The Different European Blackjack Games Variants

One of the most popular Blackjack games available online is the European Blackjack variant, and the reason many online Blackjack players opt to give this game lots of play time is that there are in fact several different variants on offer.

You will find both standard European Blackjack games and several games which offer some kind of bonus or side bet option which use this variant as its base game. Should you enjoy playing European Blackjack and be interested in learning more about the many different variants found online then the following guide will be of great interest to you.

Standard European Blackjack Games

When you are playing at any online casino site which has Microgaming’s range of Blackjack games on offer you will find several standard European Blackjack games on offer, you will have access to their original variant, their graphically enhanced Gold Series game along with a Multi Hand European Blackjack game which allows you to play up to five hands per game played.

The playing rules of Microgaming’s European Blackjack game are very straight forward and easy to understand, and with just two decks in use in the shoe of cards, and with this variant offering the standard payouts of even money on all non Blackjack hands which includes any split Ace which is dealt a 10 valued card, 3 to 2 for a unmatched Players’ Blackjack hand and 2 to 1 for a winning Insurance wager the house edge on these standard variants of the game works out at 0.42%.

The European Blackjack games are all no peek games, and the Dealer has to stand every hand he deals himself when it is worth at least 17 in value, this includes both hard and soft 17 hands. The Dealer will not permit players to split any two cards that have a value of ten unless they are alike cards such as 2 x Jacks or 2 x Kings.

The rules on how a Player can play their hands are quite liberal on the European Blackjack game, and as such when a player is dealt two initial cards and they have a combined value of a hard 9, 10 or 11 then that player may opt to Double Down that hand, and by doing so a third and final card will be dealt to that hand in exchange of an additional wager equal in value to their base hand bet amount.

Splitting any hand is permitted however when a Player does choose to split a hand they can only split it once, so only two hands will be played per single base game hand that has been split. Unlike a lot of other Blackjack game variants where a Player can only have one card dealt to a split Ace, when playing European Blackjack should a Player opt to split a pair of Aces they can choose to hit each Ace as many times as they like.

Blackjack Games Variants Using European Blackjack as the Base Game

You will find that there have been quite a number of additional Blackjack games added to the suite of card games offered at Microgaming software powered casino sites over the years, and many of these games use the European Blackjack variant as the base game of that game, however a range of optional side betting options are offered to players playing these new games.

To give you some ideas in regards to just which Blackjack game variants will give players the option of placing a side bet wager on variants using European Blackjack as the base game, below you will find an overview of each of them.

Hi Low 13 Blackjack – The Hi Low 13 Blackjack game offers players the ability of playing three optional side bets, and should you decide to play this variant you can place one of these side bets in which you have to correctly predict what the total value of your two initial playing cards will be when added together.

All of the playing cards will use their face values for this side bet option, so a 7 is worth seven, and 4 is worth four and so on, all Jacks, Queen and Kings are worth ten and Aces are worth one.

The three options on offer on this side bet include a bet on which you need to correctly predict your initial two cards are going to be lower than 13 and another bet on offer is one on which you need to correctly predict if your two initial cards are going to be valued at over 13 in total, both of these two bets pay even money if successful. You can also bet that your two initial cards will be exactly 13 in value, and if correct you are paid out at odds of 10 to 1.

Perfect Pairs Blackjack –  The Perfect Pairs Blackjack game variant is a multi hand game and as such you can play up to five hands all at the same time. This is another game which uses the European Blackjack game as the base game and you are permitted to place one side bet wager alongside each single hand you play.

The aim of the Perfect Pairs bonus bet is for you to get dealt out, once you have placed it, as your two initial cards a pair. There are three payouts that can be awarded when you have placed this wagering option, and as such if you are dealt out a Perfect Pair that being two identical cards for example 2 x 4 of Clubs or 2 x 9 of Diamonds then you receive a winning payout of 30 to 1 on your side bet.

Should you get dealt out any pair of cards that have the same colour then a winning payout of 15 to 1 will be awarded to you based on your bonus bet amount. The final winning payout you can be awarded when placing this Perfect Pairs side bet is a 5 to 1 payout whenever a Mixed Pair is dealt out to you as your initial two cards.

High Streak Blackjack – The High Streak Blackjack game has a side bet option which pays out a set of payouts to players whenever they have placed this wager and then go on to get dealt two or more winning hands consecutively.

You can place the High Streak Blackjack game alongside any base game wager, and once you do get two or more consecutive winning hands on the trot a set of bonus payouts will be awarded to you, for reference the bonus bet stake amount will stay in place on the betting layout on each winning hand you have been dealt so you do not have to place another one onto the betting layout unless a you have been dealt a losing hand.

There are four winning payouts which can be paid out to you per winning streak and these are even money when two consecutive winning hands have been dealt, 2 to 1 when three winning hands consecutively have been dealt to you, 5 to 1 when you get four winning hands dealt to you on the trot and the final bonus bet payout is worth a payout of 10 to 1 which you get paid when you have had five consecutive winning hands.