Double Exposure Blackjack at first seems a simple game to play. You can see both the initial cards of the dealer and know exactly where you stand. But the additional information means more options to process and calls for a change in strategy from the normal online blackjack variants. This article does not delve into details of strategy but gives some basic pointers to new players.

But first it is important to outline the changes in rules required to offset the advantage of seeing both dealer cards. Blackjack is a two-card hand with an ace and a ten value card totalling 21. In normal online blackjack variants a player blackjack win pays 2 to 1. In Double Exposure Blackjack it pays only even money. In normal online blackjack all ties push. But in Double Exposure Blackjack the dealer wins all ties except for tied natural blackjack, which pushes. The net result is that the average return to the player is virtually unchanged.

In normal online blackjack you only see the first dealer card. The second card is unknown. So there is an element of uncertainty. This is reduced in Double Exposure Blackjack when the first two cards of the dealer total 17 or more. Since the rules require the dealer to stand on 17, the dealer’s hand is done if the total is 17 or more. There is no uncertainty on that score. The player’s strategy is cut out in this condition. He has to get more than the dealer otherwise he loses. If the dealer has 17, the player cannot stand on a hard 17. He has to hit. In normal online blackjack the player will always stand on a hard 17. Taken to the extreme, the player has to hit on 20 and hope for an ace when the dealer has 20.

You have to keep in mind that things change dramatically when the dealer’s first two cards total 16 or less. This means that the dealer will have to take at least one more card after the player completed his hand. So the player can be and should be more conservative. Take the case when the dealer is on 16 after the first two cards. He will bust if the third card is 6 or higher. This will happen about 61% of the time. So as a player you need not take undue risks. You stand when you are 12 or more.