countries, and next to poker it is the biggest gambling game played professionally. Online casinos have proven to be a very fitting home for this game, as it moves quickly, is easy to learn, and can be easily added to mobile and desktop platforms.
The most popular forms of blackjack online are single hand games. These are not to be confused with single-table blackjack, although it’s pretty much the same thing, as players deal into one hand at a table and this hand is played on one table.
In this guide we’ll take a closer look at single hand blackjack games, showing you how to play them, why you would want to, and how you can beat them.
Single Hand vs Multi Hand
As mentioned above, single hand blackjack refers to a game that involves one table, one player and one seat. This definition is used because in online games of blackjack there can be many tables (as is the case with blackjack tournaments) many players (such as during multiplayer games) and many hands.
In the case of the latter, this is a feature that is offered by a number of online blackjack games. All players in these games will be given the option of filling-up the seats that would be filled by other players in other games. This allows them to play multiple hands at once, one after the other, thus increasing the amount of games they can squeeze into a single session and allowing them to grind more effectively.
With single hand games, none of this is possible. They are slower, which means they are not the best option for players who are used to speed and want to stack-up loyalty points, but they are a good option for players who are not entirely comfortable with real money blackjack and want to take it easy.
All players, regardless of their level of skill and experience, can benefit from the slow, methodical nature of single hand games of blackjack. If there are many things going on at once then it is very easy to lose track and to make mistakes. There is no time limit on multi-hand blackjack games, so technically you can take as long as you need, but all players will feel the heat eventually and will start playing faster than they need to.
A mistake is always just a click away, and we have all been in situations where we fold a winning hand in poker, hit a winning hand in blackjack, or otherwise make a disastrous move that results in a financial loss. Once this happens then concentration slips, frustration creeps in, and more mistakes occur.
So, while you can get through many more games of multi hand blackjack than you can single hand blackjack, there is a far greater chance of the latter being a success.
How to Play for Real Money
You can find games of real money single hand blackjack on most online casinos, including the ones we have listed in our top lists. Just take at look at the graphic at the top of this page, see which casino is being recommend this month, and make sure you pickup the offer. We only list the very best online casinos, all of which offer a selection of blackjack games and also have stacks of great bonuses.
These bonuses are actually an essential part of beating any game of single hand blackjack over the long hall. That’s because you can only expect to win approximately 45 games of blackjack for every 100 games that you play. The dealer will win anywhere around 49, and the rest will end in a draw.
The dealer is always at an advantage, but the advantage is slight. This means two things: you only need a little luck to flip them, and if you play with someone else’s money then those 45 successful games are all profit. Of course, you will have a large play-through rate to clear, but even with the aforementioned odds, providing the wagering requirement is less than 30x then you should still be able to withdraw a profit by the time that limit has cleared.
What’s more, if the casino has a loyalty bonus then you can also pickup extra cash every time you play (whether you win or lose).
Online casinos rely on players using their bonuses on slot machines, roulette, lotteries, scratch cards and other big-jackpot titles. These have poor odds, it takes a long-time to clear any play-through rate, and generally you will lose considerably more than you win even if you have a little luck on your side.
So, stick with single hand blackjack, remain patient and always look for big bonuses and you can come out the other side with a sizeable profit and the knowledge that you have beaten the casino at their own game.
How to Play for Fun Money
There are also many games of single hand blackjack that you can download in app stores. These proved to be somewhat popular it the past, but that is no longer the case. In 2018 the Apple App Store changed their policies on online gambling apps and ended up removing a huge number of these “fun play” apps, as well as many real money gambling ones.
But few gamblers should care, as there is nothing to gain from playing these. They are all full of ads and in-app purchases and they don’t even teach you a great deal about the game, as they try to make it more “exciting” and end up ruining the basic rules in the process.
If you want to play for free to test your skills, just play the “fun play” options that you can find on real money casinos. You won’t lose any money and you can try your hand playing the same game that you will play for real money when the time comes.