Invented in France somewhere around the year 1700, Blackjack is one the most widely played card games in the world.
There are several different variations of the game but in general, the point is to draw as many cards as one wants without going over a total card value of 21. For cards 2-10, the value is determined by the number on the card. Face cards (Jack, Queen, King) have a value of 10, and Aces have a value of either 1 or 11. If the player is dealt an Ace and a 10 or face card, that is known as a “Blackjack” and it is counted as an instant win.
At the start, both player and dealer are dealt with two cards: one face up and one face down. The player goes first, having the option of “hitting” (asking for another card) or “standing” (stopping on the total value of cards received thus far). If the total value of the player’s cards goes above 21, they “bust” and the dealer wins.
After the player stands or has busted, it is then the dealer’s turn. The dealer then draws cards for themselves, also trying to get as close to 21 as possible. With most variations of Blackjack, the dealer will stand at 17. In addition to “hit” or “stand,” players often have the following options:
Wins are usually paid at a 1:1, meaning the player wins back twice what they bet. If the player draws a Blackjack, they will be paid 3:2 at most tables, meaning they will receive an additional 50% of their bet.
In some types of BJ, the dealer will flip over their second card before the player has the chance to draw if they have a Blackjack, and will automatically win (so long as the player does not also have a Blackjack, in which case the game is a “push,” or a tie). If both player and dealer have the save total card value, the game is also considered to be a push, and the player gets their money back.
Some of the more popular variations of Blackjack include the following:
There is a very specific strategy that players can adhere to in order to minimize the house edge, but this strategy varies according to the rules of the game. In general, the strategy of whether to hit or stand relies upon two factors: the dealer’s face-up card and the hand dealt to the player.
For example, players will almost always want to stand if they are dealt total card values of 17-21 (with the exception being pairs of Aces or 9s, in which case a Split is usually recommended). This strategy in Blackjack is referred to as the “basic strategy” and charts indicating what to do in every situation can be easily found online.
The first thing you will need to do to play Blackjack with Ethereum is create an account at Winz.io and to get a hold of some ETH. The most common way to do this is by registering at a cryptocurrency exchange (such as Coinbase, Binance, Huobi, KuCoin, etc.), depositing some funds (fiat currency, BTC, or other cryptocurrencies), and exchanging them for ETH.
Next, generate an ETH deposit address at our Ethereum casino and send the ETH funds from the exchange to the deposit address. After the transaction has been confirmed, your Ethereum casino balance will soon be updated and you can get started playing Blackjack.
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With block times of roughly 10-20 seconds, Ethereum transactions are confirmed very quickly; 30-60 times faster than Bitcoin transactions, as a matter of fact. This means that you don’t have to sit around waiting for your deposit transaction to be confirmed before you can get started playing. Likewise, withdrawals of ETH will land in your wallet far faster than they would if you were cashing out BTC. Additionally, ETH transaction fees tend to be significantly lower than BTC transaction fees, meaning you can save money and time by playing with ETH instead of BTC. |
Although it is the second most popular cryptocurrency by market capitalization and number of users worldwide, Ethereum still isn’t as popular as Bitcoin, meaning it is sometimes not quite as easy to get a hold of as BTC. It isn’t accepted as a form of payment in as many places as Bitcoin and isn’t carried by as many casinos. Additionally, the liquidity at exchanges when purchasing ETH may not be as great as it is for BTC, meaning you may not get as good of an exchange rate as if you were buying BTC. |
Thanks to the way crypto casino game developers design their games, it is possible to play Ethereum slots and use ETH to play just about every single version of Blackjack developed for Bitcoin casinos. The only thing you’ll need to do is find a casino that also accepts ETH as a deposit option.
Some of the many different types of Blackjack games that can be played using Ethereum include:
The idea of live Blackjack is to recreate the casino version of Blackjack over the internet so that it can be played at home from a computer or even mobile device.
As opposed to regular online casino games where software recreates the gameplay experience, Live games display an interactive video feed of an actual Blackjack table and dealer who deals real cards. The players use their mouse or keyboard controls to place bets and communicate with the dealer regarding their choice of action, similar to how it is done in an actual casino.
There are multiple variations of how the live dealer Blackjack can be played, some of which are available in online casinos in the form of Live dealer blackjack.
The most common of these variations are Pontoon (substantially more liberal rules with sometimes lower payouts), Double Exposure (player sees both dealer cards at the beginning and “Blackjack” hands pay 1:1), and VIP Blackjack (bigger bet minimums, for high roller players).
There are a number of factors to take into consideration when deciding which casino is worthy of your business. Among them is a possession of the following qualities:
It is this last element that is particularly necessary when choosing a reputable crypto casino, as a casino is ultimately only as good as its reputation and ability to provide a fair gameplay experience for its users.
Second, only to Bitcoin in terms of total hash power backing its network, Ethereum is a very stable and well-secured cryptocurrency network. Though 3rd party products built on top of its chain have been the victims of a few vulnerabilities over the years, Ethereum itself has never actually been hacked, and as such, it is considered to be one of the safest of all cryptocurrencies.
There are a few peer-to-peer trading platforms (such as LocalBitcoins, CryptoLocally, and Paxful) that offer a wide variety of ways to get Ethereum without having to sign up for an exchange. This includes buying ETH using Western Union, PayPal, wire transfer, credit card, and even options to meet sellers in person.
In short, the answer is no. Every variation of Blackjack game that can be played using Bitcoin can also be played using Ethereum if you are at the right casino. It may take a bit of digging to find highly specific BJ games (such as some of the more obscure variations of Pontoon), but they are out there and can be found if you are willing to do some digging.
Much like with Bitcoin, Ethereum bets are usually measured in terms of milliETH, or mETH, with 1 mETH being the equivalent of 0.001 ETH. As the price of Ethereum is much lower than Bitcoin, the dollar value of 1 mETH is correspondingly much smaller than 1 mBTC, with 1 mETH currently being about $0.40. Some Blackjack game software providers convert bet denominations into dollars ahead of time, so be sure to take a look at exactly what you are betting before placing a bet.
As with all cryptocurrencies, the price of Ethereum is extremely volatile, which means its price can fluctuate rapidly during a short period of time. The price of ETH can even change significantly during the course of a single gambling session.
This can be great during a bull market as it means the dollar value of your profits is compounded by the percent that the price of ETH increased between deposit and withdrawal. However, it works the exact opposite way during bear market periods, meaning the dollar value of losses will be amplified if the price of ETH goes down.