In January 2020, Evolution Gaming, the Swedish supplier of live casino games, added two new blackjack games to its roster. The first is Speed Blackjack, described as a ‘super-fast’ variant of the classic game. The second is another variation, called Power Blackjack, which has a number of different double and splitting rules which benefit players. Want to find out more about these exciting new games? Let’s dig into the detail.
For the most part Speed Blackjack, follows the same rules as Evolution Gaming’s Live Blackjack with one difference, the order in which the cards are dealt changes according to the players’ decision-making speed. In this faster variant of the game, every player’s first two card are dealt as usual, then all players are given the option to Hit, Split or Double Down at the same time. A decision clock is started. The player who makes the quickest decision is dealt their next card first. This pattern of play continues until everyone at the table has made a decision and all the necessary additional cards have been dealt. If a player runs out of time and has a total of 11 or lower, the Hit option is taken. If the initial total is higher than 11, the player will automatically stand if they run out of time.
21+3 - A three card hand is made up of the dealer’s card and a players first two cards. The hand has to be valid to win, e.g. suited trips or a flush.
Perfect Pairs - A player’s first two cards make a pair. A perfect pair is the same colour and same suit. This pays the most at 25:1.
Bet Behind - You can place a bet behind another player on the table and follow their play. You’ll have a choice of what to do when the player doubles or splits a hand.
Evolution Gaming estimates that Speed Blackjack is, on average, between 30-40% faster than its classic Live Blackjack game and involves significantly less waiting time while other players make their decisions. In Speed Blackjack, players are free to make their decisions when they’re ready. The fastest players have more control over the game as well, seeing as the first player to make a decision gets the next hit card. This doesn’t affect the mathematics of the game, meaning that players still have a great chance of winning and the odds of the game are still excellent.
This new variant of blackjack then, promises fast, furious and exciting gameplay for all, whilst minimising the need to wait for other players to take action.
This variant of blackjack gives players the option to multiply their double down bet. This game is a variant of Evolution Gaming’s Infinite Blackjack and Classic Blackjack. In each round of Power Blackjack, players have the option to either double, triple or quadruple the bet on their first two cards or after a split.
Hot Three - You place a bet on the total of three cards in your hand, or on the total of your first two cards and the card the dealer is showing.
Bust it - This is when players bet on the likelihood of the dealer going bust (i.e. exceeding a score of 21).
The theoretical return to player percentage of this version of Power Blackjack is 98.8%.
When you are dealt cards then, you can double down, triple down or triple down your wager. You can then multiply your double down bets when you split your weak hands. This can multiply your potential winnings to a great extent in Power Blackjack.
These two new variations of blackjack developed by Evolution Gaming then, promise players lots of excitement and fun. Whether you choose to speed things up or multiply your winnings playing these variants, you can be sure that you’ll be in for a good time when you play Speed or Power Blackjack. So, what are you waiting for? Get playing today!
