How to Play 21 Duel Blackjack (Playtech)
21 Duel Blackjack is an amazing card game based on blackjack. Six standard 52-card decks are required for it. The cards are shuffled after each deal.
The aim of the game is similar to traditional blackjack. You should try to gain more points than the dealer without exceeding 21. The ranks of cards are also consistent with those that are adopted in the standard rules. There is no combination called blackjack. This is just twenty-one points.
The main difference between 21 Duel Blackjack and the classic rules is that the player forms a combination of one or two his cards and one of the two community cards. It looks like that.
Before the beginning of the deal the player determines the chip value and makes the ante. He can also make a side bet on 2 Up, which will be discussed below. After that, the dealer and the player receive two cards each. The player can see only one of his cards. Besides, two cards are laid face up on the special field. They are called community cards.
The player can use one or two of his cards in combinations and only one community card. Depending on the situation, the player chooses between available options:
- Fold - the player discards his cards and loses his ante.
- Left or right card - the player selects the left or right card out of the two community cards. This means that this card will be included in a player's combination. But in this case, the bet that is equal to the ante (the initial bet) is made, which is placed near the selected card.
- Hit or stand - the player decides whether to add one hole card to his hand or not. Any of these options is free of charge. If two cards have 21, the hole card is discarded automatically.
Then the dealer faces up one of his cards and selects another one community card according to the strict rules. The principle of drawing cards by the dealer is described in the rules of the game in the casino program. We are not going to discuss it in detail. It is enough to say that the dealer should have over 12 points to be allowed to play. He has to always hit on a 16 and stand on a 17.
After that, the hands are compared:
- If the dealer is allowed to play and his hand is higher, the player loses both bets.
- If the dealer is allowed to play and his hand is lower, the player receives his payout for both bets according to the 1:1 ratio.
- If the dealer is not allowed to play, the player gets his payout for the ante in according to the 1:1 ratio, and the side bet is returned to him without payouts. The score of the player's cards in this case does not make any difference.
- If the ranks of the player's and dealer's cards are equal, a draw is announced and the bets are returned.
Then it is allowed to wager again and keep playing.
21 Duel Blackjack does not have such standard options as surrender, double, split and insurance.
If the connection is suddenly lost during a deal, all data are saved. When the client enters this casino next time, he or she will be able to finish it. If this is caused by a malfunction of the program, the results are canceled.
As stated above, users can make a side bet on 2 Up in 21 Duel Blackjack. It can win in two ways: if the first three cards (the player's upcard and two community cards) will have two or three cards of the same rank (in other words, a pair or a three of a kind). It is paid according to the following scheme:
- Pair - 3:1
- Three of a kind - 20:1
This bet can not be made without the ante, but users may get payouts for it even if the ante loses.
Versions of 21 Duel Blackjack
Customers can find two versions of 21 Duel Blackjack at online casinos running on the platform from Playtech: single and multi-hand. They differ in the fact that in the first variation it is possible to wager on one hand and in the second one users may bet on several hands (up to three). Betting on several hands, customers draw cards one by one and make decisions in the same way. The remaining rules are the same.