Easy Blackjack Live is a fun variant of Blackjack that Evolution has created using the table and technology first developed in Infinite Blackjack.
This is Blackjack like you’ve never seen before. It’s called Easy because there are no playing decisions to make. Players bet on a total that will beat the dealer’s hand. If the dealer makes less or busts out, the players win!
The skill lies in determining which totals of 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 you should bet on.
A basic Blackjack strategy is unnecessary, as only the Dealer’s hand is in play.
In this review, I explain how to play Easy Blackjack and examine whether there are any playing strategies you can use.
Playing Easy Blackjack is the same as playing regular Blackjack.
For a start, only one hand is in play – the dealers.
The dealer’s hand gets played to a specific set of rules:
There is no peeking for Blackjack or offering insurance. Those rules are not required.
There are five betting positions on the table: Numbers 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20.
Each has a different payout.
The objective of Easy Blackjack is to predict the total needed to beat the dealer’s hand total.
No player cards are needed, just the dealers. So if the dealer has a hand total of 19, only the bet on 20 would beat the dealer.
If the dealer has a total of 21, he wins, all bets are lost.
If the dealer Busts, all bets win.
There is an optional Side Bet of BustIt, where you can bet on the dealer hand-busting. The more cards he busts, the higher the payout.
The BustIt side bet is about the dealer going bust.
It’s a bit like an insurance bet. It pays even money, 1:1, with a bust on three cards – the most common way to bust.
A bust with six cards pays a whopping 250:1, so it’s not to be sneezed at.
This payout doesn’t happen often, though. I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve seen six cards in a hand, regardless of whether it’s bust or not.
For a bust to happen, you need lots of low-value cards like two and three, and then a big card to bust your hand.
The RTP for this side bet is 93.83%.
Dealers Hand Busts with: | Usual Payout |
---|---|
8 Cards or more | 250:1 |
7 Cards | 100:1 |
6 Cards | 50:1 |
5 Cards | 9:1 |
4 Cards | 2:1 |
3 Cards | 1:1 |
Let’s start by understanding how often hand values occur in blackjack.
From there, we can work out the strategy for betting.
I’ve used the data from millions of hands over an extended period. I didn’t collect the data, but I’ve used it to calculate the probabilities for how often hands occur for the Dealer.
I’ve worked on the following assumptions:
The Dealer will Bust 28.20% of the time. That’s just under one in four hands.
The Dealer will get:
These values are averages over millions of simulations.
The Dealer achieves high outcomes (20 and 21) more frequently because of the deck’s higher concentration of 10-value cards (10, J, Q, K).
Main Bet | Payout | RTP |
---|---|---|
Score 16 | 2.45:1 | 97.23% |
Score 17 | 1.93:1 | 97.10% |
Score 18 | 0.95:1 | 97.21% |
Score 19 | 0.48:1 | 97.19% |
Score 20 | 0.13:1 | 97.07% |
Since the Dealer will bust 28% of the time, I think the number 16 is a better value bet than the Bustit side bet. It pays 2.45:1 when the dealer busts.
Lock in a bet on 16.
Seventeen is not a bet to win; it’s a bet on the Dealer bust. If you Push with the Dealer, your stake is returned, so in some ways, this is a better bet than 16. However, the payout and RTP are lower.
You should bet on another number because a bust occurs once every four hands.
The next best number to bet on is 20, and that’s because there’s no 21 to bet on. Remember, the Dealer has to get one less than your bet for you to win, so he’ll be getting nineteen.
The best hand to bet on would be 21 because the Dealer often gets twenty, but 21 isn’t an option—I wonder why.
So we’re left with twenty, the next best bet. However, this only offers a payout of 0.13:1—not great, is it?
The advantage of BustIt is the climbing payout you receive for the number of cards in the deaDealer’snd when he busts. Playing the Number 16 gives one payout, 2.45:1, which, as an average of how the deaDealersts his hand, is excellent compared to the Bustit 3 card bust at 1:1.
So, bet on 16 and 20.
Note: Make sure that any wins you get cover the total bet you made. It’s very easy to bet more than you can win; if you do that, it’s a recipe for losing quickly!
Easy Blackjack is much simpler to play than regular Blackjack because you don’t have to make any playing decisions.
Your options as a player lie in deciding the hand’s value that is likely to beat the dealer.
So, while the game is Blackjack, you’re not playing the game; you’re just betting on an outcome.
It’s difficult to compare which one is best because they are two different games. Blackjack has an RTP of 99.47%, while Easy Blackjack’s return to player is a measly 97.00%, which is worse than Roulette!
You don’t need any skill to play Easy Blackjack, but you do with regular Blackjack.
If you like betting on the outcome, Easy Blackjack is easier to master, and you’ll probably do better than if you’re playing Blackjack for the first time.
Easy Blackjack is a nicely presented game, but it seems to have been structured more for the house than for players’ enjoyment.
Your betting options are limited to the numbers 16, 17, 18, 19, and twenty, which means you’ll win when the dealer busts or gets 17, 18 and 19. If he gets twenty, he’ll always push, and with a twenty-one, he’ll always win. Not being able to have a bet on twenty-one reduces your chances of winning.
While this simple betting game is easy to grasp, it isn’t suitable for learning to play Blackjack. Additionally, despite being quick to play, it lacks entertainment value and doesn’t offer a good return on investment.
Play Easy Blackjack with care. You may have a bit of fun, but it didn’t hold my attention for more than a few hands.
Easy Blackjack is a dumbed-down game of Blackjack, where you’re just betting on a hand total that you think will be the dealer’s hand. If the dealer gets less or busts, you win.
There are five betting positions for the totals 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. You place a bet on one or more of these and hope that one of the numbers you pick beats the dealer’s total. You also win if the dealer busts his hand.
There isn’t really a strategy for Easy Blackjack. The best tip I can offer is to go for one of the larger totals, like 20, which has the better chance of winning, or pick 16 and hope the dealer busts.
The RTP of Easy Blackjack ranges from 97.07% to 97.23%, depending on the hand you bet on. Either way, the RTP is poor – you’d be better off playing Baccarat or Roulette.
All online casinos that have Evolution software should have Easy Blackjack.