How to Play Live Dealer Blackjack

Multiple Players

Just like in land-based casinos, multiple players can sit at a live blackjack table. Typically, up to seven seats are available, and players have 15 to 30 seconds to place a bet. The table may be full, or a single player may be the only one participating. This social aspect is a major improvement over RNG games, where you play alone against software.

Some live casinos now feature blackjack tables with unlimited seats. Instead of seven positions, every player bets from a central seat. To make this possible, all players receive the same hand, although each decides independently how to play it. There are a few restrictions on splitting, but the game is otherwise much faster. Playtech’s Unlimited Blackjack is a good example.

Gameplay

After bets are placed, the game begins with the players who have wagered. The dealer deals two cards to each participant, starting from the dealer’s left, and, depending on the blackjack variant, draws one or two cards for himself.

The game follows traditional rules – starting from the player on the dealer’s right, each participant decides how to play the hand. Options such as Hit, Stand, Double, or Split appear on the screen. Depending on the variation, Surrender and Insurance may also be offered. Most live blackjack tables provide side bets like Perfect Pairs or 21+3.

After all players finish their turns, the dealer plays out his hand and the round is settled – losing bets are collected, while winning bets are paid out. The dealer does not handle the payments; all winnings are credited automatically to players’ balances. Live blackjack is generally slower than its land-based counterpart; depending on the software provider and number of players, each round lasts about one and a half to two minutes, so roughly 30 to 40 hands can be played per hour.

Dealing Shoes vs. ASMs

Live blackjack games are typically played with six or eight decks. The cards are usually shuffled off-screen, but the dealer places the cut card in front of the cameras. Shuffling rules and methods differ among software developers, yet they generally fall into two categories.

The first involves manual or automated shuffling off-screen once roughly half of the shoe has been dealt. Cards are then drawn from a standard shoe similar to those found in brick-and-mortar casinos. Other live games use automatic shoes that double as shuffling machines. Some casinos have adopted continuous automatic shuffling machines, which randomize the cards nonstop.

Speed of the Game

Card counters typically gain a small edge over the casino (about 1%) by knowing when to deviate from basic strategy and, more important, when to raise their bets. This edge does not appear in every hand; it emerges over time. Therefore, the more hands they play per hour, the closer they come to the expected returns.

In brick-and-mortar casinos, skilled counters can play roughly 60 to 120 hands per hour. Live dealer blackjack rounds take longer because players need time to place bets and decide on their moves, reducing the pace to around 40 hands per hour. Even if card counting were feasible, the potential profits would be too small to justify the effort.

Penetration

The primary reason card counting is ineffective in live blackjack is poor deck penetration. It is typically around 50%, meaning the cards are shuffled after only half of the shoe has been dealt. The deeper the penetration, the more accurate the count, which is why counters usually seek games with 75% penetration or higher.

Rules and Additional Things to Consider

To maximize their edge, card counters look for blackjack variations with favorable rules. While many live blackjack games do offer liberal rules, some casinos now employ continuous shuffling shoes. These devices constantly shuffle the dealt cards back into the remaining decks, and several cards are “burned” at the start of each shoe.

Live blackjack tables are also monitored by software that keeps a running count of the cards and tracks betting patterns. When the system detects behavior that suggests counting – typically a sudden increase in bet size when the count is high – it flags the player as a potential counter. If suspected, players can be instantly banned from the online casino without explanation.