We’re sort of in a boom era for blackjack players. There are more ways to play blackjack in casinos than ever before. While the traditional live dealer blackjack game is still the most popular there are plenty of other options. New ways to play blackjack don’t involve playing at a table with other players watching your every move and every card.
There are no less than four different ways to play blackjack when visiting a casino. Traditional live table blackjack remains the most popular and prominent version of the game. However the multi-game video machines on the slot floor offer more blackjack games than you’ll find anywhere else in a casino. These machines offer video poker, slot, keno, and blackjack. You’ll find them everywhere from bars to the machine area in the casinos. The newest forms of blackjack in casinos are electronic tables and stadium blackjack. Here’s a look at the games blackjack players can expect to find in casinos today.
Traditional Live Blackjack Tables
This is the blackjack that most of us grew up playing. Approximately half the table games in Nevada are blackjack. The table game mix in casinos throughout the rest of the country might even skew more towards blackjack.
Blackjack became so popular because it was one of the few games in a casino that a skilled player could have the advantage. Blackjack rules changes like paying 6:5 on a natural blackjack have increased the house edge in many table games. Live tables remain the most popular form of blackjack in casinos.
Video Blackjack
The majority of a casino floor is occupied by slot machines. Many of those machines are video poker games. Increasingly, these video poker games are multi-game machines that offer blackjack and other games. You’ll even find video blackjack at many casino bars. While, not the most popular form of blackjack it has a place in casinos.
Blackjack table players enjoy playing video blackjack while relaxing at the bar with a cocktail. This form of blackjack has a random number generator (RNG) like a slot machine single deck that’s shuffled every time you play. It pays out similar to the slot machines in the casino. That said, it offers the player more control over the speed in which they play.
Electronic Blackjack Tables
These blackjack games aren’t new to casinos and are growing in popularity with both casinos and players. You’ll typically play this table with 5 or 6 other players and a virtual dealer on a video screen in front of you. This type of blackjack is great for slot machine players looking to migrate to traditional table games and for new players that don’t feel as though their skills are ready for table games.
Casinos are beginning to move their lower limits tables ($5 or less) to these electronic blackjack games. It’s more cost effective for casino operators to have a machine deal a low limits game than to pay a dealer. This is the fastest growing blackjack game in casinos today.
Stadium Blackjack
This version of blackjack often involves a dealer but doesn’t have to. These games can be configured to sit over 100 blackjack players in one space. Stadium blackjack is still in its infancy but appears to be growing in popularity with casinos and players. Just a few years ago stadium game displays hardly saw action. Today, we see players slowly drifting to the Stadium setups. Tomorrow we may see even more.
Players somewhat control their pace of play. While you can play at any pace you want, there are new games starting just a few seconds after one ends. Much like smaller scale electronic blackjack tables, casinos like these games because they cut down on expenses. You can read more about Stadium Blackjack here.
