Face up blackjack

What is face up blackjack?

Face up, also known as double exposure blackjack, is a casino game proposed in 1977 by US game theorist Richard A Epstein. The simple explanation of this card game is that the dealer will deal their own cards face up, giving a strategic advantage to the player. However, there are differences between this type of blackjack and your classic blackjack game that add conditions that will favour the house edge, depending on where you play and what the house rules are.

A standard rule to face up blackjack is that any hand that draws with the dealer nets a loss to the player. In some casinos, face up blackjack has additional rules, for example, if the dealer's hand shows a 20, players cannot stand if their hand is lower, so they'll still have to hit even if they have a hand of 19. Some tables will even restrict any double downs or splitting, which would usually allow a player to split their hand into two if the two cards dealt initially are of the same value, all to favour the house edge.

How to play face up blackjack

Generally speaking, when it comes to learning how to play face up blackjack, there is a simple set of rules. Players place their bets, the dealer deals both of their cards face up, and the player can then hit, split, double down, stand, or surrender their hand depending on the cards they have and how they wish to play. A double down is available on any two initial cards with a value of a hard 9, 10, or 11, but not above that. Dealer stands on a hard 17 but hit on anything up to a soft 17 for most variations of this casino game.

Payouts for this type of casino game differ from standard blackjack. A win where the player's hand is higher than the dealer's, or a blackjack, will net an even 1:1 payout, instead of the standard 3:2 of classic blackjack, and the dealer wins against anything up to and including a draw unless it's a matching natural blackjack. The only exception to this payout is an insurance bet which offers 2:1 odds instead.

This style of double exposure blackjack does have its advantages. Knowing what both of the dealer's cards are, dissipates any surprises, meaning strategies like card counting, which isn't really possible in online games anyway, are redundant, and ultimately make it a more relaxed blackjack experience, despite this blackjack variation having a more steady payout. It also allows players more control and better decision-making, as players will have more confidence in their choices of hits, double downs, surrenders, and other options available to them since they can see all of the dealer's cards.

What is the face up blackjack house edge?

The house edge is the way in which casinos compensate for the player's advantage, by adding conditions to the basic rules of double exposure blackjack. Not all online casino games will have the same set of house edge rules, but the most common ones are things like removing the ability to split aces and double down. In some games, the dealer can hit on a soft 17, but in most online casinos this isn't the case.

What is the face up blackjack strategy?

With face up blackjack online, the strategy is based on what players can see of the dealer's hand. Which in this game's case is everything. So although the fundamentals of blackjack are still there, there's also no wondering what card the dealer has faced down, so players can plan their hits, splits, and stands accordingly. Online versions also have some obvious differences to land based games, for example during some online games the dealer will continue to hit until the player either beats the dealer's hand or busts. You can find the basic strategy guide to online blackjack that we have to offer here if you're unsure of the general rules which still apply to double exposure blackjack.

Why play face up blackjack online?

Face up blackjack games are a variant unlike any other online blackjack games. This is the only variation in which the players can see both of the dealer's cards face up before their hand is dealt and their total is met, and this in itself is an advantage to blackjack players, because there is no mystery to the dealer's hand. A strategy must be formed based on the information the player has in front of them, which makes this far more favourable and changes the way someone would usually play blackjack, allowing for a more interesting strategy.

Though there are rules to encourage a house edge, that is no reason to avoid this casino game. There's something advantageous to both the dealer and the player in this game. If you're interested in face up 21 blackjack games or any other blackjack variations for that matter, then we have plenty to offer here at 21.co.uk, as well as compelling guides to help you learn the optimal play for blackjack games. These and many more popular casino games are available on the UK's best online casino.

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