A Guide to Power Blackjack

Blackjack is the most popular casino table game by a wide margin. There’s a good reason for that, as blackjack is simple, exciting, and fun. In a traditional casino, there’s nothing like everyone sitting at a table cheering when the dealer busts and everyone wins! Online gaming providers have created not only these standard blackjack games, but they’ve also experimented with new, exciting twists to this venerable classic.

First showcased in 2020, Evolution Gaming‘s Power Blackjack Live is one of these updated versions of the game. It’s the blackjack you know and love, just with a few changes to make it more exciting! As we’ll see in this guide, Power Blackjack delivers an exciting game worth trying!

How to Play Power Blackjack Live

Playing Power Blackjack Live is like playing regular blackjack but with a few twists.

For those unfamiliar with blackjack, the game’s objective is simple: try to get as close to 21 without going over. If you go over, you lose. If you stay at 21 or below, you need to beat what the dealer has to win, and if the dealer gets closer to 21 than you, you lose. All face cards count as 10, while Ace can be 1 or 11, depending on which one will get you closer to 21 without going over.

Power Blackjack has the same rules as traditional blackjack. You can hit to get another card, stand to keep your cards, and you’ll bust if you go above 21. Getting a blackjack will pay you 3:2, which is undoubtedly better than most Vegas casinos these days! However, there are two critical changes:

The Power Blackjack game removes all 9s and 10s from the deck. The only cards in a Power Blackjack game are A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, J, Q, and K. You can triple and quadruple down, if you want, instead of merely doubling down. So, for example, if you’re betting $10 on the hand and you have an 11 show, you can quadruple down by putting $30 more on the table. The dealer will give you one card and one card only. If it’s a Jack, you’d have 21 and likely win $40! However, if it were a two, you’d have 13 total and need the dealer to bust to win $40.

And those are the only two changes! Power Blackjack is merely regular blackjack without 9s and 10s, with the opportunity to triple or quadruple down! While these may not seem like much, they’re enough to make the game feel new and exciting! They change the odds a little, giving veteran blackjack players something different to try!

No Tables

The other big difference between traditional blackjack and Power Blackjack is that there are no tables in Power Blackjack. In classic blackjack, there’s a dealer and about 5-6 spots at a table. Players pull up a chair (virtually with an online casino or physically, if at a land-based casino) and sit at the table. Each player gets a hand, and the dealer goes through each player before dealing the extra cards for their hand.

Power Blackjack does away with all of that.

Instead, there’s only one hand, and an infinite number of players can join, where they all play that hand simultaneously. Evolution developed this technology for Infinite Blackjack and Lightning Blackjack. As the dealer deals with the player’s card, the dealer puts it into a reader in the middle of the table. The software then represents that physical card as a virtual card on the screen. If you stay, for example, and others hit, though the dealer will pull out another card, that system will recognize that you stayed and won’t put another virtual card in your hand. This technique allows the dealer to deal everyone’s hand to completion while allowing each player to make their own decision.

This technique means that players can also be confident that they are playing with a real deck of cards instead of randomly generated numbers. And, it also means there are no table spaces to fight over! This version of the game is available to play whenever you are ready – no more waiting for an open seat!

Power Blackjack Bonus Games and Features

Power Blackjack has roughly the same payouts and rules as traditional Vegas blackjack. However, there are four possible side bets that players can make.

Hot3: This bet pays when the player’s first two cards and the dealer’s face-up card combine to make a total of 21, 20, or 19, or they are all sevens (so three sevens total). If you get 7-7-7, this bet pays 100:1!

21+3: If the player’s first two cards and the dealer’s face-up card form a poker hand, this bet wins. Suited trips (meaning three heart Aces, for example) pay the most at 100:1.

Any Pair: When the player’s first two cards form a pair (e.g., Ace and Ace), this bet pays out. A suited pair pays 20:1, while a standard, unsuited pair pays 7:1.

BustIt: This bet pays when the dealer busts! The more cards the dealer takes to bust, the higher the payment. If the dealer busts with eight or more cards, the payout is an impressive 250:1!

These bets have a higher house edge than the base game; however, they are a lot of fun and can pay remarkably well if you get them right!

Power Blackjack Strategies

When you play Power Blackjack, the help section of the game details the expert playing strategy, so if you want to know how to best play the game, load it up and consult the help section! It is worth noting, though, that Evolution used that strategy to compute the RTP (return-to-player) of the game. Traditional blackjack has one of the lowest house edges of any casino game, live or slot machine. For an experienced player sticking to the optimal strategy, the house edge is 0.5% – far less than the 5% or so that the slot machines usually have! Using the optimal strategy in the help section, Evolution computes the RTP to be 98.8%, meaning that the house has a 1.2% edge in Power Blackjack instead of the 0.5% edge in the traditional game. While that’s not a huge difference (and, again, both are much better than most casino games), it is worth keeping in the back of your mind. If you want the version of blackjack with the lowest house edge, stick with the traditional game!

Power Blackjack Live Provider

Evolution Gaming is the company behind Power Blackjack. Evolution is arguably the world’s leader in live casino games, and they make live versions of classic games like roulette, blackjack, baccarat, etc. However, they’re also well-known for producing modified versions of these classic games, like this version of blackjack or Lightning Roulette. They also have live versions of TV game shows (Deal or No Deal Live), and they also make live games based on board games (Monopoly Live). Evolution’s live games are very high quality and often set the bar for other studios to hit. Indeed, many gamers consider their products to be the best live games!

Best Casinos with Power Blackjack

If you want to play Power Blackjack, you’re in luck! Numerous fantastic online casinos have this game, as Evolution Gaming live casino games are among the most popular worldwide. However, knowing which of these casinos is the best can be challenging. Here are three tips to determine whether the Power Blackjack casino you want to try will be a good experience.

Ensure the Casino Has a Good Review

Almost all online casinos have reviews now. Indeed, most of the best online casinos have been reviewed here at GambleGuys! Check for the casino on our site and see what its rating is! If it doesn’t get a good review, that’s probably a site to avoid! However, if it does get a good review, you’ll probably want to give that Evolution Gaming casino a shot.

Make Sure the Casino Has Numerous Games

In addition to Power Blackjack, top online casinos have numerous online slots and other live casino games. And they don’t have games from just one provider either. They’ll have multiple versions of blackjack, roulette, slots, baccarat, and more. After all, for as much fun as Power Blackjack is, you’ll want to try something else eventually!

Ensure the Online Casino Supports Your Preferred Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Finally, the best online casinos support multiple deposit and withdrawal methods. You should see support for all the most common methods in your country, and, ideally, you’ll also see support for crypto and other less common ways to pay. A robust set of deposit and withdrawal methods (including speedy transactions) is a good sign that a casino cares about its players and wants to ensure they have an easy time getting funds in and out!

Power Blackjack Live Is a Game You Won’t Want to Miss!

Power Blackjack Live is an incredible game. It’s a relatively simple variation on blackjack, but the little side bets and slightly different rules make it an exciting game. There’s nothing quite like doing a “quadruple down” on 11 and seeing a Jack come up, for example, all but ensuring you’re going to be winning 4x your original bet. Plus, the fact that Power Blackjack is not a traditional “table” means you can always get a seat and play. There’s no waiting around for a spot to open up – load the game on your favorite device, and you can play immediately! It’s a fun experience and one that is most definitely worth trying! If you’re playing at a Power Blackjack casino with all the best live games, check this one out! There’s a good chance you’ll find it as exciting as we do!