Blackjack Variants Explained

There is a large number of blackjack variants available online and to Canadian players, with this enticing game proving to be one of the most popular to have ever graced the internet.

One of the best things about this popular pastime is the fact that it is fairly simple to learn the rules of most blackjack variants as the original is exceptionally easy to understand.

Standard Rule Variations

There are a few standard rule variations that can be seen at a selection of online casinos, with some of the most commonly seen rule variants, including the number of decks in play, the dealers soft 17, doubling on certain hands or after a split and resplitting.

Players in Canada will also see that some games will allow for surrendering, where a player has the opportunity to forfeit, with the cost generally half of their stake, dealer peek where the dealer checks whether their exposed card is a 10 or ace and also payout for blackjack, which is reasonably rare and offers reduced payouts to increase the house edge.

Blackjack Double Exposure

An interesting twist on blackjack, double exposure blackjack involves the dealer exposing both cards before the player makes a decision, which is obviously largely beneficial to the player.

However, the dealer does win all ties to even the playing field and winning blackjacks are paid out at even money. This fun variant of blackjack is great for those looking for something a little different to the original.

Blackjack Switch

Blackjack switch is a variant that includes multiple hands, with each player required to play 2 hands. This essentially means that players have to have to place 2 equal stakes at the beginning of every game and they are then able to pick which of the 2 hands dealt they’d prefer to play with.

This ultimately allows players to create potentially stronger hands when starting and gives them a fairly significant advantage. Much like with double exposure, there are a few rules to counteract this, such as even money payouts on blackjack and all bets are pushed when the dealer bust on exactly 22.

Progressive Blackjack

This variation of blackjack is played pretty much the same way as conventional blackjack, barring the fact that there is an additional side bet that can be placed by players should they so wish.

If a player then gets dealt an ace as the very first card then this bet will pay out and if the first 2 cards dealt are both aces, the payout will be bigger. If they are of the same suit the payout gets even larger.

When a player manages to be blessed with 4 aces of the same suit that have been consecutively dealt to them, they will land the progressive jackpot and leave a lot richer!

Perfect Pairs

One of the more entertaining blackjack variants, perfect pairs also makes use of a side bet, whereby the side bet can be won by a player that has been dealt any pair.

The payouts for this variant will differ from online casino to online casino and will be based on the pair’s rank, with suited pairs generally earning bigger payouts.