Online Casinos with Blackjack Switch

Esteemed card games inventor and skilled blackjack player Geoff Hall introduced Blackjack Switch around the turn of the century in Las Vegas. Hall typically played two hands and would get frustrated that he could not improve his hands when they were otherwise weak, so he came up with the idea of letting players switch the up card after the deal.

Hall initially named the game Push 22, but later (about 2001) it evolved to the current Blackjack Switch. Now, you can play Blackjack Switch online or in casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, and wherever else the local house lets players try it.

What Exactly Is Blackjack Switch?

The game uses a traditional 52-card deck with casinos using between six and eight decks to play Blackjack Switch. When you play two hands, you also have to wager twice as much as you would with a traditional blackjack game – or halve your wagers to play two hands. The dealer plays a single hand that you must beat with one or both hands to win the respective wagers.

Those subtle changes make the game much more interesting while giving blackjack fans a very fun alternative. If you like to split cards in blackjack, this version starts you off with a pair of hands that you can alter upon the initial deal. About the only thing that can beat you on the deal is a blackjack in the dealer’s hand. Barring that, you can improve your hands and have a better chance of winning both or breaking even with a win and a loss.

The play generally is the same as traditional blackjack, with six to eight decks used in most casinos. You can double down and even split hands in accordance with basic blackjack. The additional ability to switch the second card dealt just makes it that much better.

Blackjack Switch vs. Blackjack

Blackjack Switch is a great game for players who enjoy playing multiple hands. The potential for two or more winning hands against the house’s one hand greatly increases the potential to win more often. So does the ability to switch cards from one hand to the other and turn two relatively weak hands into two winning hands.

Because players start with two hands to the house’s one, several decks are required to continue the game for any extended period. Most casinos use between six and eight decks to make sure there are plenty of cards to conclude play as well as thwart card counting. The card values are the same as traditional blackjack.

You need to know what makes Blackjack Switch tick to play hands correctly and nullify the nominal house advantage. Playing charts and lots of practice can help you learn how to play the best hands and especially when to switch hands after the initial deal.

Blackjack Switch is a simple game to learn and especially for those who already are skilled blackjack players. The Push 22 rule complicates betting strategy enough that those who want to play it often and wager a significant amount of money need to pay close attention to how it impacts the game.

Blackjack Switch Rules

Blackjack Switch and blackjack generally use the same rules to start. Each player’s hands get two cards dealt up, with the second card eligible for the switch. The house retains the traditional hand of one card up and one card down. Otherwise, there would be no gamble.

At this point, Blackjack Switch rules let the dealer peek at the house’s hand to see if it has a blackjack. If so, then the round is done and the house beats everything except another blackjack, in which case it ends in a push. The peek rule only kicks in if the dealer is showing an ace or a 10 showing. An interesting rule variation says when the house has a natural blackjack, and so does one other player, the hand ends in a push for all players at the table.

After the initial deal and if the house does not have a blackjack, the players can switch the cards in their hands if they choose to do so. They even can create a winning blackjack hand by sending a jack of spades or clubs to a hand with an ace.

Generally, a player’s blackjack hand is worth 21 points and carries no more weight than any other card combination totaling 21 points. The dealer also can push on 22 instead of going bust unless the player has 21 or a lower total. The push rule offsets the big advantage that Blackjack Switch rules give players by letting them adjust their initial hands.

After the initial deal, the game mostly proceeds the same way as in traditional blackjack. You can double down on any pair of cards – including hands that you improved with a switch. The rules let you split cards like in traditional blackjack and double down after a split. Casinos generally let players split hands again up to four times.

The payouts differ slightly from traditional blackjack due to the player having more control over the hands. The potential to create two strong winning hands and double down on each makes the game especially lucrative for many bettors.

Blackjack Switch Betting and Payouts

You wager the same way in Blackjack Switch as you do in the traditional game and have all the same general betting options. The only requirement is that you lay the same initial wager for both hands before the initial deal. After the deal, and if the dealer or player does not have a winning blackjack hand off the deal, wagering proceeds separately for each hand. A blackjack generally pays 1:1 due to the player’s ability to create a blackjack by switching cards.

When already playing with at least two hands, Blackjack Switch quickly can dive deep into players’ pockets to maintain wagers over any kind of extended time. If two hands wind up splitting into two more and so on until reaching the house maximum on splits, a player might have up to eight hands with wagers for each one. The possibility of doubling down after each split adds to the potential for large bets and big payoffs when they win.

Some casinos might offer surrender and insurance options when playing Blackjack Switch. Insurance wins pay out at 2:1 at most casinos and online gaming sites. The surrender lets you assess the situation after the initial deal and keep half of your initial wager if you think you have a hand that most likely would lose. That helps you to reduce your potential for losing the entire wager but can backfire if the dealer goes bust. Once you surrender, your hand is done.

The Blackjack Switch odds give the house a relatively small advantage. The return-to-player is 99.65 percent, with the Push 22 rule and even odds on blackjacks making it possible for the house to offer the game. Without those two variations, casinos would not bother with it because skilled players would enjoy enough of an advantage to make the game pointless for a casino.

Blackjack Switch Strategies

Blackjack Switch generally uses the same rules as traditional blackjack. Other than the Push 22 rule, the game goes the same as the traditional game, making it possible to use player strategy charts to learn the best plays and when to switch cards to create the best possible hands.

You can practice the Blackjack Switch strategy by using a strategy chart to determine the best plays against the up card in the house’s hand. Those charts are based on statistical probabilities and help you to make the one correct play based on the situation at hand. Practicing them repeatedly to learn exactly the right play will help turn amateur bettors into highly skilled experts who can win more often at any blackjack game, including Blackjack Switch.

Because you play two hands and can create the best combination to start, knowing the strategy charts will give you the best chance to create two winning hands from what otherwise would be two weak hands. For example, if you are dealt a 10 and a 4 in one hand and an ace and 7 in the other, you could create a likely winning 21 score for one hand and double down on the 11 in the other before getting another card.

The Push 22 rule affects the payouts by forcing pushes on what otherwise would be winning hands for players. Smart Blackjack Switch strategy tells players to keep an eye out for card combinations that might give the dealer a 22 score and negate strong hands. Otherwise, you need to know when to split cards, double down, hit or stand based on the strategy charts and ideal plays. Smart, consistent play counters the house advantage and ensures you have the best odds of winning.

Blackjack Switch Tips

It is very important to always search through the minor rules changes that can affect gameplay online or at a casino blackjack table. Blackjack Switch can deliver many satisfying results so long as you know what the dealer has to do on a soft 17 and how to make the correct switches to give you the best chance to profit from each hand.

When the dealer stands on a soft 17, the bettor enjoys nearly a third of a percentage point advantage than when the dealer hits on a soft 17. That one minor variation that can change from one casino to the next illustrates how important it is to research every game and know the house rules.

Even the number of decks used affects the house edge. The more decks the house uses, the stronger its advantage. A house that uses eight decks will have about a 0.02 percent better advantage than one using six decks. Smart bettors always will look for the six-deck game to gain every slight advantage over the house.

Another way to reduce the house edge is to look for a Blackjack Switch game that gives players automatic wins with a blackjack. An automatic win on a switched blackjack can knock almost half a percentage off of the house advantage and put more money in your wagering account. An automatic win on a natural blackjack lowers the house edge by almost a quarter-point. When you find the right combination of house rules that erode the house edge of about half a point, you can win more often by consistently making the smart plays.