Blackjack is one of the oldest casino games out there, and we can trace its history back to several classical European card games.
With its combination of random chance and player decision-making, this classic card game remains one of the most popular casino games both online and in land-based venues.
Plenty of different variations of Blackjack are available to play online, such as Spanish 21 or multi-hand Blackjack. One particular variety is live Blackjack, a game that features a live dealer running the game for online players.
Read on to learn more about how a live casino blackjack game works.
The basics of the game of Blackjack
Before we get into the specifics of live Blackjack, let’s look at the game’s core concept.
In a game of Blackjack, players aim to get a hand value that’s as close to 21 as possible without going over that value. At the end of the game, each player’s hand is compared against the dealer’s to see which is stronger and to determine the game’s outcome.
Each card in the deck is worth a set value from one to ten, with each number worth its face value and all face cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks) valued at ten. Aces are variable, worth either one or 11, depending on the value of the surrounding hand.
At the start of play, each player at the table is dealt two cards, with the dealer being dealt two of their own – one face-up and the other kept face-down.
Players have a few actions that they can take on their turn, such as deciding whether to take additional cards to increase their hand value or not.
How a game of live Blackjack works
A game of live Blackjack plays out in a few distinct rounds, each with set timers to ensure that play proceeds at a steady pace.
Before the dealer deals out any cards, there is a wagering phase where players pace their initial wagers using the online interface. The dealer may set out physical chips on the table to show these.
Play will start when all players at the table have placed their wagers. The dealer will deal out cards around the table, ensuring they are visible to the cameras so that the optical character recognition (OCR) technology can capture them.
Each player takes their turn, with a few options to choose from. Depending on the value of their initial cards, they may decide to:
- Hit – taking another card to increase their hand value.
- Stand – keeping their hand at its current value, ending their turn.
- Double down – doubling their initial wager to take only one more card.
- Split – splitting their hand into two only if the first two cards are of the same value.
Once the players have finished their turns, the play switches over to the dealer, who will reveal their face-down card. If the dealer’s hand is worth less than 17, they must hit until it reaches at least that value or goes bust.
At this point, the dealer compares their hand against each player’s hand before resolving all wagers.
And that’s how a game of live Blackjack works. Depending on the variety of Blackjack being played, there may be additional rules or slight differences, but the core concept remains the same.
