Best Online Blackjack Casinos in Canada 2024

When to Hit in Blackjack

A “hit” is simply asking for another card from the dealer

Depending on what the dealer is showing and the rules of the online casino, a general strategy would be to ‘hit’ when your cards total 14 or less.

For example: if your cards total 12, it would be a good idea to hit. There’s a good chance of you getting a card under 10, so you probably won’t bust.

Here’s a cheat sheet for when you should hit or stand:

Hard Totals

Where your hand total occurs without an Ace.

Soft Totals

Where your hand includes an Ace, so the total is flexible.

When to Stand in Blackjack

“Standing” is choosing to receive no more cards from the dealer

A player would “stand” when they’re confident they have a high enough hand to beat the dealer, typically on hands that total 15 or more (depending on what the dealer is showing).

For example: If your cards total 17, you could definitely still choose to hit, but now there’s a greater chance of you getting a card that would put you over 21. Depending on what the dealer is showing in this scenario, it may be wiser to stand.

For more info on when to stand, check out the chart above under “Show More”.

When to Double Down in Blackjack

“Doubling down” is choosing to double your original bet and committing to receiving only one more card from the dealer

As an example, a player should generally “double down” if their hand totals 10 or 11 and the dealer’s face-up card is less than 10, as the odds of the next card being a ten or face card is in the player’s favour in the long run. Again, this will depend on what the dealer is showing as well as the casino’s dealer rules.

Remember – doubling down doubles a player’s bet, and they only get one more card. If the player gets a good card and wins, they win double, but if they get a bad card and lose, they’ll lose double.

Here’s a cheat sheet for when you should double down:

When to Split in Blackjack

A “split” is only an option when a player is dealt a pair

“Splitting” a pair turns the original pair into two separate hands, doubling the number of hands the player has on the table and doubling the bet in the process.

For example, if a player was dealt two 8s, they could split these. They would then have two hands worth 8 each and receive an additional card for each hand. They’d then play these hands the same way they’d play one – choosing to hit, stand, double down, or even to split again.

Choosing when to split is a bit complicated, and depends on which pair you receive, and what the dealer’s showing. When you’re choosing to split, remember these three things:

• Don’t split a winning hand. If you’re dealt two 10s, it’s tempting to double down, but don’t. If you’re dealt two 10s, you know you have twenty, which is likely a winning total. Hold tight.
• Only split good cards. Remember, you’re turning these cards into new hands, so only split cards that you actually For example, if you’re dealt a pair of fours (a low, mathematically unfriendly card) there’s no point in splitting – you’ll just end up with extra hands full of fours.
• Each time you split, your wager doubles. Just try to remember what you’re getting into – splitting doubles your potential winnings, but also your potential losses.

Here’s a cheat sheet for when to split:

When to Surrender

Turn in your hand and win back half your wager

If you think you have little to no chance of winning your hand, you can choose to surrender. This way, you’ll only lose half of your bet instead of risking your entire bet. There are two types of surrenders: early and late.

Early surrenders happen before the dealer has checked for blackjack and are only present in some online blackjack variants. With this, you can only surrender if you haven’t made a move yet. Late surrenders are more commonly allowed online and offline, and you can turn in your hand after the dealer has checked for blackjack if they haven’t caught a natural 21.

As a general rule with early surrenders, you should give up your hand if you have:

• A hard 5-7
• A hard 12-17
• A pair of 3s, 6s, 7s, or 8s

If the dealer is showing a 10, you should surrender if you have a hard 14-16.

With late surrenders, your decision should be greatly impacted by how many decks you’re playing with. There is a large amount of strategy behind surrendering late, so we recommend reading up on the subject before you start throwing around surrenders.

When to Buy Insurance

Short answer: don’t.

Once the initial cards have been dealt, if the dealer is showing an ace, you’ll be prompted to buy insurance. Buying insurance is almost always a bad bet, as the odds are against you. However, if you’re a player who relies on your intuition and gut, you should know when buying insurance is a good idea.

Insurance is essentially a side bet. To buy insurance, you’ll have to “pay” half of your original wager. If the dealer turns over their face-down card and lands a natural blackjack, you’ll win. Insurance bets usually pay 2 to 1, so you’ll wind up breaking even on the hand. If the dealer doesn’t land a blackjack, you’ll lose your insurance wager.

As a general rule, if you already have two 10s or face cards in your hand, you shouldn’t buy insurance even if the dealer is showing an ace. This rule especially applies if you’re playing a live dealer game and other players have 10s or face cards as well – it’s pretty unlikely that the dealer will turn over a 10-value card (though it is possible).

When to Make Side Bets

Raise the stakes a bit

Insurance is the most common side bet, but there are two more common ones: perfect pairs and 21+3. Perfect pairs bets are made on the player’s cards on the premise that you’ll receive two cards of the same value, and 21+3 involves the player’s two cards and the face-up card of the dealer making a number of combinations. Side bets are only beneficial to play if you’re feeling lucky, or if you have money that you can afford to lose.

Perfect pairs are very unlikely, therefore they payout higher. They are also subject to a higher house edge of anywhere from 2% to 11%, or more. Perfect pairs can be any of the following:

• Mixed Pair: two cards of the same value, but of different suits and colours – pays 5:1
• Coloured Pair: two cards of the same value and colour – pays 12:1
• Perfect Pair: two of the same exact card – pays 25:1

21+3 pays out for the following combinations (and/or others, if specified by the online casino you’re playing at):

• Flush: all cards are the same suit – pays 5:1
• Straight: all cards are consecutive – pays 10:1
• Three of a Kind: three cards of the same value, not the same suit – pays 30:1
• Straight Flush: consecutive cards of the same suit – pays 40:1
• Suited Triple: three of the same exact card – pays 100:1

These bets should only be made if you’re feeling extremely lucky, psychic, or have the money to throw away in the event that you lose. If you’re playing on a tight bankroll, it’s best to stay away from side bets in general.

Classic Blackjack

Classic blackjack is the most traditional version of the game. It’s also sometimes called “Traditional Blackjack” or just “21”. It can be played with anywhere from one to eight decks of cards, but the most popular are 2-deck, 4-deck, 5-deck, and 6-deck.

It’s played exactly the way we described above – the dealer receives one card face-up and one card face-down, and the player receives two cards face-up. The player then decides whether to hit, stand, double down, or split.

Live Dealer Blackjack

In this popular Blackjack variation, players can enjoy a traditional casino experience while playing online as there is a live dealer in real-time dealing the cards. Live dealer blackjack is a great option for players that want the live casino experience with the convenience of playing from their laptop or mobile device.

Spanish 21

This variation of real money online blackjack allows players late surrenders, doubling after a split, re-splitting aces, players 21 always wins, players blackjack beats dealer blackjack, a player may double down on any number of cards. There are also different payouts when a player hits 21. Whether it’s 5,6,7 card 21’s or three-suited 7’s.

European Blackjack

European blackjack is a popular variation with minor differences from traditional real money blackjack. One central difference is it only played with two decks of cards, where others use six to eight decks. There’s no hole card in the European variation of the game and the dealer doesn’t receive a second card until the player has completed their hand. Doubling down is also limited. In European blackjack, players can only double down if they have a hand of 9 through 11.

Single Deck Blackjack

This version of blackjack is only played with one deck. For years, single deck was the standard, but casinos began to mix in multiple decks to make card counting more difficult.

Double Exposure Blackjack

In double exposure, the dealer receives both cards face-up, which gives the player an advantage over their next move. To maintain the house edge, players are paid out even money if they get a blackjack rather than 3:2, and a tie results in the player losing their bet.

There are a few other rules: there are no surrenders, you can’t purchase insurance, and some games restrict doubling down and splitting based on your hand.

Atlantic City Blackjack

This version of blackjack is played with eight decks shuffled together. It is very similar to classic blackjack, but with a few twists. If the dealer receives an ace or any 10-valued card as their hole card, they will “peek” at the face-down card to check for a blackjack. If they have a blackjack, you’ll lose your initial bet.

Additionally, the dealer will stand on any soft 17 hand, and the player can only choose to surrender after the dealer has peeked.

Blackjack Switch

Switch is a relatively new blackjack variant that was created by a card counter named Geoff Hall. In blackjack switch, each player is dealt two hands and has the option to swap the two top cards if they would make stronger hands. Hall was fed up with getting two weak hands that could be improved if the top cards could be switched, and switch was born.

All standard blackjack rules apply. Blackjack pays even money, and a dealer hard 22 pushes all other hands, except a natural blackjack.

Progressive Blackjack

Progressive blackjack is a side bet in which the standard rules and payouts apply. However, like other progressive jackpot games, the jackpot increases each time it is not won. To win the jackpot, you have to have a hand that contains four aces of the same suit.

Individual casinos may offer different payouts than these for any of the other winning combinations: $25 for any 2 aces, $50-$200 for two suited aces, $250 for any 3 aces, $2500 for 3 suited aces, and 10% of the pot or $1500 for any 4 aces.

Bust

When your card total exceeds 21, you “Bust”, which means you lose that hand and your bet. A bust can only happen if you choose to “Hit” after you have received your initial two cards. If the player and the dealer both bust, the player loses.

Even Money

This is Blackjack-specific insurance. If you have a blackjack and the dealer is showing an ace, you can ask for even money, which is a 1:1 payout.

Hole Card

The card that is left face-down (the dealer’s second card). Whenever you decide to stand, the hole card will be revealed.

House Edge

The mathematical advantage that the casino has over you. This is to ensure that the casino makes a profit over time. The house edge varies per game and per casino.

Insurance

When the dealer has an ace, you can purchase insurance. Players can win back some of their bet if the dealer wins by getting a blackjack. This is usually offered in American Blackjack.

Pair

A hand with two cards of the same value (ie. two 10s). Pairs can be split if you wish.

Push

When you and the dealer have the same hand value, your bet is returned and you don’t win or lose anything.

Side Bet/Proposition Bet

A.K.A. a prop bet. When you make a wager based on something else happening in the game that isn’t necessarily a part of Blackjack.