Multi-Hand Blackjack: Game Review and Tips on How to Play Multi-Hand Blackjack
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Blackjack is undoubtedly one of the most popular casino games out there. Being one of the easiest games to learn, it is one of the ideal games for new players. However, blackjack is also a multi-person game. This means that, generally, you need other people as players to start a Blackjack round. Unlike one-player games like slots, the pace of a Blackjack game is not up to you alone.
Additionally, you can get frustrated if the other players spend too much time thinking before making a decision. Not to worry though, the advent of online casinos means you can now play multi hand blackjack online. As the name suggests, multi-hand blackjack is a variant of blackjack that allows you to play multiple hands. In essence, you can play an entire blackjack round all on your own.
In this article, we will explore how to play multi-hand blackjack and the tips to pay attention to. Let’s get into it!
What is multi-hand blackjack?
A regular blackjack game generally has seven seats plus the dealer. A different player occupies each seat. However, with multi-hand blackjack, the same player can occupy all 7 seats in the blackjack game, which means they can play 7 independent hands.
The player places separate bets on each hand, is dealt different cards, and can make decisions on each card independently. Since each hand is independent, a player can lose some of the hands while simultaneously winning other hands.
Objective of the game
The goal in a multi-hand blackjack game is the same as a regular blackjack game. The player’s objective is to beat the dealer by getting as close to the value of 21 as possible without going over. The only difference, in this case, is that the player seeks to get 7 hands close to 21, as opposed to one hand.
If any hand goes over 21, it is said to have gone bust, and the player loses the bet placed on that hand to the dealer. Conversely, if any of the hands is dealt an ace and a card with a value of 10 as the first two cards (known as a blackjack), that hand wins immediately, and the player gets 150% of his bet as profit.
It is worth noting that a blackjack hand would not win the game if the dealer also has a blackjack. In this case, there is a tie (known as a push), and the player takes his initial bet back without any additional payout.
If none of the above happens, the game continues across all hands, after which the dealer reveals their hand. If the dealer has a value of 17 and above (without exceeding 21), all the hands with less than the dealer’s value lose.
Those exceeding the dealer’s value without going bust win 100% of their bets as a payout. Hands with the same value neither win nor lose their bets. However, if the dealer has a hand of less than 17, they must take one more card. If the dealer goes bust as a result, every hand still in the round wins.
Gameplay
As one would expect, a multi-hand blackjack is played the exact same way as a regular blackjack game. Each hand is dealt two cards face up while the dealer keeps one of his cards face down. While playing each hand, a player can make the following decisions:
- Hit: This is when a player requests additional cards for a particular hand
- Stand: This is when a player passes on taking additional cards, thus, retaining the initial two cards for the round
- Split: This decision is available when a hand has a pair of the same cards (for instance, having two 5s). The player can decide to split the cards into two independent hands.
- Double: This is when a player doubles his bet on a particular hand, usually one that is very promising.
Strategy for playing multi-hand blackjack
Given that multi-hand blackjack is essentially the same as regular blackjack, one might assume that the same strategy would work for both. This is true to a great extent. For instance, the regular approach of following the basic blackjack strategy would also work well in multi-hand blackjack.
However, in addition to this, multi-hand blackjack has certain nuances that allow for more strategies:
- If the dealer seems to have a bad hand, potentially increasing your payout, you can double down on more promising starting hands .
- You can mitigate your risk in a game where the dealer is in a good position by standing on some cards while taking risks with others. This way, you might win by landing a good hand while retaining some hands in the round if the dealer goes bust.
- To reduce the chances of losing altogether, you can have diverse approaches with multiple hands.
Final Thoughts
Multi-hand blackjack is a great way to enjoy blackjack without other players. The game offers other benefits, as you can exponentially increase your payouts. It is, however, important to be cautious as multi-hand blackjack can also result in more losses for you.
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