How to Play Blackjack - Mr Green Online Casino

Any online casino that offers table games has blackjack in its collection. The popular card game is available in brick-and-mortar casinos and online sites. While various variations have been introduced over the years, the basics of the card game have never changed. Blackjack is unique to other table games like baccarat and roulette since you can apply strategy to each hand. Besides, your skills and strategy can lower or raise the house’s edge. Since strategy can be challenging to grasp, let’s start with the basics.

Blackjack is a card game where the player goes head-to-head with a dealer for the best score close to or equal to 21. You win the hand when your score is higher than the dealer’s hand. You lose the hand if your score doesn’t add up to 21 or is lower than the dealer’s cards. The cards have numerical values of one to eleven. The jack, queen and king have a value of ten, while the ace can be one or eleven. The combination of the cards you have gives you the hand’s value. The best score is 21, but you lose if your card value exceeds 21.

The introduction of blackjack in online casinos increased its reach since it provided players with alternatives to slot games and roulette. Nowadays, you can find live casino blackjack games where you play against a virtual dealer. Live blackjack games recreate the experience of brick-and-mortar casinos without changing the game’s rules. Besides, live blackjack games allow players to wager higher amounts, which translates to higher potential payouts.

Since blackjack games come from different developers, you can find diverse card game variations. For instance, Mr Green provides a unique variation of blackjack games, including Double Exposure, Pontoon and Blackjack Surrender. While the table games follow the same basic rules as blackjack, the variations make them interesting. The house edges are also varied, increasing the return to player values.

The Top Online Blackjack Games Found at Mr Green

Some of the popular blackjack variations available at Mr Green online casino include:

Standard Blackjack: The classic blackjack table game is the original format. In the gameplay, the player and the dealer get two cards each. One card is dealt face up and the other face down. The game’s objective is to get the highest value closer to 21.
Double Exposure: The dealer’s cards are dealt face-up in double exposure. This is an advantage for the players since they can see the values of both cards before making their move. However, Double Exposure has other rules to compensate for the dealer’s disadvantage. For instance, a natural only pays even money instead of 3 to 2, and the dealer wins on all ties.
Pontoon: It is an Australian variation that resembles Spanish 21 and uses Spanish decks. Players can see one card before they place their bet. After the first card is dealt and players place their wagers, the game proceeds like the standard blackjack game. Since the game uses Spanish decks, the tens are removed, and players can enjoy bonus payouts. For instance, any five cards that add up to 21 offer payouts of 3:2 or 1.5 times the stake.
Blackjack Surrender: In Blackjack Surrender, players have a late surrender option. If the bet is unfavourable and you don’t wish to continue, you can give up half the wager and keep the other half. You will not play your hand.

How to Play: The Rules of Online Blackjack

Blackjack variants have different rules, but they have the same objective. Your goal is to win a card-total value higher than the dealer’s hand. You don’t have to reach 21, but you should get as close as possible to 21. You should also achieve a greater value without going bust.

Here are the steps for playing blackjack:

Join a blackjack game and place your wager: Select the blackjack variant you want to play and set your bet. When the game commences, each player receives two cards, both face-up, and the dealer also receives two cards with one face-up, and the hole card is face-down.
Check your hand: You check your hand to determine your next action. For instance, if you are dealt an ace and a picture card or 10, this is called natural or blackjack. You will get a payout 1.5 times your bet if the dealer doesn’t get a similar outcome.
Make your move: When you don’t get a natural, you must decide on your next move. You can double down, split, take another card or stand. In a standard blackjack game, you can take another card three times before you stand. However, the total-card values should not exceed 21. After making your move, the dealer will reveal the hole card.
The winning hand is revealed: The dealer’s move determines the game’s outcome. For instance, you win automatically if the dealer goes bust or has a lower card value. However, if you go bust or your card value is lower than the dealer’s, you lose, and the dealer wins.
Collect winnings: If you win, your payout is determined by the payouts provided for various actions in the game. For instance, a natural will attract winnings of 1.5 times the bet amount.

Essential Blackjack Rules and Terms

You should check the rules of the blackjack variant before you start playing. When you are playing blackjack online, you need to understand these basic moves:

Stand: To stand is to stick with the card that you have. You can stand after taking an extra card or in the first two cards. Once you stand, you won’t be dealt additional cards.
Hit: When your card value is far from 21, you can take another card. Hitting is taking another card in the deck, and you can take up to three additional cards.
Double down: After seeing the values of your cards, you can double your initial bet and stand after receiving an additional card. With double down, you have to stand after one extra card, no matter the card value.
Blackjack: It’s known as natural and means the total hand value is 21. Blackjack occurs when the player or dealer lands an ace and a ten-value card. It wins automatically and has a payout of 3:2. It is an automatic unless the dealer’s face card is a 10-value card or an ace.
Push: it happens when both the player and the dealer have the same total value. Since it’s a stand-off, neither the dealer nor the player wins.

Online Blackjack Strategies

When determining the best blackjack strategy, ensure you understand the rules of the blackjack variation. Some of the common strategies for playing blackjack at an online casino include:

Splits: When you get two cards with matching values, you can split them into two hands and play them in the same round. You have to match the bet amount for the other hand. You can also split aces; the dealer will only deal one card to each hand. However, if you land aces on the splits, you can re-split the aces.
Surrender: If you are unhappy with your hand, you can forfeit half your bet. The surrender option is available in a few blackjack variations at Mr Green. You can surrender early before the dealer checks their hand or after.
Soft totals: A soft hand in blackjack is an ace card. You double down the ace against the dealer’s lower-value cards in the soft totals strategy.
Hard totals: You double down with hard hands in the hard totals strategy. The hard hands don’t include an ace. You can double down a hard 9 or 10 when the dealer’s card is lower than six.
Number of decks: Online blackjack games usually have multiple decks from two to eight. While single-deck blackjack games exist, most online casinos don’t offer them due to the lower house edge. As the number of decks in play increases, the house edge also increases. Hence, it is advisable to use the least available number of decks.

Live Blackjack vs Online Blackjack

Live casino games usually involve an actual dealer. The same applies to live blackjack; you play against an actual dealer. You witness the cards being shuffled, and an actual dealer deals out the playing cards. In online blackjack, a random number generator is used to mimic the dealer and cards are shuffled between each hand. In live blackjack, the cards are dealt from a six or eight-deck and are shuffled periodically.

Other Table Games at Mr Green

If you enjoy the gaming action in table games, you should try various variants of roulette, craps, baccarat and poker. When playing table games, pay attention to the rules in different variants. The house edge also fluctuates depending on the variants and the game rules.

Blackjack FAQ

How does a Blackjack game work?

Online blackjack games are played with a deck of 52 cards where you play against a dealer. The objective is to beat the dealer by getting cards with a value of 21 or higher than the dealer. To play the online blackjack game, you need to place a bet and wait for the cards to be dealt. You will receive two cards from the dealer, and you can also see one card from the dealer. You can choose your course of action based on your card value and the dealer’s hand. The person with a value closer to 21 (without going over) wins the hand.

Where can I play Blackjack at Mr Green?

Blackjack is available at Mr Green Online Casino. You can access the desktop version of the game from any device and enjoy your favourite blackjack variant. Online blackjack from Mr Green is also available on mobile devices, so you can enjoy all the features of blackjack games on the go. You can also play against a live dealer by playing live blackjack at Mr Green. Live dealer games recreate a real casino experience for players, enabling them to play against a real dealer or compete with other players.

How to win at Blackjack?

In blackjack, you are competing with the dealer by ensuring your card value is close to 21. When you are dealt the first cards, you can choose to stand or hit based on the face-up card of the dealer. When you hit, you take another card to increase your card value closer to 21. Aside from understanding the card values, it is best to have some strategies. You need to analyse the perfect time to stand, double, split or hit, and account for the exchange of play to avoid going bust before the dealer.

Can I play real money at a Blackjack game?

Mr Green Online Casino allows you to play blackjack for real money. Every blackjack variant has a minimum and maximum stake, and you can place your bet at the beginning of the game. Try the demo version if you want to try the game without risking real money. Virtual dealer blackjack games are usually real money games, so they don’t offer a demo version. Hence, you should gamble responsibly at all times. You can also find blackjack titles with higher stakes if you are looking for a high-roller game.