Blackjack online – Review for players of New Zealand

Short history of blackjack

The actual origin of this game is unknown. Back in the 17th century Spain, the author of Don Quixote, Cervantes mentioned was the first to write about this game (called ventiuna, which means 21 in Spanish). It’s quite sure that the game was played for a long time, but if not, it’s still a fun card game. The name, blackjack comes from the US casinos: the blackjack basically is the 21 from two cards, but there were higher bonuses if the player had a “black” blackjack, consisting of an Ace of Spade (11 points) and a black Jack (J, worth 10 points). Nowadays, in online blackjack, any hand of 10 and any ace is called blackjack.

Online blackjack goals

In a game of blackjack, the player stands against the dealer. In NZ online casinos, you can play against the computer, and in most of them against live dealers. There are four goals:

• win the game with a natural blackjack, without the dealer having blackjack
• win the game with a 21 from several cards, before the dealer, reaches 21
• win the game with a higher value hand than of the dealer
• win the game by standing at the right point and making the dealer go bust (exceeds 21)

Ultimately, the online blackjack’s main goal is to win and have your winning fatten your virtual pocket.

How to play blackjack online

It’s really easy to get used to blackjack online. If you open the game for real money, or to practice in free play, you will see the table. This table will have a place for the cards, and places for your bets. You will also see the buttons for the different choices you can make (we will discuss them further in this guide). The game starts when you place your bet, and both you and the computer has two cards – one faces up, the other faces down (in online blackjack you see both your cards). If there aren’t any blackjacks (nor you or the dealer has 21), you have several options to choose from:

• You can hit: this means, you ask for another card. You can do this as many times as needed until you get 21 or get a bust (you exceed 21).
• You can stand: it might happen that you have 17 or more from two cards. In this case, you might like to stand and see if you can beat the dealer. Usually, 18 or more are suitable for standing.
• You can split: you can split your hand if you are dealt two same-value cards. (e.g. two 8) When you split your hand, you also place a new bet on the other hand with the same amount of money you started the game with.
• You can double down: in case you think that the dealer has a weak starting hand, and you have a good one, you can double your bet.
• You could surrender: you could give up and get back half your bet. This isn’t allowed in most online casinos, though.
• You can call an insurance bet: if the dealer has an Ace facing up, you can place half of your bet on the insurance. If the dealer has blackjack, you get paid, even if your main wager is lost. Insurance is usually not advised for a long time playing, and most strategies dismiss this option.

The best way to learn to play blackjack, and to know what you should do is to download a cheat sheet. It’s pretty easy to find one, and those can tell you what you should do. Keep in mind, though, that the cheat sheets are not the Holy Bible: they have advisory information based on odds, but if you feel lucky, you can take the step you prefer.

A game of blackjack is always played with French cards, without Jokers. The card values are as follows: numbers worth their face value (2 to 10), faces worth 10 (J, Q, K), and Ace – depending on which is good for the player – is worth either 1 or 11. In real-life casinos, you could try card counting, but in an RNG-based online game, there is no point, as the game reshuffles the cards after every match.

Online blackjack pay-outs and outcomes

The possible outcomes of a match of blackjack are simple: you can win, you can lose, or it can be a tie. You could win the game by having a natural 21 after dealing the first two cards, by standing at the right time, or the dealer goes bust before you would do. Losing is simple: if you go bust, or the dealer has a higher value when it stands (the computer usually stands at 17 or higher if you have a weak starting hand), or the dealer has 21.

In online casinos, the blackjack usually pays 1 to 1, which means that if you win you get back double your bet. e.g.: you play for $10, you win, you get $20 back (base bet plus the winnings). Insurance bet usually pays 2:1, which means that you can get back the amount of your initial bet. Most of the casinos we recommend for players of New Zealand offer these pay-outs, and they are all unbiased, so the chances to win are normal.

Blackjack – for free or for money?

Well, you can play both versions, as this game isn’t too hard, and in the top online casinos, you can bet as low as $1. However, we advise you to try online blackjack for free. This gives you the option to play it for fun, and to try out a blackjack strategy, and get familiar. As another word of advice: never play blackjack for free outside the online casinos: while the casinos run on secure and fair software, “home-made” blackjack software might have a higher house edge, or they are very easy to beat (e.g.: so, you would join the site and start playing for money against a biased software). We have our list of the bets NZ online casinos, you would do well to take a look at those. In case you play blackjack for money, and you are not a person with money under his/her skin, then you should stick to the maximum $1 bet. Those who are learning to play should try the low limit desks, where they can play for cents.

You can play live dealer blackjack too, but that’s only available for real money, there are no practice play options. Also, in most cases, the live dealer online blackjack has a higher limit, usually $1 is the minimum bet.

Mobile gaming

The top casino software providers offer at least one version of blackjack for the mobile-using gamblers. The best online casinos have apps for Android, and sometimes for iOS too, and the app contains blackjack too, usually the Las Vegas version. The rules, pay-outs are the same, the only difference is that you have to use one finger to play instead of clicking with your mouse.

Blackjack and the bonuses

Now, it’s really important to check the bonus terms and conditions. If you claim a bonus, you have to take a look on which game how contributes towards the wagering requirement. Unfortunately, the blackjack (and other games like roulette, craps) is either excluded from contributing or adds only a very small percentage to the play-through, like 5-15%. Here is an example: if you get $1 bonus and you have to play it through 40 times, you need to wager $40 overall. While slots add 100% (so you can unlock that $1 in 8 spins if the max bet you place is $5), blackjack adds only 5% (again: check the terms). So, to unlock that 1$ you need to play blackjack a lot, as every $1 you bet, adds only 0.05 towards the play-through, which means you have to wager $1 800 times in the given time frame. Some casinos want you to play-through the bonus in a week, while others let you use the bonus for 30 days or so. As you can see, blackjack isn’t really bonus-friendly.

Bottom Line on Blackjack Online

Online blackjack is the perfect game for money players from New Zealand. It’s easy to learn, there are lots of helpful articles and strategies online for this game. However, you should always try to keep blackjack (and all gambling) in the fun area – if you feel anxious about losing, just stop playing or play something different. We trust our NZ readers, and we are always on the look for the best online casino where they can play blackjack!