How LIVE Power Blackjack Work?
Only one hand is dealt, to be shared by an infinite number of players. The cards are dealt on a genuine felted table, but each player’s view of the hand is partially digitized so that everyone sees their own actions – not the actions of anyone else. This affords players the option to split pairs, unlike some similar live 21 games.
What gives players more “power” in Power Blackjack is the option to Triple Down or Quadruple Down. These options follow the same rules of Double Down, except that you’re increasing your wager up to 3x or 4x the original bet.
Players are permitted to Double, Triple or Quadruple Down with any 2-card hand, before or after a split. When doing so, the dealer will give you one more card. Your hand will automatically stand at that point (or lose if you’ve busted).
The obvious question now is, what do player’s lose in exchange for this remarkably advantageous feature? The trade off is the elimination of all 9s and 10s in the shoe. That might not sound like much, but remember that it’s usually best to double down on a hand of 9, 10 or 11. The best card you can receive when doing so is a 9 or 10, delivering a total somewhere between 18 and 21.
Removing the 9s and 10s leaves behind only 10-point face cards, effectively reducing your odds of being dealt those high-value cards by 40%. As such, the house edge in Power Blackjack is a rather steep at 1.2%.
Specific Rules of Play
- Decks: 8
- Soft 17: Dealer Stands
- Double / Triple / Quadruple Down: Yes, on any first 2 cards
- Splitting: Yes, only once
- Double after Split: Yes
- Resplit Aces: No
- Draw to Split Aces: No
- 6-Card Charlie: Pays 1:1 w/ 6-card total of 21 and under
- Surrender: No
- Dealer Checks for Blackjack: Yes
- Blackjack Pays: 3 to 2