Three blackjack variants with their own pages
Three families have enough detail to need a page each. Free Bet Blackjack gives you free doubles and splits and takes it back with a dealer 22 push. European blackjack deals without a hole card. Infinite Blackjack seats an unlimited number of players on one shared hand with Six Card Charlie.
Each of those pages follows the placard from first rule to last and prices each rule. The sections below cover the other families in the register as short entries: the rule set, the return the provider publishes, the house edge that follows from it, and the limits an Ontario site prints for the table.
Rules for Atlantic City and Vegas Strip online
Games Global’s Atlantic City Blackjack uses eight decks, the dealer stands on soft 17, blackjack pays 3:2, and you may double on any two cards and after a split, up to four hands. The dealer peeks, and late surrender is offered once the dealer has checked for blackjack. The published return is 99.65%, a house edge of 0.35%.
Vegas Strip Blackjack from the same supplier halves the shoe to four decks: dealer stands on soft 17, double on any two, double after split allowed, but no surrender, and split aces may be split only once. Its published return is also 99.65%, so the smaller shoe and the missing surrender rule cancel out at the same 0.35%.
Both games date back to Microgaming, and Vegas Strip was released in 2003. Specialist sites quote limits of US$1 to US$200 for both. Betway, FireVegas, Jackpot City, Royal Vegas and Toppz deal both in Ontario, TonyBet adds Atlantic City and Spin Casino adds Vegas Strip, so each game sits at six of the 11 sites.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas Strip Blackjack | Games Global (Microgaming) | 0.35 % | Published RTP |
| Atlantic City Blackjack | Games Global (Microgaming) | 0.35 % | Published RTP |
Vegas Downtown and single-deck blackjack variants
Vegas Downtown Blackjack uses two decks, and the dealer hits soft 17. That rule costs about 0.2% on its own, and the smaller shoe returns most of it. Doubling on any two cards and after splits is allowed, there is no surrender, and the published return of 99.62% leaves a house edge of 0.38%. A multi-hand edition plays five hands.
Single-deck games sit at the cheap end of the register. Vegas Single Deck deals from one deck with the dealer hitting soft 17, but doubling is limited to totals of 9, 10 and 11 and there is no doubling after a split. Any two ten-value cards may be split. The published return is 99.69%, a house edge of 0.31%.
In Ontario, Vegas Single Deck is dealt at Betway, Jackpot City, Royal Vegas and Spin Casino, and its 0.31% is the lowest edge among the 27 tables in the register. Vegas Downtown sits at the same four sites. Specialist sites quote US$1 to US$200 for both, the same range as the Atlantic City and Vegas Strip games.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegas Single Deck Blackjack | Games Global (Microgaming) | 0.31 % | Published RTP |
| Vegas Downtown Blackjack | Games Global (Microgaming) | 0.38 % | Published RTP |
Multi-hand blackjack variants in Ontario
Playing several seats at once does not change the edge per hand. It only multiplies the money at risk each round. Evolution’s First Person Blackjack, a computer-dealt game, lets you play up to five hands per round from an eight-deck shoe, with the dealer standing on soft 17 and no doubling after a split.
First Person Blackjack publishes a return of 99.29%, a house edge of 0.71%, the same figure as Evolution’s live seven-seat table. Its limits run from C$0.50 to C$500 a hand, and in Ontario it sits at Casino Days and ToonieBet. A GO LIVE button moves you from the computer table to a live Evolution table.
Pragmatic Play’s Blackjack X copies the provider’s live procedures without a live dealer and lets one player take up to four seats. It deals eight decks with no reshuffle until the cut card, stands on soft 17 and allows doubling after a split. FireVegas, TonyBet, ToonieBet and Toppz carry it in their Ontario lobbies.
Blackjack X is the one table in the register whose edge comes from our own calculation on its rules rather than a provider’s stated return: 0.49% with basic strategy. Vegas Downtown’s multi-hand edition plays five hands at the same 0.38% as the one-hand game, so the extra seats add money at risk and nothing else.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack X | Pragmatic Play | 0.49 % | Computed from the rules |
| First Person Blackjack | Evolution | 0.71 % | Published RTP |
Classic seven-seat live tables online
The plain seven-seat live table is still the reference point. Evolution’s Classic Live Blackjack publishes a return of 99.29%, a house edge of 0.71%, with limits from C$10 to C$10,000 across its standard and VIP tables. Casino Days, LeoVegas, TonyBet and ToonieBet deal it in Ontario. Bet Behind opens when the seats are full.
The rule set is eight decks, the dealer standing on soft 17, blackjack at 3:2, doubling on any two cards and no doubling after a split. The dealer peeks only with an ace showing. OnAir Entertainment’s city tables, among them Toronto, Ottawa and Niagara Falls, run the same rules and publish 99.44%, a 0.56% edge.
Evolution’s Salon Privé tables run the same game for one player at a time, who chooses the dealer, the shuffle and the pace. They publish 99.29%, a 0.71% edge, and run from C$2,000 to C$10,000 at Casino Days and ToonieBet. Both seven-seat formats carry Perfect Pairs at 95.90% and 21+3 at 96.30%.
Pragmatic Play Live’s Privé Lounge Blackjack allows splitting again after a split and keeps a doubled card face down until the dealer finishes. The provider gives a return of 99.51% with the re-split rule, a 0.49% edge. Only one player sits at a table, limits run from €1,000 to €20,000, and access needs a €6,000 balance.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Privé Lounge Blackjack | Pragmatic Play Live | 0.49 % | Published RTP |
| Classic Live Blackjack (seven-seat tables) | Evolution | 0.71 % | Published RTP |
Always 6 and side-bet editions
Evolution’s Always 6 Blackjack fixes the dealer’s open card as an unsuited 6 that is not drawn from the six-deck shoe. Ordinary wins pay 0.61 to 1 instead of even money, while a blackjack still pays 3:2. Evolution publishes 99.34%, a 0.66% edge, and ToonieBet deals it in Ontario at C$50 to C$9,000.
Evolution rates the game’s volatility at 3.1, which it calls low, and a house-calculated cash-out offer runs during the deal. The two side bets cost far more than the main game: Perfect Pairs returns 93.89% and Lucky Ladies 91.42%, with a top Lucky Ladies payout of 200 to 1. The main bet stays the cheaper wager.
Evolution’s infinite tables carry the longest side-bet menus in the register. Infinite Blackjack offers Any Pair, at 25 to 1 for a suited pair, 21+3 with a top payout of 100 to 1, Hot 3 at 100 to 1 for three sevens, and Bust It, up to 250 to 1 on a dealer bust with eight cards.
The main game under those side bets is the cheaper wager every time. Infinite Blackjack’s main bet publishes 99.47%, a 0.53% edge, and in Ontario it is dealt at Betway, Casino Days, LeoVegas, TonyBet and ToonieBet. Perfect Pairs, offered on the classic and Always 6 tables, returns 93.89% to 95.90% depending on its pay table.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinite Blackjack | Evolution | 0.53 % | Published RTP |
| Always 6 Blackjack | Evolution | 0.66 % | Published RTP |
Common-hand tables beyond Infinite
Pragmatic Play Live’s ONE Blackjack seats an unlimited number of players on one box, each deciding alone. It deals eight decks, stands on soft 17, allows doubling after a split except on aces and pays Six Card Charlie. The published return is 99.59%, a 0.41% edge, the lowest of any live table in the register.
ONE Blackjack’s four side bets return 96.30% on 21+3, 95.90% on Perfect Pairs, 94.77% on Crazy 7 and 94.12% on the dealer-bust bet. Crazy 7 pays up to 2,000 to 1 for three suited sevens. ONE Blackjack sits at nine of the 11 Ontario sites, with Betway and Casino Days the two lobbies without it.
Playtech’s All Bets Blackjack uses the same common-hand idea with eight decks, the dealer standing on soft 17 and six side bets. A dealer showing a ten takes no hole-card check, and if that dealer makes blackjack your double is returned. Ten cards without busting win automatically. The published return is 99.46%, a 0.54% edge.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONE Blackjack | Pragmatic Play Live | 0.41 % | Published RTP |
| All Bets Blackjack Live | Playtech Live | 0.54 % | Published RTP |
Lightning Blackjack and its fee
Lightning Blackjack from Evolution charges a mandatory fee equal to 100% of every initial bet. A winning hand earns a random multiplier for the next round, from 2x to 15x on an ordinary win and 6x to 25x on a blackjack. The fee is not charged on doubles or splits, and it is never returned to you.
The hand rules under the fee are published in Evolution’s rules file: eight decks, the dealer stands on soft 17, blackjack pays 3:2, and there is no doubling after a split. Evolution’s published return of 99.56% covers the whole game, fee and multipliers included, so the house edge is 0.44%.
The rules file adds two details that matter at the table. A push returns the main bet but loses the fee and the multiplier, and taking insurance forfeits both. A multiplier stays available for up to 180 days. The rules file gives limits of C$5 to C$1,000, and Betway, LeoVegas and ToonieBet carry it in Ontario.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning Blackjack | Evolution | 0.44 % | Published RTP |
Power Blackjack with nines and tens removed
Evolution’s Power Blackjack removes every nine and ten from each of its eight decks while keeping the picture cards, which takes 64 cards out of the shoe. You may double, triple or quadruple down on any two initial cards, even after a split. Everyone shares the same first two cards, then decides alone. There is no Six Card Charlie.
The dealer stands on soft 17 and blackjack pays 3:2. Removing nines and tens changes the deck enough that standard charts do not apply, so the 98.80% return assumes Evolution’s own Power strategy on the first hand of the shoe. That leaves a house edge of 1.20%. Five Ontario sites list it, from C$1 to C$5,000.
Infinite Fun Fun 21 and Speed formats
Infinite Fun Fun 21 removes all tens from eight decks, has the dealer hitting soft 17 and lets you double at any decision point, even on a split hand. A player 21 always beats a dealer 21. Evolution publishes 99.37%, a 0.63% edge, at C$1 to C$1,000, and Casino Days and LeoVegas deal it in Ontario.
Speed tables run seven seats with every player deciding at once, and the fastest decision gets the next card, so rounds run about 30% quicker. Evolution’s version publishes 99.28%, a 0.72% edge, at C$10 to C$5,000, and four Ontario sites deal it. Pragmatic Play Live’s version allows doubling after a split and publishes 99.41%, a 0.59% edge.
| Table | Provider | House edge | How it was obtained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed Blackjack (Pragmatic) | Pragmatic Play Live | 0.59 % | Published RTP |
| Infinite Fun Fun 21 Blackjack | Evolution | 0.63 % | Published RTP |
| Speed Blackjack | Evolution | 0.72 % | Published RTP |
| Power Blackjack | Evolution | 1.20 % | Published RTP |
How to compare blackjack variants at the table
The quickest comparison is the published return in each game’s help panel, read side by side. A Free Bet table at 98.26% and a classic table at 99.29% differ by about one dollar per hundred wagered over time. The difference sounds small, yet over a session of a few hundred hands it adds up.
Then read the rules in order of weight: payout, soft 17, dealer peek, doubling, then decks. A variant that changes one of the first three, such as a 6:5 payout or a dealer 22 push, needs a published return before you compare it. Every family above has one, so set each table’s figure against the classic 0.71% before sitting down.