Hi Lo Blackjack

Game overview

Our hugely successful Blackjack game has had a side bet make-over! Hi Lo Blackjack incorporates a proprietary Hi Lo side bet which offers players the opportunity to bet on whether their second card will be higher or lower than their first card.

The game combines Blackjack and Hi Lo, two extremely popular and simple games and creates significant extra anticipation when the cards are being dealt. Regardless of your first card, you can still be a winner!

Formats

This document provides information on Blackjack for the following game formats:

  • Flash.
  • HTML5 Pad.
  • HTML5 Phone.

The Game

Starting the game

The game is played with 6 decks of cards which are shuffled at the start of every new game.

Selecting a chip

Click on one of the different valued chips to select it.

Placing a bet

Click on any of the bet boxes (including Hi and Lo) to place the selected chip; press again to add another chip to the current bet. Choose up to 5 boxes for the Flash and Pad (plus another 5 for Hi Lo) versions and 3 for the Phone game (plus another 3 for Hi Lo). The Hi Lo side bet cannot be played unless a bet is placed on it's corresponding Blackjack box.

Starting game buttons

  • Double – doubles the value of the bets on every box up to the table maximum.
  • Undo – removes chips from the bet boxes in the order in which they were placed.
  • Clear All (not available on phone) – removes all bets on all boxes in one go.
  • Deal – starts the game; 2 cards will be dealt on each box where a bet has been placed and 2 cards will be dealt to the dealer, with one card face down.

Displays

  • Information Display - at different points during game play this will show information about the game.
  • Balance - shows the player’s balance.
  • Bet - displays the total bet value per game.
  • Paid - displays the total paid.
  • Last Bet - displays the total value of the last bet placed.

Game views

  • Pad - the game can only be played in landscape view.
  • Phone - the game can only be played in portrait view.

Hi Lo Side Bet Game play

The Hi Lo side bet offers the player the opportunity to bet on whether their second card from the deal is higher or lower than their first card. When working out the Hi Lo side bet, Kings are valued higher than Queens, which are valued higher than Jacks, which are valued higher than Tens. Aces have no actual value, but instead, have their own rules. (See Payouts)To bet, the player places chips on the HI box if they think their second card will be higher than the first and on the LO box if they think the second card will be lower than the first.

The Hi Lo side bets are paid out immediately after the deal and have no relevance to the main Blackjack game.

Hi Lo Side Bet Payouts

Once the deal has completed, all Hi Lo side bets are paid out as follows:

Player wins

The player wins if either:

  • The player has a 2 card total of 21 (Blackjack).
  • The first card dealt is an Ace, but not the second card.
  • The player correctly guesses that the second card is either Higher or Lower than the first. (2 to King only)

When the player’s hand wins:

  • The player is paid 1 to 1 for that side bet. Player loses

The player loses if:

  • The second card dealt is an Ace, but not the first card (and not Blackjack).
  • The player incorrectly guesses that the second card is either Higher or Lower than the first. (2 to King only)

Push

A push occurs if:

  • Both cards dealt are Aces.

When a push occurs:

  • The player’s side bet is returned.

Blackjack Game play

Once the initial deal has taken place and any Hi Lo side bets have been paid out the main game of Blackjack will continue. The game will offer game play buttons in accordance with the rules of the game. If the dealer’s face up card is an Ace or a value of ten, the dealer will check the face down card for Blackjack. When the dealer’s face up card is an Ace, insurance (and even money, if applicable) will be offered, all insurance decisions will be made and then the check for Blackjack takes place. When the dealer’s face up card is a ten, the check for Blackjack takes place straight away.

The game offers betting opportunities / required decisions one box at a time from right to left. The active box is marked by an arrow above the cards. The total value of the cards on each box is displayed; hands that contain Aces display both the low and high value since an Ace has a value of 1 or 11 (apart from when a blackjack is dealt). Where the hand value is 21 with the first 2 cards the phrase Blackjack is displayed.

Game buttons

  • Hit – draws another card on the highlighted hand. 
  • Stand – finishes the hand; draws no further cards and moves on to the next hand or the dealer, depending on the state of play.
  • Double – offered once per hand and is available after the first 2 cards have been dealt to the player. Double is available on any 2 cards This bet requires a further bet equal to the initiating bet; chips are placed on the original bet to signify the increase and one further card is drawn. This completes the hand; no further action is possible.
  • Split - If the first 2 cards dealt are of the same value and type e.g. Queen, Queen or King, King etc. then a split option is available. Pressing split will cause the cards to separate, a further bet equal to the initiating bet is taken for the newly created hand, and now 2 hands are in play. Further drawing of cards to these hands is possible after this event, except in the case of split Aces where only one card is dealt per split hand. A split is offered once per hand with no re-splits. Split hands do not qualify for enhanced Blackjack payouts. Doubling is allowed after splits (except for split Aces).
  • Insurance – when the dealer’s face up card is an Ace, the player has the option to place an insurance bet on any hand, which is equal to half of the initial bet. A winning insurance bet, which occurs when the dealer has a Blackjack, will be paid at 2 to 1; the insurance bet will lose if the dealer does not have a Blackjack. The buttons offered to the player are: Yes, No (for each hand), Yes to all hands (flash and iPad only) and No to all hands (flash and iPad only)
  • Even Money – when the player has Blackjack and the dealer’s face up card is an Ace, the player can choose to take Even Money for their Blackjack hand, negating the risk the dealer may also have Blackjack which would result in a push. The buttons offered to the player are: Yes, No.
  • Repeat / Deal – at the end of a completed game this option is available. This mimics the previous game’s original stakes on each box and deals the cards.
  • Repeat - at the end of a completed game this option is available. This places all the previous game’s starting bets but allows modification of the bets before pressing the deal button to start the game.

Blackjack Payouts

Once all the player’s hands are complete the dealer will reveal the face down card and continue drawing cards until the value is 17 or greater. The dealer must stand on all 17s. The outcomes and payouts are as follows:

Push

A push occurs if:

  • The player and dealer have hands with the same value.
  • A push does not occur in the instance where a Blackjack is against a non Blackjack 21; Blackjack (a 2 card value) is always higher than achieving 21 with more than 2 cards.

When a push occurs:

  • The player’s bet on the hand is returned.

Player wins

The player wins if:

  • The dealer’s total is above 21 and the player’s hand has not exceeded 21.
  • The dealer’s total is below 21 but lower than the player’s total, as long as the player’s total has not exceeded 21.

When the player’s hand wins (excluding Blackjack):

  • The player is paid 1 to 1 for the bet on that hand.

Player loses

The player loses if:

  • The player’s total is above 21.
  • The dealer’s total is below 21 and higher than the player’s total.

When the player’s hand loses:

  • The player’s bet on the hand is lost.

Blackjack

The player has Blackjack and wins if:

  • The player has a 2 card total of 21 and the dealer does not have Blackjack.

When the player’s hand wins with a Blackjack:

  • The player is paid 3 to 2 for the bet on that hand.

Insurance

  • This side bet has a payout of 2 to 1 and is paid when the player has placed an insurance bet, which is equal to half of the initial bet, and the dealer has Blackjack.
  • The insurance bet loses when the player has placed an insurance bet and the dealer does not have Blackjack. Even money This payout returns 1 to 1 and only occurs when the player has Blackjack, the dealer is showing an Ace after the initial deal and the player accepts the offer of Even Money.

Preferences / Settings (Flash only)

The preferences buttons display customisable options for the game. Any preferences set for the game will be reloaded next time the game is visited by the player.

  • Card Style (flash only) - two card styles are available; Classic and Poker. Simply press the card style of choice to select a different style.
  • Cloth Colour – a number of cloth colours are available in the game.
  • Game Play Options – the following game play functions are available:
    • Always Offer Insurance; if selected, the game will offer insurance when the dealer is showing an Ace.
    • Always Offer Even Money; if selected, the game will offer even money when the dealer is showing an Ace and the player has Blackjack.
    • In Game Warnings; if selected, the game will warn the player if choices being made are not, potentially, in their best interests e.g. attempting to draw a card when on 20.
    • Automatic Stand; if selected, the game will automatically stand on soft 19 and 20 (i.e. 9/19 and 10/20) and hard 17, 18, 19 and 20. Split hand opportunities are unaffected.
    • Remove Bust Cards (flash only); if selected, the game will remove bust hands (those over 21) during game play rather than at the end of the game.
    • Press the above options to toggle them on / off.
  • Sound Options (flash only) - three sound control functions are available:
    • Dealer Voice; choose between a male or female dealer voice and set the volume of the voice relative to the other sound functions.
    • Music; the game is supplied with three light background Jazz sound loops which are called randomly. Set the volume of this music relative to the other sound functions.
    • Sound Effects; chip clicks, card cracks etc are controlled with this volume slide control.

General information

Random game play

Cards are drawn from a shoe of 6 decks and are done so totally randomly.

Return to player percentage

The expected return to player (RTP) reflects the theoretical return over a large number of plays, based on the player playing the optimum strategy for the game.

The RTP is expressed as the percentage returned to players in winnings of the total amount staked, e.g. if £1,000,000 was staked and £990,000 was returned, the RTP of the game for that period of play would be 99%. The expected RTP for this Blackjack game, based on the player playing the optimum strategy, is 99.59%.

Due to players not always adhering to the optimum strategy, the actual RTP is likely to be lower than 99.59%.

The expected RTP for the Hi Lo side bet is 97.92%.

The actual RTP during a playing session can vary widely, in either direction, from the theoretical return.

Other

Game rules and information can be accessed from the game for all formats of the game.

The maximum win from a single game is £250,000.

Seneste opdatering: 01-07-2020