Blackjack is sometimes also known as "21", and after roulette, it’s the most popular casino game in the world. With its many online table game variations found here at Mr Green’s online casino, Blackjack continues to be a timeless casino classic.
The origin of the game has eluded researchers, making it a widely-debated topic. Some references suggest that the game was invented in the 1600s or 1700s in Spain or France. Some historians believe it originated from the Roman Empire, when Romans used wooden blocks with numbers on them.
We like to think it all began right here at Mr Green.
The objective when you play Blackjack is not to land on 21, but to beat the bank, or the dealer. There are three ways of doing this: Get 21 points on the first two cards (called a ”Blackjack”), without a dealer Blackjack, reach a final score higher than the dealer without exceeding 21, or let the dealer draw additional cards until his or her hand exceeds 21 (called a ”bust”).
The player is dealt two cards, and adds together their value. Face cards are counted as 10 points and an ace is counted as 1 or 11. All other cards are counted as the numeric value shown on the card. After the first two cards, the player can choose if he wants an additional card (”hit”). When the player doesn’t want any more cards, he ”stands”. The dealer then turns his cards over and does the same. The dealer is bound by some general rules, such as always draw until he gets 17 or more, and must stop after that. If the player has more than the dealer, or the dealer busts, the player wins.
In addition to the basics, there are some options during the game. The player is allowed to increase the initial bet by up to 100% in exchange for committing to stand after receiving exactly one more card, which is called ”Double down”. If the first two cards of a hand have the same value, the player can ”split” them into two hands, that are treated as separate hands, except that a Blackjack after a split is counted as non-Blackjack 21 when compared against the dealer’s hand. If the dealer’s exposed card is an ace, you can get ”insurance” against a Blackjack. It’s a separate bet that pays 2:1 if the dealer gets Blackjack.
Mr Green currently offers you nine variations of casino Blackjack to choose from, which have been created by different suppliers including Netent, Microgaming and Evolution.
In classic Blackjack the player has a 49% chance of winning, which makes it the most ”equal” table game in casinos. There is a "house edge", a statistical advantage for the casino that is built into the game, although some people claim that certain strategies can help decrease that advantage slightly.
With liberal house rules and a good strategy, if you play properly the house edge can be as low as 0.28%.
Mathematically, in 100 hands the dealer will win 48 hands, the player will win 44 and there will be eight ties. This is because the dealer plays their hand last. Always check the house rules, because they dictate what your advantage or disadvantage is.
16 is the worst hand in blackjack, followed by 15 as the second worst hand, and although 21 is the best hand, followed by 20 as the second best, the third best hand is 11.
Blackjack is actually a one-player game, remember that the player's opponent is the game, not the dealer.