Blackjack at Rainbet: picking a table and knowing its rules

What versions of Rainbet blackjack can you play?

Rainbet blackjack comes as live tables, software tables and a Rainbet Original. All three use the same balance, so you can switch between them whenever you like.

What live blackjack tables are in the Rainbet lobby?

Pragmatic Play supplies Rainbet Blackjack and Rainbet Speed Blackjack to the live lobby, and Evolution supplies Lightning Blackjack. Several more live tables were made exclusively for Rainbet players. A speed table gives you less time to decide, which means more hands each hour.

How is a hand of blackjack played?

The aim is to finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over, and that wins the hand. Number cards are worth their face value, picture cards are worth 10, and an ace is worth 1 or 11.

1. Place a bet. You and the dealer are each dealt two cards, and one of the dealer's cards is face up.
2. Hit if you want one more card, or stand to keep your hand as it is.
3. Double the stake for exactly one more card, or split a pair into two hands.
4. The dealer draws by a fixed rule, and whoever has the higher total under 22 wins.

Which table rules affect the house edge?

Each table prints rules that set its house edge, and they are not the same everywhere. Go through them before you play your first hand.

• Blackjack payout. A natural that pays 3 to 2 favours the player more than one paying 6 to 5.
• Soft 17. The player does better when the dealer stands on soft 17 than when the dealer hits.
• Doubling and splitting. The edge falls as doubling and re-splitting get less restricted.
• Side bets. A side bet pays more than the main hand, and its edge is higher too.

Is it possible to check a blackjack result?

Provably fair play applies only to the in-house game. Blackjack is among the 15 Rainbet Originals, which Rainbet lists as provably fair. The way Originals results are checked is explained on Rainbet provably fair.

Live tables deal real cards on camera. Software tables use a certified random number generator, which Rainbet says independent labs audit. Neither gives you a seed to verify on your own.

Is Rainbet blackjack free to play?

Yes, on most software tables, which run in demo mode without a deposit. Demo mode is also offered on every Original. Live tables stream in real time, so the usual way to get to know one is to watch some rounds before you bet.

Blackjack involves decisions, so the edge depends on how you play. Practising the hit, stand and double choices in a demo session costs nothing.

What does basic strategy involve?

Basic strategy lists the plays that bring the house edge down to its lowest for every hand against every dealer card. The chart comes from the maths of the game and has nothing to do with counting cards. A handful of its rules cover most hands.

• With a hard 17 or higher, stand.
• With a hard 11 or lower, hit, because you can't bust.
• With 12 to 16, stand if the dealer shows 2 to 6 and hit if the dealer shows 7 or higher.
• With 11, double against most dealer cards.
• Split aces and eights every time. Never split tens or fives.

The edge gets lower with basic strategy but it does not disappear. Over a long run of hands the house is still ahead, so keeping to a budget matters as much as following the chart.

In what way are speed and Lightning tables different from a standard table?

Standard blackjack is played on a speed table, with less time to act. Lightning Blackjack is a variant from Evolution that has rules of its own. Look at its rules panel and the table limits before you sit down.

Where to go next

Find the streamed tables on Rainbet live casino, and the complete list of in-house games on Rainbet Originals.