The more information you can glean during a round of blackjack, the more chance you stand of making a profit. The biggest advantage the dealer has over the player is their ability to see the hidden card i.e. they know what their two card total is, while the player doesn’t.
If there was a way for players to gain an insight into this card is would surely boost their chances of success, right? Of course it would, but in most online blackjack variants this isn’t possible. However, in the online casino spectrum there are a number of choices and when you navigate to a platform such as http://www.32red.com/jp/, you’ll find a slew of gaming options and one of them is a game known as double exposure blackjack.
Also available on a range of additional online casino sites beyond 32Red, such as Full Tilt, Paddy Poker and Betfair, double exposure blackjack basically gives you the ability to see all the cards at the start of the game and, therefore, improve your chances of success. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee of success, but it is an opportunity for you to decrease variance and increase your EV.
The Basics of Double Exposure Blackjack
The main premise of this blackjack variant is that both of the dealer’s hole cards are exposed during the initial deal and that undoubtedly helps give the canny player an edge. Naturally, like all forms of blackjack, there are certain rules you need to abide by in double exposure blackjack and they include:
- Both of the dealer’s cards are exposed.
- The dealer wins on all ties (except on natural blackjack).
- When you hit blackjack it pays out at even money.
- You may split pairs (this can change depending on the site, some offer a single split while platforms such as 32Red will offer four splits).
As you can see from the above rules, the dealer wins on all ties. Because of this, you should adopt a much more aggressive strategy when playing this game because of the extra information you have access to.
Take the Aggressive Approach in Double Exposure Blackjack
Because you get to see both hands at the start, you will know the dealer’s total and whether you’re tied or not. With this in mind you should always hit on “soft” totals. A soft total is one which contains an ace simply because the ace can represent 1 or 11.
Because of the presence of the ace you literally cannot go bust with a single hit because your total can never exceed 21. Therefore, in a situation where all cards are exposed and the dealer wins on all ties, it’s imperative that you take the aggressive route and hit on all soft totals.
Split Your Pairs at Every Opportunity
Another thing to consider is the amount of times you can split pairs during a round of double exposure blackjack. Although sites such as 32Red offer four split, many restrict players to a single split. This limiting condition should again push you into a more aggressive strategy.
In general, splitting is seen as a way to maximise your advantage when the cards are in your favour. By limiting the number of times you can split a hand it naturally limits the amount of pressure you can put on the dealer. However, it is possible to overcome this disadvantage by splitting more often when you are given the chance to.
Common blackjack strategy suggests that you should only split a pair of nines or tens; however, when you’re playing double exposure blackjack you should also consider splitting small pairs such as sevens and eights. The reason for doing this is to increase the number of times you’ll be splitting and, therefore, increase your chances of achieving greater returns in a single hand.
Take a Chance to Double Your Fun
The online blackjack arena is full of interesting options and dynamics. Double exposure blackjack is a relatively modern innovation in the game and it’s an innovation that canny players have been able to use to their advantage in certain instances. Although many will assert that the classic format is the most conducive to skilful play, there are certainly ways to gain an edge in double explore blackjack and boost your EV.
