Five Card Charlie Blackjack
Five Card Charlie
Five Card Charlie Online Casino Game
Five Card Charlie Online Casino Games

Many gaming enthusiasts enjoy blackjack because of its low house edge and in depth strategy. But what some players don’t realize is that blackjack has a wide variety of different side bets and variations available.

5 (or 6 or 7) Card Charlie: 5 (or 6 or 7) cards with a total score of 21 or less. Action: an all-purpose gambling term which denotes the entire sum of money wagered in a particular time period. Ten bets of $10 each makes $100 of action. Anchorman: The player nearest the dealer’s right-hand side. This seat receives its cards last, just prior. Five Card Charlie: Κερδίστε ένα €15 βραβείο μετρητών όταν κερδίσετε ένα hand στο Live Blackjack, αφότου σας έχουν μοιραστεί πέντε φύλλα, με ένα ελάχιστο ποντάρισμα των €10.

These are fun to play when you’re looking for something beyond standard blackjack. But before you jump into new blackjack games, it’s important to know the rules and house edge.

That being said, let’s take an in depth look at 27 different blackjack variations and side bets.

* All house edges for games are based on standard 6 deck variations.

1 – Progressive Blackjack

House Edge: The house edge on a progressive blackjack bet depends upon the size of the jackpot. The larger it is, the better your theoretical return.

Unique Characteristics: You can play for a progressive jackpot along with other side payouts.

How to Play Progressive Blackjack

Progressive blackjack allows you to play for a jackpot when you make an optional dollar side bet. This game also offers other side payouts that are paid for qualifying hands.

The hands that trigger the jackpot and other payouts all depends upon the game. Below you can see an example using a game that centers on the first four cards you receive:

4 red or black aces = Jackpot
4 mixed aces = 2000:1 payout
3 suited aces = 1000:1
3 mixed aces = 200:1
2 suited aces = 50:1
2 mixed aces = 15:1
1 ace of any suit = 3:1

When you play jackpot games like these, it’s important to note the rules and strategy nuances so that you maximize your chances of winning the progressive payout.

In this instance, you can’t win the jackpot and other payouts after splitting hands. If you’re dealt aces, which normally calls for a split, you’d keep them together so that you can win the qualifying side payout and try for the jackpot.

2 – Multi-Hand Blackjack

House Edge: 0.46% (multiple hands don’t change the house edge).

Unique Characteristics: You can play multiple hands on each turn.

How to Play Multi-Hand Blackjack

Multi-hand blackjack is the most common variation that you’ll find in online casinos. In fact, it’s rare when an online casino doesn’t offer this game.

Multi-hand blackjack is just like it sounds in that you can play multiple hands in the same round. All of the multi-hand games we’ve seen offer a maximum of 3-5 hands.

The plus side is that this gives you more action in each round. The downside is that playing more hands exposes you more to the house edge.

Here’s an example:

The game you’re playing has a 0.5% house advantage.
You bet $5 on three hands per round, instead of one.
Your theoretical losses increase from $0.25 per round to $0.75 (15 x 0.05).

Some players won’t mind the extra risk because they want to see multiple results per round. But if you’re a bankroll-conscious player, then you should be careful with multi-hand blackjack.

3 – Hi-Lo Bet

House Edge: 2.08% on the Hi-Lo side bet.

Unique Characteristics: You get to make a side wager on whether your second card will be higher or lower than the first one.

How to Play Hi-Lo Blackjack

This game involves a Hi-Lo side bet, where you guess whether your second card will be higher or lower than the first card.

If your guess is correct, you receive a 1:1 payout.

The catch is that the ace has no value and gives the house an automatic win. This means that only 2 through king qualify for your Hi-Lo side bet.

4 – Blackjack Switch

House Edge: 0.58%

Unique Characteristics: You’re dealt two hands, and you can trade cards between them to improve your score.

How to Play

Blackjack switch has two interesting traits:

You’re automatically dealt two hands.
You can switch cards between the hands in an effort to beat the dealer.

Obviously your chances of winning improve when you can switch cards between hands.

But the house also gets favorable rules in that the dealer pushes on a 22, instead of busting. The other bad rule is that natural blackjack payouts are reduced from 3:2 to 1:1.

Each Blackjack Switch round begins with you making two bets that are of equal size. When your two hands are dealt, you’ll see an additional switch option along with the standard blackjack actions.

Note that you can only switch the top cards (second dealt). Here’s an example of how this works:

You receive 5 and 10 (top) in one hand, and A and6 (top) in the other.
You switch the top cards, creating new hands of 5-6 and A-10.
You now play your new hands like any other blackjack game.

You can also switch back before making an action if you change your mind. But once the first action is taken, you can’t go back.

5 – Perfect Pairs

House Edge: 5.79% on the Perfect Pairs side bet.

Unique Characteristics: You can place a side bet that wins when you form a pair with your first two cards.

How to Play

Perfect Pairs blackjack allows you to make an optional side bet on whether or not your first two cards will form a pair. As long as you make a standard bet, you can wager $1 or more on getting perfect pairs.

Here are the payouts for this side bet:

Mixed Pair (same rank; different colors and suits) = 5:1 payout
Colored Pair (same rank and color; different suit) = 10:1
Perfect Pairs (same rank and suit) = 30:1

The obvious appeal to Perfect Pairs is that you can win up to 30x your side bet. The downside is that the house edge is 5.79% – over 10 times what you face in a standard online blackjack game.

Five Card Charlie Blackjack

The risk is worth it to some players since you only have to bet a dollar. Furthermore, a 5.79% house advantage isn’t terrible as far as blackjack side bets go.

6 – Spanish 21

House Edge: 0.37%

Unique Characteristics: Spanish 21 removes all 10s from the deck and offers bonus payouts.

How to Play

Spanish 21 doesn’t have any 10s in the deck, which makes for a 48-card deck.

Given that 10s favor the player, this rule isn’t good for you. But Spanish 21 includes a number of player-friendly rules along with bonus payouts.

Here are some common rules that benefit you:

Late surrender.
You can double down on any two cards.
You can double down after splitting.
Natural blackjack payouts are worth 3:2.
You can split up to 3 hands.

Below you can see examples of Spanish 21 bonus payouts, which are based on your first two cards and the dealer’s up card:

Three suited 7s = 50:1 payout
7-card 21; three 7s spades; 6-7-8 spades = 3:1 payout
6-card 21; 6-7-8 mixed suits; three 7s same suit = 2:1 payout
5-card 21; 6-7-8- mixed suits; three 7s mixed suit = 3:2 payout

As with many other blackjack bonuses, these payouts are invalid when you split hands.

7 – Live Dealer Blackjack

House Edge: 0.46%

Unique Characteristics: You can chat with a real dealer and fellow players.

How to Play

Nothing in online gaming comes closer to replicating the land-based casino atmosphere than live dealer blackjack.

Live dealer gaming streams action from a brick-and-mortar casino to your computer or mobile device. This not only lets you play blackjack in a physical casino setting, but also gives you the chance to chat with the dealer and other players.

You communicate with the dealer and others by typing into the chat box. The dealer can then respond verbally if they choose to.

Another nice thing about live blackjack is that you’ll have a variety of dealers an

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