Multi hand blackjack is a variation of the traditional game where players can play more than one hand per round. Usually a player can wager up to five hands per round (although this varies from one online casino to another) and they can bet the same or different amounts on each hand up to the table limits. Having multiple blackjack hands increases the volatility of the game and is not recommended for basic strategy players.
However, if a player has a reliable and flexible strategy they can maximize their profits while keeping their risks to a minimum. Multi hand blackjack is also an excellent option for card counters who can use a good count to gain a long-term edge over the house. Card counters who use a reliable counting system should only play multi hand blackjack when they have an advantage over the dealer and spread their bets to two or more hands only when they can maximise their hourly expectation.
The rules of multi hand blackjack are the same as for a regular game and they involve beating the dealer by acquiring a hand that is closer to 21 than theirs. The cards are valued as they are in a regular game: 2 through 9, tens and face cards are worth 10 and aces can be either 1 or 11 according to the player’s wish.
If a player has an Ace and a ten-value card on the initial deal they have a blackjack which pays 3:2 unless the dealer also has a blackjack. After the player has taken their actions – they can hit, stand or double down – the dealer then draws until they reach 17 or go over 21, and the winner is the side that has the higher final hand total.
The only drawback of multi hand blackjack is that players expose a greater portion of their blackjack bankrolls to the built-in house edge when they wager on more than one hand. If a player plays four hands of blackjack per round at PS10 a hand they are investing PS100 in the game each round and are potentially risking going bust in a bad run of cards. If a basic strategy player decides to play this way they are likely to see their hourly expected losses fall from -0.005 x PS10 x 100 = -PS5 to -PS10 x 100 x 100 = -PS10. The higher the number of hands played the lower the average hourly expected loss will be. For this reason, basic strategy players should stick to single-hand play. If they want to enjoy the benefits of multi hand blackjack they can do so at a reputable, licensed online casino. 888casino, for example, has a wide variety of blackjack variations that offer this option. Many of them also feature useful features like a history of past hands and your current win/loss percentage. You can also find several versions of the game with different betting limits to suit your budget.