Microgaming’s European Blackjack is actually the same game that most blackjack enthusiasts enjoy playing with their families at home. European Blackjack is the same game of standard blackjack played at all land-based casinos; but the online version enjoys greater popularity because it is more lucrative and more fun. Needless to say, the game has simple rules and strategies, familiar to anybody who has enjoyed playing blackjack since childhood.
European Blackjack uses two standard decks of 52 cards each just as any game of standard blackjack. The face cards such as Kings, Queens and Jacks have a value of 10 while aces can be assigned the value of either 11 or 1. Players are free to draw a maximum of nine cards to create an eleven-card hand. The aim of a European Blackjack player is to beat the dealer by creating a hand of value 21 or closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand. In other words, blackjack players strive to beat the dealer.
Beginners are advised to learn and understand the basic rules before playing a game of European Blackjack. Since blackjack is not a game of luck alone, ambitious players who want to make money playing European Blackjack require a combination of luck, skills and strategy.
When the game commences, players are dealt two face-up cards and the dealer gets one face-up card. European Blackjack has a rule called “No Peek,” preventing dealers from checking if they have got a blackjack before the players have completed making their hands. Players will lose their bets if dealers get blackjack. The other rules of Blackjack are as follows: first, players can double, split, or purchase insurance as and when the circumstances present themselves, but they can double only on values of 9, 10, Jacks, Aces, Kings and Queens. Second, re-splitting is not permitted, but players can draw with the purpose of splitting aces. Third, players are permitted to play only one hand at a time. Fourth, players can neither surrender nor split cards of value 4, 5, or 10.
European Blackjack lacks a multi hand version and a progressive jackpot, but offers loads of fund and plenty of cash. Some casinos, however, allow blackjack enthusiasts to play European Blackjack at two tables, the only difference between them being the color schemes. European Blackjack has a payout of 3:2, which means that Blackjack enthusiasts who bet 10 credits and win will receive 25 credits.
