Pick’em Blackjack – Rules & Review of the Unique Online Game

There is a fantastic line-up of blackjack variants out there spread across different casinos, and Pick’em Blackjack is one of those. This variation is very close to classic blackjack, with the only difference that here all the cards are spread visibly across the table and you can choose your first card for your hand. You don’t have to wait for the dealer to draw a card for you. If you don’t want to choose your card you can let the system auto pick it for you. Other than that everything is pretty much the same as a normal blackjack game.

How to Pick’em Yourself

An interesting fact is that Pick’em Blackjack is played with a single standard 52 card deck. Instead of using multiple decks as in other variants, here this single deck is reshuffled after each round. Here the rules say that the dealer has to draw to 16, and if he gets a 17 he must stand. More precisely, he must stand on all soft or hard 17s. The players can double down on 9, 10 and 11, however, they are not allowed to double down after splitting your cards and you cannot double down on a blackjack hand. Besides that, the players are not allowed to re-split a hand that was previously split. When it comes to splitting a hand composed of two aces, you are allowed to get only one additional card. After that, no more cards are dealt to the player. Also, the dealer is not allowed to split his hand, only the player.

The cards are valued the same as in every blackjack variant. After the dealer acts on his hand, the player can stand and not request any additional card, or he can pick another one, which essentially is like hitting in normal blackjack. This is done by selecting your own card from the bunch, or you can click the Auto-pick button. If you bust your bet is lost. A normal winning hand is paid 1 to 1, blackjack pays 3 to 2, insurance win pays 2 to 1, while the even money option pays 1 to 1.

The Favourable House Edge

Pick’em Blackjack is more or less the same as all the best online blackjack variations. As already mentioned, the house edge is expected to be the same as for classic blackjack, under 1%. But, since this is played with a single deck, the house edge is more favourable than in any other variant – 0.15% more or less. If the blackjack payout was 6 to 5, instead of 3 to 2, or if the dealer needs to hit on 17s, the house edge would have been up for an entire percent or more.

Insurance and Even Money

No side bets are offered in Pick’em Blackjack. But, there is the insurance option, as well as the even money option. If the dealer’s up card is ace and you don’t have a blackjack, you’ll be offered the insurance option. If you take the insurance and the dealer has a blackjack, your insurance is paid 2 to 1. But, if the dealer’s up card is ace and you have a blackjack, you’re offered the even money option. If you accept it, it means that you predict the dealer has a blackjack too. If that is the case, you are paid 1 to 1.

Tips for a Winning Run

Let us give you a few tips, which you can put to the test at Betfair Casino. First, try to never accept insurance or even money, because the house edge on an insurance is 5.9%. Regarding doubling down there are several situations. You can double down in any situation when you have a total of 8, 9, or 10, while the dealer’s up card is 5 or 6, 2-6, or 2-9 respectively. Otherwise you can hit. Also, you need to always double down on total of 11. The same goes when you have an ace and 2-5, ace and a 6, or ace and an 8, while the dealer’s up card is 4-6, 2-6 or just 6 respectively. If you have an ace and a 7, while his up card is between 3 and 6 you can also double down, but you have to stand if the up card is 2, 7, 8 or an ace. If it’s a 9 or 10, then you can hit.

With Pick’em Blackjack, you have to stand when you have a total of 12, or between 13 and 16, while the dealer’s up card is 4-6 or 2-6 respectively. Otherwise, you can hit. But remember to always stand on a total between 17 and 21. Another situation where you can stand is when you have an ace and a 9. If you have two aces, remember to split them always.

Another situation where splitting comes in mind is in the case of pairs. Split any pair of 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, or 7s in cases where the dealer’s up card is 3-7, 4-7, 8, 10, 2-6 or 2-7 respectively. Otherwise, you will need to hit. But if you have a pair of 7s and the dealer’s up card is 10, you should stand. A pair of 8s should always be split no matter what. A pair of 9s too if the dealer’s up card is 2-9, except 7. But if it’s 7, 10 or an ace, you should stand. And final, always stand on a pair of 10s.

What Have We Learned About This Game

There are many pros to playing a variation like Pick’em Blackjack, simply because of the number of decks used. There are more chances for hitting a blackjack in a blackjack game where only one deck is used than in multi-deck games. First of all, your chances of drawing an ace as your first card are 4/52, while drawing a ten-valued card are 16/52. The chance of drawing an ace on the other hand in an 8 deck game is 32/416. This is only one of the advantages, but there are more besides this one. Try the game and you’ll see for yourself.