Information on playing blackjack at online casinos for CFL fans
An increasingly common sight at sports betting sites is a decent-sized collection of online casino games – and evermore often are these games are offered in greater numbers. Any reputable internet sportsbook these days has all the traditional staples of casino gaming: Slot games, roulette and, of course, blackjack.
Blackjack is commonly known as the second-most popular game in the casino, but it’s certainly tops among football fans and bettors. From CFLpass, you can play any number of variants on the classic table card game at any betting level.
The rules of blackjack
The rules in online blackjack are the same as in casinos worldwide: A standard 52-card deck is used, although internet casinos typically use a six- or eight-deck shoe. The dealer and the player each receive two cards to start play, with the objective to score as high a total score as possible without going over 21. Aces may be scored as worth 1 or 11 points, face cards are worth 10 and all other cards get the number of points shown on their faces. In the standard variation, an ace and a face card is an automatic win for the player, and pays off at 3:2 in most online casinos.
After the player receives his/her cards, he/she may choose to:
• Stay, i.e. take no more cards;
• Hit, i.e. take another card, which may be repeated as necessary;
• Double down, i.e. take one more card at double the wager; or
• Surrender, i.e. give up immediately for half the ante.
Some basic tips for blackjack
As serious gamblers know, blackjack has the smallest house advantage in the casino at just about 1% over the player. But if that’s so, why do so many players end up losing? One reason is because duffers too often pass on an opportunity to multiply winnings swiftly and easily – or to cut their losses when necessary. The following are some basic tips.
• Always double down when you have 11 points, unless the dealer is showing an ace. Additionally, double down when you have 10 points unless the dealer is showing a 10, face card or ace.
• Even a noob rapidly learns to always split Aces, but here’s a slightly more counterintuitive corollary: Always split 8s. 9-9 should be split in all cases except when the dealer shows an Ace, a 10-point card, or a 7.
• If the “surrender” option is in play, this should only be used when the player holds 16 and the dealer shows an Ace, 10-point card or 9.
• On hands of A-2, A-3, A-4, A-5 and A-6, always treat the Ace as worth 1 point and start hitting – note that these are particularly good starting hands for Pontoon, which includes extra payouts for five-card hands.
Getting started playing blackjack online
If you’re already registered with a sportsbook website, just check in and look for a table marked “Casino” or even “Blackjack” and you may begin playing with whatever funds are in your account at the site.
If not, just check into one of the CFLpass-partnered sportsbook websites listed on this page or elsewhere on the site. All partnered websites have been quality tested by internationally approved independent certification bodies to ensure randomness, fair play, security and customer service. The listed sportsbook sites are accepting Canadian players, accepting US players or from anywhere you may happen to be.
Quite a few sportsbooks online heading into the 2020s have installed “live dealer” blackjack games, which is a whole new experience that we can heartily recommend. But no matter which form of blackjack you love, you can enjoy great blackjack games from right here today!
The situation with Canadian online casinos
The Canadian online casino’s situation, legally speaking, combines aspects of the United States’ libertarian-type attitude with the pragmatic European law. While Canadian players kinda sorta enjoy the benefits of the latter in the form of 100% legal-and-approved government-run operations, the superior (in terms of gameplay, selection, payouts – essential everything) privately-run online casinos continue to exist in a legal grey area.
Since 1985, the Canadian Criminal Code has passed the responsibility for regulating/licensing both “bricks-and-mortar” and internet casinos – and therefore for collecting tax revenues as well. As far as Canadian players are concerned, however, both federal and provincial governments reply to questions of playing at offshore-based online casinos with a shrug.
Therefore does CFLpass suggest that those looking to play at quality Canadian online casinos simply check our partnering websites listed on our pages. All such gaming sites have been quality tested for speedy payment and fair play by independent international auditing bodies, and gamers may consider their transactions secure and information private when playing at a CFLpass-recommend site.