Bonus Blackjack

Blackjack, which can be traced back to the 17^th century, can be easily termed as one of the most loved card games played by professional gamblers in casinos as well as by novices who simply consider it a form of entertainment. With its roots in France, this game created a rage with its arrival in the United States, giving good competition to other casino games which solely revolved around the luck factor.

With ascending trends in the online casino industry, it is fair to bring to everyone’s notice that blackjack is a favorite here too. One essential reason apart from the fact that it is very skill based is that Blackjack offers players with more chances of winning the game as they can beat the house here. No wonder then, that most gambling centers all around the world have more Blackjack tables than any other table games.

If Blackjack is the most popular of card games, Bonus Blackjack is the most popular variant of blackjack games played across casinos. Inheriting its basic rules, Bonus Blackjack, as the name suggests includes a bonus on the basic blackjack games, giving players an optional chance to place bonus bets on the table’s jackpot.

Unlike traditional Blackjack games that can be played within the range of one to eight decks, Bonus Blackjack is played with only two decks of cards; giving players the advantage of easily getting favorable card combinations. This being an advantageous differentiating factor, Bonus Blackjack starts off with players placing bets that generally start at a minimum of $5 and can extend to a maximum of $25. Once bets are placed, all players are dealt two cards. While the dealer is dealt with the first card face-down and the second face-up, all other players are dealt two face-up cards in the clockwise direction starting from the dealer’s left.

Players then plan their next move of choosing among the options of Hit, Stand, Double and Split while analyzing the dealer’s face up card. In case of a Bust situation where the player’s face up cards total to 21, the player’s bets are instantly taken by the dealer. The Surrender option is not available in this variant. As the basic rules go, the player whose cards are closer than the dealer’s to a total of 21, wins. While a Blackjack which is combination of an Ace and a face card is the strongest hand, it automatically Stands and can be matched but not beaten.

In Bonus Blackjack, the dealer can look at his face-down card in cases where his up card is a ten, a picture card, or an Ace. While generally dealers take a stand on a soft 17, in Bonus Blackjack dealers must hit on a soft 17.

Though Aces can be split only once, a pair of ten rated cards can be split up to three times. While these basic rules remain unchanged, the highlight of bonus blackjack is the huge bonus payouts in comparison to its other variations. Completely dependent on the first two cards dealt, a combination of Jack and an Ace of spades pays out with a 50:1 bonus. Any other suited Jack and Ace pays 25:1, a combination of 2 suited cards totaling to 21 pays out 5:2 while other 21 hands are paid 3:2.

Strategic yet easy, Bonus blackjack is an intelligent and fun variation of this popular game. However, players should keep in mind that while other players are probably playing against them, the player would benefit if focused on playing against the dealer since it’s the dealer’s hand that has to be beaten in order to win the jackpot.