European Blackjack

This information begs the question, what is so ‘European’ about this European Blackjack game from Microgaming, coded via Switch Studios? If you want to learn the answer to this question, keep on reading.

Graphics and Sounds

The cards are big and clear and they fly across the table smoothly. The only choice of dealer voice is female, but it is calm and doesn’t irritate. Oddly, the voice only announces the total of your cards, and if you win or bust. There is no announcement of the dealer totals, or if the dealer wins or busts.

How to Play European Blackjack

Once the game has loaded you will be presented with the European Blackjack table upon which sits a single chip worth ten. To add chips to your bet, click on the arrows until the chips size you want is the middle (highlighted) selection. Click on the betting circle to add that chip to the table and keep clicking until you have the size of bet you desire. If you go too high, then click ‘Clear’. When you are ready, click ‘Deal’.

You will be dealt two cards, and the dealer one card, face up. Your normal options will be to ‘Stand’ (not take any other cards) or ‘Hit’ (take another card). Other options may pop up when the total of your cards makes them available. For example, if the two-card total of your cards is nine, then you will be given the option to ‘double’, which means you can double the value of your bet in return for taking one more card.

If you bust (score over 21) then the hand ends and you lose your chips. Once you stand, the dealer will be dealt another card, and then further cards until his hand is completed in line with the game rules (see below). If you win, your stake is returned to you as well as the same value of chips as your winnings.

Note that if you are dealt blackjack the hand ends automatically with you the winner, unless the dealer’s face up card is an ace, in which case you will be asked if you want insurance (which is something all seasoned online blackjack players know you should never do). A winning blackjack pays 3:2, unless the dealer has blackjack too in which case your stake is returned (a ‘push’).

If you click on the ‘hamburger’ menu button at the top-left hand of the screen you will see the gaming rules, a help section and the settings menu. You can adjust the volume of the game sound and dealer voice via settings or disable sounds altogether. You can also move to ‘turbo’ mode if you feel the cards are not being dealt fast enough.

One thing to be wary of in this game – unlike other blackjack games we have seen, there is no ‘warning’ if you are about to do something stupid, such as hitting on 20. If you make a dumb mistake, then you only have yourself to blame!

Game Rules

• The game is played with two decks
• The dealer must stand on all 17s, both hard and soft (a soft hand is one that contains an ace and can be scored two different totals)
• There is no dealer peek, as the dealer’s second card is not dealt until your hand is completed
• You may double down on hard, two-card totals of 9, 10 and 11
• You may only split once
• If you split aces, you can receive more than one card per split hand (in some games where you split aces you only receive one more card per split hand)
• A split ace and a 10 counts as 21, but not as blackjack
• You can only split true pairs, i.e. you cannot split a king and queen even though they both count ten
• There is no surrendering
• Blackjack pays 3:2
• Insurance pays 2:1
• The expected RTP is 99.6%, which is very good

Final Thoughts

This is a game that all casino blackjack players should get excited about, as it is only played with two decks. Of course, the rule is the less decks, the better for the player and this is why there’s that beneficial RTP of 99.6%

Apart from the absence of the ‘dumb move’ warning, we like this game a lot. Remember, as always when playing blackjack, only play with perfect strategy if you want the best chance of coming out on top.

23 Sep. 2019, by Ari Waknine