There are many blackjack variants at online casinos that follow the basic blackjack rules prevalent at American land casinos at Vegas Strip and Atlantic City. These are more popular than the European Blackjack variants. One reason is the greater familiarity of the American blackjack variants and the other is that they offer a small advantage over European Blackjack. This article discusses the game play of European Blackjack, explains how it is different from the American ones and points out the disadvantages.

In European Blackjack the dealer deals the players two cards face up and himself one card face up. In the American variants the dealer also deals himself a second card which is face down. This card is called the hole card. Since the hole card is not dealt in European Blackjack, this variant is also referred to as “no hole card” blackjack. This difference impacts the further game play. In European Blackjack if the dealer’s face up card is an ace, the player can place an insurance bet before making any other move. This is to cover the risk of the dealer being dealt a blackjack. The insurance bet is half the ante bet. The player makes his other moves in the normal manner. Then the dealer deals his second card face up. If the dealer gets a blackjack the ante bet loses but the insurance bet pays 2 to 1. If the dealer does not get a blackjack then the insurance bet loses and the game is decided in the normal manner.

In the American blackjack variants if the dealer’s face up card is an ace the insurance bet again comes into play. But in this case the dealer has been dealt a hole card and he immediately checks for blackjack before the player plays out his hand. If the dealer has a blackjack then the player loses his ante bet, but wins the insurance bet. If the dealer does not have a blackjack then the player loses the insurance bet and the game proceeds as normal. In American blackjack variants if the dealer’s face up card is a 10 value card, then again the dealer checks his hole card for blackjack. If he has a blackjack the player loses the ante bet, otherwise the game proceeds normally. This procedure is not carried out in European Blackjack because there is no hole card.

In European Blackjack, when the player starts making his moves he does not know whether the dealer will get a blackjack, even when the dealer’s face up card is an ace or a 10 value card. He may supplement the ante bet with additional bets if he decides to split or double down. Then if the dealer gets a blackjack the player loses the additional bets along with the ante bet. This situation is avoided in the American blackjack variants. It is known whether the dealer has a blackjack or not before the player gets an opportunity to split or double down. Therefore, though split and double down hands may lose in the normal course, they will not lose to a dealer blackjack. This is the disadvantage that European Blackjack faces. The disadvantage is minor. The house edge in European Blackjack is higher by 0.1% only. For casual players this does not matter. But online casino players whose staple diet is blackjack would do well to stay with the American variants.