Vegas Strip Blackjack in Online Casinos

The action always is fun and fast with just a small house advantage and general luck for savvy players to bet and win real money when you play Vegas Strip Blackjack online. The rules are easy to follow, and many strategies are fairly simple to understand. Virtually all of the best and most popular brick-and-mortar casinos on the Las Vegas Strip offer this game, and you can play Vegas Strip blackjack online too. Let’s take a closer look at this rousingly fun game.

What Exactly Is Vegas Strip Blackjack?

You play Vegas Strip blackjack with four 52-card decks that get shuffled to each hand. The multiple decks and continual shuffle help prevent card counting while enabling more potential blackjacks and other high hands. Like traditional blackjack, the aim is to come as close to 21 without going over while beating the house’s hand. Card values are the same, with the numbered cards showing their respective value and face cards worth 10 points. An ace is worth one or 11 points.

A blackjack delivers an automatic win with a higher payout that can vary by casino. When the player and house both have blackjack, some casinos and online operators give the win to the player, others to the house, and still others declare it a push. Splitting cards and doubling down bets makes the game more interesting while enabling players to win more from their hands.

Depending on house rules, you likely will have options for buying insurance and surrendering hands. The potential game variations can make it even more fun to find different online versions and learn which ones work the best for you while giving you the most gaming fun and excitement.

Vegas Strip Blackjack Vs. Classic Blackjack: What’s the Difference?

Classic blackjack is the same game generally developed in European casinos in the 17th century. The Vegas Strip version grew out of the subtle variation played on the iconic Las Vegas Strip for decades. The basic rules are the same, but some variations result in differing house advantages and winning hands for players.

The basic differences mostly lie in the deal, the number of decks used, and how a dealer handles the house’s hand off the deal. The European game typically deals a card down and a card up for each player. The dealer in Vegas Strip Blackjack deals all player cards up while the house gets one card down and one up to create the uncertainty needed to enable the gamble. Dealing all cards up for the players speeds up the game a bit and gives more chances to win over time.

Another common difference is whether or not the dealer hits on a soft 17 and if the dealer gets to peek at the cards to check for a blackjack. Hitting on a soft 17 changes the odds of the house going bust, while the peek rule can affect how much money players risk against a hidden blackjack in the house’s hand.

The best way to get the most out of Vegas Strip Blackjack is to learn the subtle variations and how to best adapt your playing strategy to maximize your potential win. You need to know what the house rules are on hitting or standing on a soft 17, how often you can split, and when you can double down on your bet. If the house offers surrender and insurance plays, those might benefit some players, too. The more you know about the game, the more likely you are to make the right moves and win the most money while playing Vegas Blackjack.

Vegas Strip Blackjack Rules

The relatively standardized version of Vegas Strip Blackjack rules starts with four standard 52-card decks with the face cards worth 10 points, aces worth 1 or 11, and the numbered cards worth their indicated amounts. The four decks are located in a shoe from which the dealer takes the top card: the only card they can access. Ensuring the dealer only can reach the top card in the deck helps to thwart shady dealers and lets players know the house is playing a fair game.

The dealer will usually distribute cards from his or her left to the right with all cards dealt up to the players and one card up and one card down for the house. Some casinos might deal the first card down to each player, but that kind of deal slows down the game. Vegas Strip Blackjack rules are all about enabling quick rounds and more wagers per sitting. The more betting volume across the casino floor, the more likely the house advantage ensures a profit for the day.

When the house shows 10 or 11 points on the up card, the dealer peeks at the hand to check for a blackjack. If the house has a blackjack on the deal, the house wins. The dealer must stand on a soft 17 in strict Vegas Strip Blackjack, but some casinos might require a hit.

Players can double down after the initial deal no matter what the hand shows and split aces or any combination of cards worth 10 points. That includes splitting different face cards and 10 cards, which greatly enhances betting opportunities. A split pair of aces cannot create a blackjack but can create a hand value of 21, and you only can split aces once. You can split 10 cards up to three times to create a maximum of four hands from a single deal.

Vegas Strip Blackjack Betting and Payouts

With up to three splits and four hands to play off an initial deal, Vegas Strip Blackjack can get really exciting fast. You start with an initial wager of at least the house minimum and collect two cards dealt up on the initial deal. If those cards give you a blackjack, you win a 3:2 payout at most gaming tables. Some might weaken the blackjack win with a 6:5 payout, which is why it pays to know the rules and payouts for each gaming table before joining the game.

After the initial deal, you can split cards if each equals 10 points or you have a pair of aces. You only can split a pair of aces one time and pairs of 10 cards up to three times. The game lets you double down on your wager for each hand after the deal and the split. With up to three splits allowed, that makes it possible to wager up to eight times the initial amount from what started out as a single hand of Vegas Strip Blackjack.

The game offers a very solid return to players of 99.65 percent. With just slightly more than a third of a percent advantage, the house needs a high volume and large wagers to maximize the profit potential. Full gaming tables with players laying high wagers make the house very happy while enabling more players to win significant amounts.

Most casinos and online operators offering Vegas Strip Blackjack enable players to buy insurance if the house is showing a possible blackjack hand. If the house has a 10 or an ace showing, an insurance bet could turn a potential loss into a big win with a 2:1 payoff if the house has a blackjack. If the house does not, then the player loses that insurance wager.

Vegas Strip Blackjack Strategies

A relatively standardized game like Vegas Strip Blackjack enables players to learn and abide simple betting strategies. Betting charts that players can carry and consult while practicing will help them to learn the best times to hit, stand, split cards or double down on bets based on what the house hand is showing versus the value of the player’s hand.

For example, a player always hits when dealt a hand equaling between five and eight points at all times no matter what the house is showing on its up card. Once the value of the player’s hand reaches nine or more points, then the decisions become more varies. A total of nine requires a hit if the house has a 2 or a 7 through ace showing on the up card, but you double down if the house is showing a 3 through 6 card.

Blackjack strategy Vegas Strip also tells players when to stand or split cards to create the best possible play based on the values in the player’s hand and the up card showing in the house’s hand.

Vegas Strip Blackjack Tips

The smartest tips for Vegas Strip Blackjack are those that stop players from making foolish mistakes. It all starts with reading the specific rules for a table game. Many have very subtle variations that can greatly affect the outcome of a hand and make the difference between leaving with more money than you started or having a bad betting experience.

An old saying in sports says: “Perfect practice makes perfect.” The same goes for Vegas Strip Blackjack. Downloading and printing a perfect play chart will give most players the best tool for learning how to play virtually any hand and leave them with the best potential for winning money.

There are only four suits and 13 cards per suit in each 52-card deck, so every possible card combination from the deal can fit nicely in an easily readable chart that outlines the best possible play for any deal. You can practice those plays on any good free blackjack electronic game or even at home with your own deck of cards.

The idea is to learn the best possible plays for each hand without having to spend time thinking about it. One of the best ways to practice by yourself is to choose a total for your hand, draw a card from the deck to represent the up card in the house’s hand. You make your play and then check it against the chart to ensure it is the recommended perfect play. When you can do that for all possible deal combinations, you have the best chance to virtually erase that pesky house advantage and leave with your pockets full of house money.

Another wise tip is to forget about insurance or surrender plays when the house makes them available. Insurance almost always is available in Vegas Strip Blackjack, but some casinos also let you make a surrender play. The house advantage on those plays is much, much higher and can inflict a hit on your gaming finances that might cause you to lose instead of win for the sitting.