One of the most enticing card games is the reason why almost every casino offers it. It
has been a centre of attention for many years due to the challenging nature of its
rules.
Nowadays players have the chance to enjoy not only the classic game but also its
many variations which are available in a number of casinos as some of them have become
just as popular as the classic blackjack.
This impressive number of versions gives
players the opportunity to play their favourite card game every time in a different
form which guarantees high level of excitement and challenge.
However, it is worth
mentioning that they should always prepare themselves for a particular version
accordingly by adjusting the basic strategy to the game and the casino rules and
getting familiar with its and specifications. This way they will reduce their money
losses to minimum and will be able to completely enjoy the new version.
One very famous
variation among fans of the game is the Multi hand Blackjack due to the fact that it
allowsplayers to play more than one hand which makes the game even more enticing. It is
perfect for adventurous gamblers who love playing the classic game but want to try
something new, more interesting and exciting.
Even though this version can be found in
some brick and mortar casinos, it is most often played online due to the fact that
players can take their time to consider their moves without rushing, something which is
impossible in a casino setting.
Rules of Multi Hand Blackjack
The major rules and
principles of Multi Hand Blackjack are the same as in the classic Blackjack which works
in favour of the players as there is no need to learn new rules from scratch. The
objective is to form a total as close as possible to twenty one without surpassing this
number and the cards are valued in the same way as they are in the classic game.
Players compete against the dealer and should make their decisions in accordance with
his up card and the total of a particular hand.
The major difference in this version is
that players have the chance to make different moves and place more bets by playing
more than one hand. This variation allows them to have a maximum of five hands instead
of one and players are given the power to decide exactly how many at the beginning of
the game.
Of course, the exact maximum number of supported hands is variation-specific.
The multi-hand blackjack releases of some software suppliers, like Betsoft and Play’n
GO, for example, capacitate wagering on a maximum of three betting spots at a time
rather than five.
During the session, all of them are played individually and players’
wagers are not required to be equal to one another. Each hand is a separate one
and
should be treated as such, regardless of the number of hands involved. You play the
hands one after the other, starting from the one dealt to the first-base spot and
proceeding to the left, all the way to third base.
In most casinos, the additional
rules of this version deprive players of the option to surrender but they allow them to
take insurance against the dealer’s ace. Usually, multiple decks are involved in the
game and the payout for Blackjack is the standard one of 3/2.
It is impossible to list
concrete rules since these vary wildly depending on the landbased casino or the online
variation one plays. Some dealers must hit soft 17 while others are bound to stand on
all 17.
This tendency extends itself to the payouts, the dealer’s peeking, the doubling
rules, the deck number, the maximum number of permitted splits, and the availability of
the surrender option. It is also possible to find multi-hand blackjack that plays under
the European ruleset where the dealer does not use hole cards. It is always best to
double-check them before you play.
There may be discrepancies in the rules on doubling,
splitting, resplitting, and surrendering as you shall see shortly. Some multi-hand
variants offer late surrender whereas others do not support this as an
option.
Similarly, some versions that support the multiple-hand format allow for
doubling on any two-card hands while others restrict this move to totals 9 through 11.
All of these peculiarities should be considered in advance in the process of choosing
what multi-hand blackjack game to play.
The format allows for a greater pace of play
and higher betting dynamics. Therefore, players should do their best to find the games
offering them the best playing conditions and the lowest house edges. This is because
playing multiple hands per round might cause the house edge to deplete your blackjack
bankroll faster if you are not an advantage player.
Online Variations of Multi-Hand
Blackjack
The trouble with landbased casinos is that you might sometimes arrive at the
floor and go to your favourite blackjack table only to find there is not a single
vacant seat. This can be particularly annoying if you are keen on playing several
betting spots at a time. You will experience no such issues if you transition to
playing multiple-hand blackjack from the comfort of your home at a regulated online
casino.
A smorgasbord of software suppliers cater to the needs of blackjack fans
looking for more action with authentic releases that support playing either three or
five hands at a time. Of course, the graphics quality and the features are
game-specific but most releases do offer a decent level of authenticity and various
options for customisation.
Players usually have a choice from several speed levels for
the pace of card dealing. Some suppliers like NetEnt allow you to pick from a nice
range of background tracks while others like Playtech enable you to change the felt’s
colour of your chosen multi-hand table.
Many multi-hand blackjack variations on the web
are also equipped with useful features like displaying the last ten hands of the
dealer, your maximum win, and the number of bets you have made during an individual
session. Of course, players are also catered to with different chip denominations
although the minimum and maximum bet limits are table-specific.
If you prefer to flat
bet and place the same amount of chips on all hands you play during a single round, you
will find the Rebet function of great use. The table below contains all the essential
information about five of the most popular multi-hand blackjack games, available for
online play.
Side-by-Side Comparison of 5 Popular Multi-Hand BJ Games You Can Play
Online Supplier NetEnt Microgaming Pragmatic Play Play’n GO Felt Playtech Name
Blackjack Classic Multi-Hand Blackjack Classic Multi-Hand Blackjack Multi-Hand
Blackjack 6 in 1 Blackjack Blackjack Surrender Hands 3 hands 5 hands 3 hands 3 hands 3
hands 5 hands Decks 6 decks 5 decks 8 decks 6 decks 6 decks 6 decks S17/H17 S17 S17 S17
S17 S17 S17 Limits £1 – £500 Varies £1 – £100 £1 – £50 £0.10 – £500 Varies Peek A, 10
ENHC A, 10 A, 10 A, 10 A, 10 BJ Odds 3 to 2 3 to 2 3 to 2 3 to 2 3 to 2 3 to 2 DAS
Available Unavailable Available Available Available Available RS No No No No No No HSA
No Yes No No Yes No LS No No No No No YES RTP 99.59% 99.42% 99.51% 99.54% 99.63%
99.66%
Who Should Play Multi-Hand Blackjack?
Online casinos offer an abundance of
options to blackjack players where multi-hand play is concerned. The question arises
who should switch to playing more than one betting spot and why? The general rule of
thumb is that players should increase their action to more than one hand only on
condition they have an edge over the house during the current round.
Basic strategists
and people who play by intuition do not have an advantage at the blackjack tables.
Sometimes you might see them spread their bets to two or more hands because they
mistakenly assume the shoe is “hot”. In reality, the casino holds exactly the same
long-term advantage no matter how many hands they play.
Another detrimental thing that
occurs when such players increase their action to two or more hands is that they end up
playing a greater number of hands per hour. For instance, when you join two other
patrons at the blackjack table and play single-handed, you will go through
approximately a hundred rounds each hour, which makes for 100 hands. By contrast, when
you spread to two hands instead, you will generate hourly action of 160 hands over the
course of 80 rounds.
As basic strategy players play at a disadvantage, they end up
exposing a greater portion of their blackjack bankrolls to the built-in house edge by
playing multiple hands. The more hands you play per round, the more money you will
lose. However, the amount you invest per hand is also of importance.
Examples of BS
Players’ Expectation for One and Two Hands per Round
Assume, for example, that you play
one hand and are flat betting £10 on average with a house edge of 0.50% and you play
roughly a hundred rounds per hour. In this instance, your average theoretical loss per
hour would be -0.005 x £10 x 100 = -£5.
In another scenario, you play two hands of £5
each per round and go through 80 rounds per hour with two other seated players at your
table. This would increase your hourly action to 160 hands but your average expected
loss would decrease to -0.005 x £5 x 160 = -£4.
It follows that the hourly expected
losses of a basic strategy player actually decline when they spread their action to two
betting spots with lower bets rather than placing higher wagers on a single hand.
However, the decline in the losses is based on the number of fellow players seated at a
given table.
Here is yet another scenario for comparison. Let’s assume, instead of
decreasing your bet from £10 to £5 when you play two hands, you decide to keep your
wagers the same as when you play a single hand per round. In this case, you will
increase your action per round to £20, betting £10 on each of the two hands.
This
translates into higher hourly expected losses because you expose more money at risk
each round. If you play this way, your hourly expected value drops to -0.005 x £10 x
160 = -£8. It makes sense that a basic strategy player should abstain from wagering
this way in multi-hand blackjack. The same tendencies can be observed when you bet £30
per single hand or play three £10 hands per round.
You Play Multiple Hands vs. the Same
Dealer Hand
At first glance, it is intuitive for one to think that the fluctuations in
their bankroll would be equal regardless of whether they wager £10 on a single hand or
£5 on two hands within the same round. After all, there is still £10 in action per
round. Nonetheless, we should also take into account the fact that you are still
competing against the same dealer hand no matter how many hands you play
simultaneously.
Respectively, you are likely to beat a weak dealer with a small upcard
and win two bets within a single round. Unfortunately, the opposite scenario is also
possible. A dealer with a strong upcard might end up killing two birds with one stone,
figuratively speaking, causing you to lose two hands in one round. The gist of it is
that betting less on two (or more) hands increases the likelihood of your bankroll
lasting longer, compared to betting the same amount on a single hand per
round.
Multiple Hands and Advantage Play
Things are rather different for those who play
blackjack at an advantage against the house and count cards. Such players can actually
increase their hourly expectation by spreading to two or more hands. This normally
happens whenever the count is positive and favours the player rather than the dealer.
It also helps reduce variance and one’s level of risk.
You might be surprised, but
betting on multiple hands is also beneficial to card counters whenever the count
becomes negative, i.e. when the remaining composition of the shoe/deck favours the
house. When this is the case, advantage players would spread to two or more betting
spots with minimum wagers. The purpose is to deplete the shoe of the small cards and
regain their advantage with more player-friendly high cards.
Advantages of Multi Hand
Blackjack
On the one hand, one of the advantages of Multi Hand Blackjack is that it
allows players to make bigger profit as they will be able to wager more by placing
separate bets on each hand. Moreover, doubling down is also permitted which increases
their chances of achieving the desired result significantly, providing that the move is
made at the appropriate time.
This is the reason why this variation grew in popularity
so much over the years as it makes the game much more exciting by giving players a
variety of moves to choose from. Moreover, when the game is played online they can take
their time to make the best possible move for every hand without feeling pressured by
the dealer or the rest of the participants on the table.
Also, playing online gives
them the opportunity to enjoy Blackjack whenever and wherever they want which is great
news for dedicated players who want to practise and improve their game.
Having more
than one hand to deal with allows them to experience a whole new way of playing their
favourite game and it gives them opportunities which they don’t have when playing the
classic game. They can also reduce their chances of losing money by playing multiple
hands at once. For instance, if they play four hands and two of them win, they will
make up for the rest.
Disadvantages of Multi Hand Blackjack
On the other hand, one
major drawback for card counters when multi-hand blackjack is played online is that it
is simply not possible to apply their chosen system anymore. While the card counting
process can be hard to conduct at brick-and-mortar casinos, it’s practically impossible
online because after every hand is played, the cards in the shoe are shuffled. Card
counters should take into consideration the fact they will be no longer capable of
applying their system.
As already mentioned, by playing multiple hands, gamblers have
the chance to make a better profit as they place different wagers on each one of them.
However, this is a double-edged sword and as such, players can find themselves in a
situation where they are losing more. It all depends on their choices. If they want to
make this version work in their favour, it is compulsory to learn a reliable strategy
on how to play more than one hand and make the needed adjustments at the table.
Not to
mention the fact that if this variation is played in brick-and-mortar casinos, the
chances that players can get confused are very high due to factors that directly
influence their performance, such as the noisy casino setting.
Conclusion
The bottom
line is that Multi Hand Blackjack can be very beneficial for the players on the
condition that they take their time to observe its subtleties and specifications. It is
a variation which allows them to make the game more interesting and fast-paced by
playing more than one hand.
This version can be found in most online casinos which make
it extremely convenient for players who like to play on the go. However, prior to
playing online, it is essential to double check the rules in order to make sure that
there aren’t any additional changes added which might favour the casino.
