Free Bet Blackjack

More about Free Bet Blackjack

Free Bet Blackjack takes the familiar rules of blackjack and makes some of its bets free. By doing this, Evolution’s release pushes you towards playing more Double Down and Split bets. On top of that, the release features several side bets you can use to get bigger wins.

The game looks promising, but is it good enough to win players over? We thoroughly explore Free Bet Blackjack to see if it is worth your time.

How Does Free Bet Blackjack Work?

In addition to adding free Double Downs and Splits, Free Bet Blackjack changes when the dealer busts. Instead of the round ending in a player win, if the host goes to 22, it ends in a push. The bust works normally if the dealer has 23 or more.

Other than that, you can expect standard blackjack gameplay. Both player and dealer get two cards at the start of the round. The host’s first card is visible to the player, but the second remains face down. Each card has a value matching the number on the card. Cards 2 to 10 are worth their face value, Jacks, Queens, and Kings are worth 10, while Aces are worth 1 or 11. Your goal is to get 21 or as close to it as possible without going over.

After the first two cards are dealt, you can choose to Hit, Stand, Double Down, or Split.

• Hitting deals an additional card, adding its value to your hand total. You can hit more than once.
• Standing means you’re satisfied with your hand and do not want additional cards. This passes the move to the dealer.
• Splitting lets you split your first two cards into two separate hands. You can only do this if your first two cards are of equal value. Free Bet Blackjack makes all splits except 10s, Jacks, Queens, and Kings free.
• Doubling Down doubles your bet and draws one more card. The double is free if your initial hand value is 9, 10, or 11.

After the player’s turn completes, the dealer starts drawing cards. The dealer stops on a soft 17, meaning his hand totals 17, and the Ace counts 11. After both sides stand, their hands are compared. The side closest to 21 without going over wins the round.

How to Play Free Bet Blackjack?

Blackjack may seem complicated at first glance, but it’s easy once you play a couple of rounds. On top of that, you can count on our guide to walk you through the round one step at a time. Free Bet Blackjack is widely available in US online casinos, both in its seven-seat and infinite-seat configurations. You can probably find it on our selected list.

Place your bets

You have to put money down before you can make any moves. There is limited time to bet on the main bet and any side bets you want to play. To do this, select one of the coins that appear and place them on the required bet spots.

The cards are drawn

Once the betting timer ends, the dealer will start drawing cards. Four cards are dealt in total: two to you and two to the host.

Players choose how to play their hand

With two cards in your hand, the game will ask you to Hit, Stand, Split or Double Down. If you’re playing the seven-seat version, you’ll also have to wait for each player to finish their hand.

The dealer draws cards

After players finish their turns, the host begins drawing cards. They keep going until they reach a soft 17 or their total exceeds 21.

The scores are compared

If either side goes over 21, they automatically lose the round. Otherwise, the player and dealer’s hands are compared, with the one closest to 21 winning the round. If your first two cards get exactly 21, you get a Blackjack win, which has a better payout.

Watch all steps

Free Bet Blackjack Side Bets

Along with the four main bets, there are several side bets to consider. Four out of five require you to place a bet beforehand, while the last one only comes into play when the dealer’s first card is an Ace. We’ll go over each one in individual sections below.

Insurance Bet

You’ll be offered an insurance bet if the dealer’s first card is an Ace. The host will then peek their second hand. If he has Blackjack (exactly 21), you lose all the bets placed so far. However, you will win the insurance bet and get some money back.

Perfect Pairs

This side bet wins if your first two cards are a pair, meaning both have the same value. There are three types of pairs:

• Mixed Pair has two matching cards with different suits and colors. Example: ♠2, ♦2
• Colored Pairs has two matching cards with different suits of the same color. Example: ♥5, ♦5
• Perfect Pairs has two matching cards with the same suits and colors. Example: ♣7, ♣7

21+3

Your goal in this side bet is to form a valid three-card poker hand with your first two cards and the dealer’s visible card. Better hands naturally have better payouts.

• Flush – non-sequential cards with the same suit. Example: ♠2, ♠6, ♠10
• Straight – cards follow a numerical sequence but have different suits. Example: ♥2, ♠3, ♦4
• Three of a Kind – cards have the same value but different suits. Example: ♥Q, ♣Q, ♠Q
• Straight Flush – cards follow a numerical sequence and have the same suits. Example: ♦5, ♦6, ♦7
• Suited Trips – three identical cards. Example: ♥K, ♥K, ♥K

Hot 3

Hot 3 also uses your first two cards and the dealer’s up card. However, you’re trying to get a specific hand total instead of forming poker hands.

• Total 19 – the three cards add up to 19. Example: ♥8, ♦2, ♠9
• Total 20 – the three cards add up to 20. Example: ♥8, ♦2, ♠10
• Total 21 unsuited – the three cards add up to 21 but have different suits. Example: ♥9, ♦2, ♠9
• Total 21 suited – the three cards add up to 21 and have the same suits. Example: ♥9, ♥2, ♥9
• 7-7-7 – all three cards are sevens. Example: ♥7, ♣7, ♦7

Bust It

The last side bet is Bust It, which wins if the dealer busts. The side bet is pushed if you win with Blackjack. The payout is better or worse depending on the host’s number of cards when they bust. The minimum is 3 cards, while the maximum is 8 or more cards.

Payouts in Free Bet Blackjack

The payouts in Free Bet Blackjack are identical to a regular live blackjack table. Evolution balances the occasional free bet by making dealer busts more difficult instead of changing the paytable.

Below, you can see the paytable listing all possible outcomes and their rewards. This includes all the side bets we mentioned above.

Free Bet Blackjack RTP

If you play Free Bet Blackjack optimally, you can expect an RTP of 98.45%. This is lower than the 99.28% RTP we usually see from Evolution live blackjack tables, but not by much.

Like all live blackjack games, the side bets have a much lower RTP. They are as follows:

• Perfect Pairs RTP is 95.90%
• 21+3 RTP is 96.30%
• Hot 3 RTP is 94.60%
• Bust It RTP is 94.12%

Free Bet Blackjack Betting Range

Evolution has a certain betting range in mind for each game. For Free Bet Blackjack, that includes a $1 minimum wager and a $5,000 maximum bet. However, online casinos tend to set their own limits, so your mileage may vary.

Free Bet Blackjack Strategy

While Free Bet Blackjack does make some changes, they’re not enough to change the optimal strategy. If you want the best results, you’ll want to stick to the basic blackjack strategy on all hands. Unfortunately, that does mean you’ll be skipping over some of those free bets this Evolution release offers.

You’ll want to play differently depending on whether the dealer has a hard or soft hand. The Ace’s value is 1 in a hard hand and 11 in a soft one.

We’ve put together the following three tables, showing you the optimal decision for each possible outcome. We’ll use the following abbreviations in our tables.

• H – Hit
• S – Stand
• D/H – Double if allowed, otherwise Hit
• D/S – Double if allowed, otherwise Stand
• SP – Split

History of Free Bet Blackjack

While blackjack is a long-running game, Free Bet Blackjack is a recent invention. It first hit casinos in 2012, quickly winning over countless players. Evolution’s live casino adaptation of this game wouldn’t come out until 2018. It is one of their more popular live blackjack variants and appears frequently in many US online casinos.

Why Play Free Bet Blackjack?

If you’re looking for reasons to choose Free Bet Blackjack over any other title, we have many to suggest. However, we’ll limit ourselves to the most important ones here.

• Free Double Down and Split bets
• Adheres to basic blackjack strategy
• Fun and lucrative side bets
• Excellent table limits
• No fees despite free bets being added

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