Free Bet Blackjack Strategy Chart

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Free Bet Blackjack is one of the most popular blackjack variants in Las Vegas.

In most ways, it is identical to the traditional game. However, there are several significant differences.

The main difference is that the house pays the bet for a player to split and double down. This can result in up to seven free bets in a hand if a player splits three times and has double-down opportunities on all of them.

These free bets mean players have the chance to land massive wins with little risk.

Like all great blackjack rules, there is a trade-off for that. We go over that in this review of Free Bet Blackjack.

How Free Bet Blackjack Differs from Traditional Blackjack

Bet

The major difference between Free Bet Blackjack and the traditional version of the game is that a player gets free splits and double downs. There are some limitations to these advantages.

Free double downs are only available on 9, 10, and 11 hands that do not include an ace. The rule applies to before and after splitting. It must be on the first two cards dealt.

Players may double down on hands other than 9, 10, and 11. It just requires a normal match of the original bet.

Pairs may be split, except if the card has a value of 10. Multiple free splits and draws can occur on the same hand.

For example, if a player is dealt a pair of 8s, the first split is free. If another 8 is dealt, the player gets a free split again. If the player gets a 3 to make 11 in any or all the splits, the double down is also on the house.

Players do not get the free bet perks without having to give something up in return.

A big downside to this variant is that the dealer pushes any player left in the hand if the house makes a 22. This rule originated in Blackjack Switch and has spread to other games like Free Bet Blackjack to offset favorable rule variants.

Players dealt a blackjack get paid as normal if the dealer makes a 22. Any hand that busted before the dealer draws loses.

A hand of Free Bet Blackjack starts with making a wager. Place the bet in the circle in front of you on the table.

The minimum bet is usually $5 or $10. Once all bets are made, all players and the dealer receive two cards. One of the dealer’s cards is placed face up.

Any player that receives an ace and a 10-value card has a blackjack. This is paid immediately, unless the dealer also has a blackjack. In that case, it is a push.

Most casinos pay 6 to 5 for a natural in Free Bet Blackjack. This means that for every $5 wagered, the player wins $6. Some casinos pay the standard 3:2 on a blackjack. This pays $3 for every $2 wagered.

The action starts with the first player clockwise from the dealer. This bettor decides which action to take.

  • The primary options are hit, stand, or double down
  • If the two cards are a pair, split is available
  • Surrender is not available in Free Bet Blackjack

If a player hits, a card is added to the existing hand. The player can hit until the hand busts, meaning it goes over 21. A hand that busts automatically loses. Stand is when the player is satisfied with the point total and does not want any more cards.

Double down is permitted on any first two cards. The house will cover the bet if the count is a 9, 10, or 11. A double down is where the bet is doubled, and the player receives only one card. The player must keep this card and cannot draw any more.

A player with a qualifying pair may split. This is where the hand is turned into two, and each stack receives a new card to complete it.

From here, the options start all over again with hit, stand, double down, and split all offered. The exception is when the player splits aces. This hand cannot be hit but may be split again.

Once all players have acted, the dealer exposes the house’s down card.

  • If the dealer has 18 or higher, the house stands
  • If it has 16 or lower, the dealer hits
  • The dealer also hits soft 17. This is an ace and any number of cards that equal six
  • If the dealer has hard 17, meaning it can bust, the house stands

The dealer busts on any hand of 23 or higher. If the dealer makes 22, all players still in the hand push.

Once the dealer acts, all players with cards have their hands compared with the dealer’s hand.

If the player has more points than the dealer, the player wins even money. If the dealer and the player have the same number, the hand pushes. This means that the player receives the bet back as if the hand never happened.

If the dealer has a higher total than the player, the house wins.

The unique feature in Free Bet Blackjack is that the house pays for most splits and double downs. Many casinos have a special chip that is placed next to the hand receiving the free bet.

If the hand wins, the house matches all the free bets it laid out plus the original bet of the player. If the hand pushes, nothing happens. If the hand loses, the player only loses the original bet.

Free Bet Blackjack Strategy

The best Free Bet Blackjack strategy has some similarities to traditional blackjack.

The exceptions are when the player is dealt a pair or a 9, 10, or 11.

  • Take the free split on all pairs except 5s because that should be doubled, and 10-value cards because they are not free
  • Take the free double down any time you are dealt a 9, 10, or 11
  • These rules apply regardless of what the dealer’s door card is

If a hand does not have a free split or double in it, follow this Free Bet Blackjack strategy.

The first section involves hard hands, meaning they do not have an ace or can bust. The second section involves soft hands, meaning an ace is contained in them that may be used as a 1 or 11 at the time.

  • Hit any hand eight or lower
  • Hit 12 against all dealer door cards, except a 5 or 6, when you should stand
  • Hit 13, except against a dealer’s 3, 4, 5, or 6
  • Stand on 14, 15, and 16 against a dealer’s 2 through 6. Otherwise, stand with those hands
  • Stand on all hard hands of 17 and above, regardless of what card the dealer shows
  • Always hit a soft hand of 13 through 15
  • Hit soft 16, except against a dealer’s 6, where the hand should be doubled
  • Hit soft 17, except against a 5 or 6, where it should be doubled
  • Stand on soft 18 against a 2, 3, 4, 7, or 8
  • Double down against a 5 or 6
  • Hit soft 18 versus a 9, 10, or ace
  • Stand on soft 19 or higher

The strategy chart below is a useful tool for following these Free Bet Blackjack strategy rules.

Where to Play Free Bet Blackjack

Most Free Bet Blackjack tables are in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately, many casinos decided to pay 6:5 on a blackjack. There are some exceptions, though. The following venues all spread the game with a 3:2 payout.

Free Bet Blackjack is not available at online casinos.

Our Pick

Our favorite casino for Free Bet Blackjack is at Plaza. It is on Main Street in Downtown Las Vegas, across from the Fremont Street Experience.

One reason this is our top pick is that Plaza is generous with comps. It does not take much action for players to receive free hotel rooms and meals at Oscar’s, the steakhouse founded by former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman.

The Free Bet Blackjack table at Plaza typically has a $5 minimum bet. This is the lowest for Free Bet Blackjack games with a 3:2 payout.

Free Bet Blackjack is a fun game when looking for something new to play. The free splits and double downs can create significant hot streaks when receiving hands that qualify. The game returns 98.96% when playing a table with a 3:2 payout. That goes down to 97.6% when blackjack pays 6:5. We recommend sticking with the 3:2 tables. If the casino pays 6:5, there are much better blackjack tables in the casino in terms of payback. Even a traditional 6:5 blackjack table has a better return.

One of the most appealing aspects of blackjack is that there’s some element of skill involved. With many casino games, you are entirely reliant on luck, but with blackjack your actions affect the outcomes of hands.

Blackjack is still a game of chance; it’s just that luck isn’t the only factor that determines whether or not you win or lose.

What this means in practice is that you can actually improve your chances of winning. More accurately, in fact, it means that you can decrease your chances of losing.

Every decision you make, such as whether to hit or to stand, will have a direct impact on the result of a hand.

If you consistently make the correct decisions, you can reduce the house edge to a level where the casino’s advantage is almost obsolete.

On this page we explain how basic blackjack strategy can help you make correct decisions each and every time you play.

We explain how it works, how to use it, and we provide a sample strategy chart. We also look at a few blackjack strategies that don’t work.

How Blackjack Strategy Works

You have some information to work with every time you have a decision to make at the blackjack table. You know what cards you have, and you can see one of the dealer’s cards. Based on this information, it’s possible to work out the probabilities of what could happen next.

This is because there’s a fixed number of cards in the decks, and a fixed probability for each of those cards being dealt.

Blackjack strategy is about using probabilities to determine how any action you take will affect your chances of winning a hand.

This is done by comparing the probabilities of all the possible combinations of cards that could be dealt, and determining how these combinations would impact the final outcome of the hand.

Once you know how the different actions you can take will affect your chances of winning, you can then choose the optimal one. There’s always a correct mathematical decision to make, and taking it enables you to keep the house edge to the absolute minimum.

That is essentially the whole point of blackjack strategy.

The problem with basic blackjack strategy is that it’s not always easy to establish the correct decision accurately. There are some complicated mathematical calculations required.

Unless you’re a genius, there’s a very small chance of you being able to make those calculations every time you play a hand. Thankfully, you don’t have to make any calculations.

Blackjack strategy has effectively been solved, and turned into a defined set of rules.

These rules tell you exactly what action you should take in any given situation, based on the cards in your hand and the exposed dealer card.

By following them, you can apply basic blackjack strategy without using any math at all. All you have to do is learn the rules.

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Given that there are hundreds of different situations you can find yourself in at the blackjack table, learning the rules for what to do in each one isn’t necessarily easy.

It might be pretty obvious that you should stand if you have 20 and the dealer is showing an eight, but situations such as having 12 when the dealer is showing a three are perhaps not so clear.

If you want to apply basic blackjack strategy perfectly, then you need to know what to do in every possible situation. This is where the use of strategy charts comes in handy.

A blackjack strategy chart is a matrix that shows all the possible combinations of your hand and the dealer’s exposed card. It shows the action you should take when facing each combination.

These charts are based on the correct rules for employing basic strategy, so if you do what the chart says, you’ll be making the right decision every time.

The following is an example of how a strategy chart looks. Along the top you have the dealer’s card, and down the side is your hand. Each individual cell shows what action you should take for the relevant combination.

The chart includes a key for the action each symbol in the cells represents.

You’ll notice that some of the actions are dependent on certain rules. For example, splitting is the right decision in some situations only if you are allowed to double after a split. This is because there are variants of blackjack where some of the rules are different.

The perfect strategy will vary depending on the exact rules of the blackjack variant you are playing. The chart shown above is the correct strategy for playing an eight deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17.

A few decisions would be slightly different if you were playing another game. These differences are, however, very marginal. If you follow the above chart for any variant, you will still play close to perfect hand.

Strategy
Please be aware that even applying perfect blackjack strategy doesn’t mean that you can beat the game in the long run. The odds are still against you; it’s just that you’ll have reduced the advantage of the house to a minimal level.

Therefore, you stand a much better chance of winning more hands than you lose during a single session.

Blackjack

There are a few blackjack strategies that, for some reason, are popular among players even though they don’t work. These are as follows:

  • Mimic the Dealer
  • Never Bust
  • Assume a Ten
  • Progressive Betting

Mimic the dealer is a simple strategy where you simply act in the same way as a dealer would in any situation. You would never split, double, or surrender, because these options aren’t available to the dealer.

Basically, you would just hit on less than 17 and stand on 17 or higher, regardless of the dealer’s exposed card. This isn’t a good strategy at all, because splitting and doubling can be very advantageous to the player in the right situations.

Never bust is an equally simple strategy.

You just never hit if there’s a risk of going bust, so you always stand on 12 or higher. While this might seem like a safe approach, it actually increases the house edge.

Free Bet Blackjack Strategy Chart Example

A ten strategy works on the basis that you assume the next card will always be a ten, and that the dealer’s unexposed is a ten. Players often work on this assumption due to the fact that cards valued at ten make up around 30% of the deck (remember jacks, queens, and kings are all valued at ten).

However, 70% of the cards aren’t valued at ten, so you are still more likely not to get a ten. As such, this strategy doesn’t really work and increases the house edge.

Free Bet Blackjack Strategy Chart Explained

Free Bet Blackjack Strategy Chart

Progressive betting is increasing or decreasing your bet size based on the result of your previous bet. This is a strategy that can be used in any form of betting, and there are several different progressive betting systems in existence.

They don’t have any effect on the house edge, because your chances of winning or losing a hand don’t change based on how much you bet.

Free Bet Blackjack Strategy Chart Blackjack

They can also be very dangerous, particularly when aligned with systems such as the Martingale where you keep increasing your stake after a loss. One bad run can result in the loss of your entire bankroll.