Single Deck Blackjack, if the standard rules apply, the house edge is at a shy 0.001%, which means that the RTP is a generous 99.99%. With such a high return, who wouldn’t prefer this game instead of the others, especially when playing for real money? If you take a look at one of the best sites on this topic, you will find some pretty useful tricks to making the most out of your blackjack experience.
But since most operators that feature Single Deck Blackjack use other rules to raise the house edge, Blackjack Switch is actually the variation with the highest RTP – 99.87%, which is not at all bad. There are however certain differences between this game and the rules that vary affect the overall RTP. For example, if the game is played with 8, instead of 6, the house edge is raised by 0.02%; if the dealer draws on soft 17, add another 0.30%. The best part of playing Blackjack Switch is that, as the name says, you can switch your top two cards of the two hands that you play. This means that if you have, for example, one hand with 15, with the 5 as the top card and one hand with 16, with the face card on top, you can end up having one 11 and one 20. That is what I call a rule to the player’s advantage. But even so, if you play side best such as the Perfect Pairs, the house edge will go through the roof and cripple your chances of accumulating a nice profit in the long run. Although the payouts are pretty appealing – 25 to 1 if your first 2 cards are the same value, suit and colour, the probability of winning is so low, that you might as well forget about this side bet.