Portomaso Oracle Live Blackjack Review

Portomaso Oracle Live Blackjack at a Glance

• 8 Deck Blackjack.
• Double on any hand value.
• Double on Splits.
• You can Split up to 4 times.
• 21+3, Perfect Pairs, and Bet Behind Side bets.
• European Rules.
• Insurance Pays 2:1, Blackjack 3:2.
• The Dealer stands on Soft 17’s.

Portomaso Live Blackjack Casinos

Is Portomaso Oracle Live Blackjack any good?

Oracle Live Blackjack, produced by Portomaso Gaming, is one of those rare casino games that’s very close to being perfect.

Portomaso Gaming has remained true to its land-based origins. It’s produced an online live dealer blackjack game that is identical to the game you’d play in one of its land based casinos.

In fact, the tables are all located in a purpose-built studio attached to the land based Oracle Casino in Malta.

As the saying goes it’s as real as it gets!

What makes Oracle Live Blackjack so special?

When I say this is the Perfect game, I mean in terms of the playing rules.

On the surface, every Blackjack game looks the same.

While the objective of Blackjack is to beat the dealer, an experienced player is also looking for ways to increase their initial bet when the rules allow and the odds are stacked more in their favour.

Some games have rules that suit and encourage this while others are more restrictive.

It’s clear that Portomaso Gaming understands this from their background in land-based casinos.

They have produced a game with a set of rules that experienced players would say are near to perfect.

That’s what makes the Portamaso Live Blackjack something to cherish.

What are the Playing Rules?

Where are the tables located?

The tables, currently three are located in a studio area at the Oracle Casino a land-based casino owned by Portomaso Gaming in Malta.

They’ve also got a range of Live roulette and Live Baccarat tables.

What’s the playing interface like?

As playing interfaces go this seems to include all the best bits from the other casino providers.

The one thing I don’t like is the Pre-Decision toolbar that comes up after your cards are dealt. It’s not defined by colour, so it’s very easy to miss or make a mistake.

As for the rest of the interface, you’ll find:

• Betting Options – These are laid out clearly along the bottom of the screen. Large chips with a good disbursement of denominations on them make it easy to select your bet amount without having to place too many chips.
• The standard repeat, double and undo buttons are clearly marked.
• For Dealer chat, there is a box that also displays a record of your playing actions.
• Video quality is controlled automatically, but you can override it if you’re confident that your connection is always going to be good.

Viewing Modes

There are two viewing modes, 2d and 3d. Fullscreen(3d) is as the name suggests, it’s you, the table, and the dealer.

Mixed screen mode (2d) has the dealer and table inset into a computer-generated image of the table.

This gives a clearer view of the other cards that are dealt and has the chat window open all the time.

This mode is automatically selected if your connection is poor.

It’s all down to personal preference as to what you use as a default. For me, I prefer Full Screen mode.

In-Play Decision Making

In-play decisions are presented either as a toolbar, so you can select your next action before play gets to you, or as a box in the middle of the screen.

The latter contains details of yours and the dealers hand and your options of Hit, Stand, Split and Double.

Side Bet Payouts

The three side bets, 21+3, Perfect Pairs and Bet Behind are the same as those found at other live casino providers.

The payouts follow general standards except for the payout for a Flush in the 21+3, which is 5 points lower than elsewhere.

You can compare blackjack side bet payouts here.

When betting Behind as a seated player you can choose how you want to act by changing some of the configuration options, as shown in the diagram.

You can also decide if you want to allow other players to bet behind you.

Bet Behind Settings

Summary

I admit I’m a fan, even though this version of Blackjack is played to European Rules.

I love the fact you can double on a split and split up to 4 times. Watch my video to see it happen in real-time.

I’m disappointed that I personally can’t play at Portomaso casinos due to licensing restrictions as there is no UK License. I’m assured it’s on its way!

Until then I’ll have to remain a bit jealous and play at other live casinos listed on this site.