Lucky Lucky Blackjack
Everyone needs a little luck at the casino, and many people rely
on a bit (or more) of 🌝 superstition in order to get fortune on their side. Whether that
means a special routine, a lucky friend, or some 🌝 other charm, it’s only natural to feel
a little more confident when you have a special something making you feel 🌝 as though
nothing can go wrong.
Luck is a major theme in Lucky Lucky Blackjack, an online casino
game developed by 🌝 NYX Gaming. Of course, you’ll need a mix of good fortune and skillful
play to come out on top in 🌝 this game, as understanding strategy has always been an
important part of any version of blackjack. But you’ll also have 🌝 the opportunity to
take a chance on the “Lucky Lucky” side bet, one that will pay off handsomely if you
🌝 can emulate the old three-reel slot machines and match three sevens across the
board.
How to Play
If you’re a veteran blackjack 🌝 player, then the rules of this game
will come as second nature to you. But if you’re relatively new to 🌝 this casino
favorite, then we’ll guide you through how to play Lucky Lucky Blackjack, including the
specific rules used in 🌝 this variant of the game – one that uses a mix of
player-friendly rules and a few that are better 🌝 for the house.
Blackjack is a game in
which cards are dealt out of a shoe of six decks of standard 🌝 playing cards. The object
for the player is to beat the dealer by making a hand that is closer to 🌝 a value of 21
points than the dealer without going over that number.
This version offers you the
opportunity to play 🌝 up to three hands at once. At the start of each round, you may make
bets on up to three 🌝 different betting spots. Optionally, you may also make a side bet
on any hand that you are playing. We’ll talk 🌝 more about this side bet in a later
section, as it is entirely voluntary: you can play this game for 🌝 any stakes you like
with no obligation to take this secondary wager.
Each hand you play will be dealt two
cards 🌝 face up, while the dealer’s hand will get one card face up and one face down (the
“hole card”). Every 🌝 card has a value that adds to the score of your hand. Numbered
cards are worth their printed value, while 🌝 face cards are worth ten. Aces are normally
worth 11, but can also be worth one point if they would 🌝 otherwise take a player over
the magic total of 21.
The best possible starting hand – an ace and a ten-point 🌝 card,
worth 21 points – is called a blackjack, making it the game’s namesake. This hand will
win against any 🌝 dealer hand, other than a blackjack of their own, in which case the
result is a push. If the dealer 🌝 has an ace or ten showing, they will check for
blackjack to see if the hand should end immediately; if 🌝 the up card is an ace, they
will also offer insurance to the player hands. This bet costs half as 🌝 much as the wager
on the hand; if the dealer does end up having a blackjack, then it will pay 🌝 out at
2-1.
Assuming there are no blackjacks, the player will then have the chance to improve
each of their hands, 🌝 if they wish to do so. There are four different actions that can
be taken while playing, though some are 🌝 only available in limited situations. Here’s a
breakdown of what you could do during play:
Stand: If you’re satisfied with your 🌝 hand,
you can stand – a move that means you’ll take no further cards and stick with what you
have 🌝 so far.
Hit: If you want a new card, you can choose to hit. The dealer will give
you one more 🌝 card, after which you can make another decision to hit or stand.
Double
Down: If you’re confident in your ability to 🌝 win a hand, you can double down by placing
a second bet equal to your initial wager. In this case, 🌝 you’ll be given one more card,
after which you must stand on whatever total you have. This option is only 🌝 available on
your initial two card hand; in addition, this version of the game only allows you to
double down 🌝 on a total of 9, 10, or 11.
Split: If you have two cards of the same rank –
such as 🌝 two jacks or two sevens – you may start your action by splitting them into two
separate hands. Each of 🌝 these hands will be dealt a second card, and each will be
played independently for a full bet. In this 🌝 game, no further splits are allowed after
this initial split; however, you may fully play out both hands, even if 🌝 you have split
aces.
There are two ways in which your action might end. First, if you stand on any
total, 🌝 the action will move to the next player. Secondly, making a total of 22 or more
will cause your hand 🌝 to bust. When this happens, you lose immediately: all bets on that
hand are lost. The game will automatically stand 🌝 for you if you have a total of 21, but
all other decisions are entirely up to you.
Once all player 🌝 hands have either stood or
busted, it’s the dealer’s turn to act. First, the dealer will reveal its face down
🌝 card. Then, they will play out their hand based on a very simple set of rules. If the
dealer has 🌝 16 or less, they will always hit; if the dealer has 17 or more, they will
always stand.
If the dealer 🌝 busts, all remaining player hands automatically win. If the
dealer stands, players that have a higher score than the dealer 🌝 win, while those with a
lower score lose (ties are resolved as pushes). All player wins earn even money, with
🌝 the exception of blackjacks, which pay out at 3-2 odds.
At this point, you’ll have the
opportunity to make your bets 🌝 for the next hand. This version even offers up a couple
of handy buttons: rebet, if you want to repeat 🌝 your wagers exactly, or 2x rebet, if
you’d like to double your previous bets. Note that the cards that were 🌝 used in the last
hand will be reshuffled into the shoe each time, meaning you are always playing out of
🌝 a “fresh” shoe each round.
Feeling Lucky?
Then there is that Lucky Lucky side bet that
is available on every hand. Unlike 🌝 the main action, there’s no skill involved here: the
result of each bet is entirely decided by the mix of 🌝 your two cards and the dealer’s up
card. Certain combinations will earn you money, while all others lose on the 🌝 spot.
The
best thing you can see is a whole lot of sevens, especially if they are of the same
suit. 🌝 However, any total (between the three cards) of 19 to 21 will earn you at least a
small prize. In 🌝 addition, all prizes are larger if all three cards share the same suit.
Here’s the breakdown of what you can 🌝 expect to win on this wager:
Total of 19 or 20:
2-1
Total of 21: 3-1
Total of 21, All Cards Suited: 15-1
6-7-8: 🌝 25-1
7-7-7: 50-1
6-7-8,
All Cards Suited: 100-1
7-7-7, All Cards Suited: 200-1
Playing the Percentages
Overall,
this version of blackjack is a pretty good 🌝 one for players. The mix of positive and
negative rules works out to a house edge of just 0.37%, and 🌝 that’s hard to beat at most
casinos.
Of course, this is a game of strategy, so you won’t get those excellent 🌝 odds
just by showing up and playing at random. Instead, you’ll want to use what’s known as
“basic strategy,” making 🌝 the correct plays for every possible situation you might find
yourself in. Thankfully, there is no requirement to memorize any 🌝 of this, as charts
that fully detail these strategies are widely available on the Internet.
In addition,
we can give you 🌝 an even quicker, simple guide to use if you just want a strategy that
will help you avoid big mistakes 🌝 without getting too complex. Here’s a quick set of
guidelines you can use, based on a strategy developed by Michael 🌝 Shackleford:
For this
strategy, note that hands are considered “hard” unless they have an ace that still
counts as 11 points, 🌝 in which case they are “soft.”
You should never take insurance
when offered by the dealer.
Hard Hands
Double down with 9 against 🌝 a dealer showing 3-6.
Double down with a 10 or 11 if you have a larger total than the dealer.
Hit 🌝 with any
other total of 11 or less.
Stand with any total of 17 or more.
With totals of 12-16,
hit against 🌝 a dealer 2-6, and stand against a dealer 7 or higher.
Soft Hands
Hit with a
total of 18 or less.
Stand with 🌝 a total of 19 or more.
Splitting
Always split pairs of
eights or aces.
Never split fours, fives, or tens.
For other pairs, split 🌝 if the dealer
is showing a 2-6, but do not split against a 7 or higher.
This strategy should keep you
🌝 within a couple tenths of a percent of the optimal theoretical returns. By the way, if
you’re curious about the 🌝 side bet, Lucky Lucky comes with a house edge of about 5.86%.
That’s hardly outrageous in the world of casino 🌝 bonus bets, but it’s not great, either;
even if you enjoy this option, you should probably either play it for 🌝 much less than
your blackjack wagers, or just once in a while for a change of pace.
A Visually
Appealing and 🌝 Fun Variant
Lucky Lucky Blackjack stands on its own as a fairly good
version of blackjack, but there are a few 🌝 added touches that we’d like to point out.
The game is a joy to interact with, thanks to a visually 🌝 attractive and easy to
navigate interface that is simultaneously slick but easy to use. The action could be a
bit 🌝 faster, but that’s hardly a major issue, and there are a few ways to speed things
up: for instance, there 🌝 is an option to turn off insurance offers if you never plan to
take them (as we recommend), and a 🌝 button allows you to speed up payments at the end of
each round. There are also some excellent dealer voice 🌝 effects, which you can turn off
if you start to find them annoying.
Overall, the combination of great presentation and
excellent 🌝 odds make this one of the better online blackjack games we’ve played in a
while. If you’ve been looking for 🌝 a new Internet version of 21 to play, then Lucky
Lucky Blackjack is well worth a try.
