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American Blackjack Online Game
American Blackjack is a card game developed by Playtech, where you can play against a virtual dealer for free and make 5 different bets in a row per round. The point of the game is to collect the combination of cards with a numerical value greater than that of the dealer's but no higher than 21. You can win the maximum amount of 6,000 game units, if you play with 5 hands and bet 300 chips for one game.
Buttons used in the game
American Blackjack has no fixed control panel. Most of the buttons appear as the game proceeds. They are traditionally found at the bottom of the game screen:
- Deal – starts dealing the cards once the bet has been placed
- Double – doubles all bets that you have placed on the game screen before dealing begins
- Undo – undoes the previous bet
- Clear Bets – returns all chips back into your balance
- Hit – draws another card
- Stand – completes the combination
- Double – doubles the bet and draws one more card after the first deal Whichever number of points come up, you will no longer be able to increase their amount
- Split – when two cards of the same denomination land, you can split them and play on 2 hands
- Insurance – insures your bet against the dealer's blackjack combination
- New Game – clears away all bets and cards from the screen once the winnings have been calculated
- Re-bet – places the bet used in the previous round
- Re-bet and Deal – repeats your previous bet and starts the game
Besides the main control buttons, the game also has a number of additional buttons available:
- A switch with a paintbrush icon is in the top left of the game screen. By clicking it you can change the colour of the table. There are 9 different options available
- A speaker icon is found in the top right corner of the screen. It allows you to adjust the sound level throughout the game
- A wrench icon is next to the sound button. It allows you to select general settings (Options), read the detailed description of the game (Help) and view the history of the wins (History). The latter option is available only in the paid version of the game
Rules of the slot
Two thousand chips are available in your virtual account, which will be used for betting. You can see the current demo balance in the special field in the bottom left corner of the screen.
The game starts with placing the bets, which is done with seven chips of various colours and denominations from 0.1 to 100 found in the bottom left part of the screen. To place your bet, select the appropriate chip and click one of the five rings on the game screen with the phrase Place Your Bet. The more clicks you make, the higher your bet will be. You can bet on one position or on all 5 positions of the game screen and collect several individual combinations accordingly. You can place a maximum of 300 chips on one position.
Once the bet setup is complete, you have to click the green Deal button and receive 2 cards for each of the active hands. The virtual dealer also gets 2 cards, one of them will be hidden and the other one visible. A numeric indicator showing the current number of points is found next to each combination. This is how playing cards in blackjack are valued:
- From 2 to 10 are equivalent to their values
- Ace has a double value. If the sum total of cards along with Ace is less than or equal to 21, then the Ace is valued at 11 points. If the sum total with the Ace is higher than 21, then its value will be equal to 1
- King, Queen and Jack are valued as 10
The rules say that you must collect as many points as you can but no more than 21. When you get 21 points with your first two cards, you get winnings of 1.5 times the amount of your bet. This combination is called blackjack. If the sum total of your cards is less than 21, you will be offered to draw yet another card or to stop. You can keep drawing an unlimited number of cards but once their sum total reaches higher than 21, you lose right away. If you collect less than 21 points, yet your total is higher than the dealer's, then your bet is doubled.
Nuances of the game
If your two first cards are of equal value, you can choose to split. This is when your hand is divided into two separate ones however, you will have to double your bet as well.
As soon as you get your initial cards, you have the opportunity to double. The button with the same name doubles your bet and you only get one more card.
The insurance rule is yet another feature that blackjack has to offer. Whenever the dealer gets an Ace as his first open card, the players will be offered to insure themselves against a blackjack. Once agreed, you place half of your bet onto the table. If the dealer gets 21 right away, you lose your bet but you receive the doubled sum of your insurance. If there is no blackjack, you automatically lose your insurance deposition.
You can notice one nuance in the game with the virtual dealer. The dealer will keep drawing the cards until the value reaches 16 and will stop when the value is more than 17.
Conclusion
The free version of American Blackjack by Playtech, allows you to try your luck online in one of the most popular card games all over the world. Here you can bet up to 1,500 chips per round and get up to 6,000 chips in winnings. The game has the split option as well as the insurance against a blackjack.
