Welcome to the ‘How to Play Free Bet Blackjack’ guide! Today, we’re going to talk about this (relatively) new game and why it may offer something a little different than a typical new blackjack variant.
Once you’re read through the article, you will know what Free Bet is, how it plays and why it’s an unusual variant that may be a good choice for you if you like to play a game that’s quite different to what you’re used to.
Here we go . . .
In 2012, the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas debuted this new game.
Created by Englishman Geoff Hall, I saw it as a significant departure from the usual ‘me too’ of new blackjack variants.
Mr. Hall is also the creator of Blackjack Switch, a similarly unusual game that showed that some creativity and thought had been put into a new game that would appeal to the ‘we’ve seen it all before’ blackjack players.
Free Bet offers the players an opportunity to double down and split more often than straight blackjack, and the bonus is you (mostly) don’t have to put up the additional money to make those additional bets.
It also has a simpler Basic Strategy learning curve than regular blackjack, which is a plus for most players.
The standard rules of the game are as follows:
These rules give the game a House Advantage of 1.04%. Not ideal, but the opportunity to make some free bets and for a different experience is well worth the ‘elevated compared to regular blackjack’ House Advantage.
There are two major changes to the standard blackjack rules.
The player can double down ‘For Free’ on a two-card hard 9, hard 10, and hard 11. This is accomplished by the dealer placing a ‘Free Bet’ lammer where the usual double down bet would go. The player receives one card only on this free double down.
After the hand, here are the possible outcomes:
Free Splits are permitted on any pair except 10-value cards. 10s, a pair of Jacks, a King and a Queen etc. cannot be split for free, only Aces through 9s can be split for free. The player’s cards are split into two, one-card hands. The player’s original bet is placed with the first hand and a ‘Free Bet’ lammer is placed where the bet would ordinarily go with the second hand. The player then plays out each hand in order and can split and double down both hands using a ‘Free Bet’ lammer to indicate the additional bets.
Geoff Hall, the game inventor, has found a niche with ‘a dealer 22 is a push’ wrinkle in blackjack. It is something he started with ‘Blackjack Switch’, another game he invented, and has continued to explore that part of the game with ‘Free Bet Blackjack’.
By using the ’22 is a push’, he gives a 6.91% House Advantage back to the game, which allows him to offer some very liberal rules to the players – including free double downs and splits on Free Bet Blackjack.
Free Bet Blackjack | Regular Blackjack |
---|---|
Free Double Downs on hard 9, 10, and 11. | Must put up the money to make the second and any subsequent bets. |
Free Splits on pairs except any 10-value cards including face cards. | Must put up the money to make the second and any subsequent bets. |
Can split for free into 4 hands, only 1 of which is ‘your real money’. | If the rules allow it, you can bet up to four hands, but must include real money on every bet. |
Can double down after a split, so you could have eight hands out there, with only one being ‘your real money’. | Can double down after a split and may have up to eight bets, all of which are ‘your real money. |
Free splits are available on all pairs except 10-value cards. If your split then results in a soft hand, there is no Free Bet double down, but it can be double downed with real value cheques. | No free splits are available – all splits must be bet with ‘your real money’. |
These rules give the player an advantage of approximately 6%. No casino can afford to have the players with such a huge advantage, so all remaining hands push if the dealer’s hand totals 22. This rule change represents a 6.91% HA to the casino – which negates the 6% advantage that the players receive from the ‘Free Bet’ rules. | The typical blackjack 6-deck shoe game has a House Advantage of approximately 0.75%. The casino puts the following rule in place to give it the advantage: A dealer hand value of 22 is a bust on a regular blackjack game, so making it a push brings the HA back to where it’s a viable game for a casino to offer. |
There is a published Basic Strategy for ‘Free Bet Blackjack’. It is quite different from the regular blackjack Basic Strategy because Free Bet allows for a more aggressive strategy due to the free splits and double downs. | There is a published Basic Strategy for regular blackjack, which is quite different to the ‘Free Bet Blackjack’ Basic Strategy charts. |
The more decks in play, the better the advantage is for the players. This is because the various free bets overcome the change in the House Advantage from the fewer decks in play. | The less decks in play, the better the advantage is for the players. |
Card counting is a viable strategy to win on this game. | Card counting is a viable strategy to win on this game, albeit with a significantly different strategy to the ‘Free Bet’ strategy. |
The game is played much like a regular blackjack game.
When it comes time to double down or split, however, the game has a significant change in how it progresses.
Instead of just putting up the cheques to make your double down or split, you indicate to the dealer what you want to do, and the dealer will put up a ‘Free Bet’ lammer in place of the additional cheques.
The casino is making your additional bet for you!
If you win this bet, the dealer will pay even money for your original bet, and then replace the ‘Free Bet’ lammer with cheques equal in value to the original bet. In effect, you get paid 2 to 1 for your original bet.
How sweet that is!
How does that work on the table in real life?
Let’s say you have a bet of $20, and you’re dealt a hard 10.
You tell the dealer you want to double down and the dealer places a ‘Free Bet’ lammer in the place where the additional bet would usually go.
If you win, you get paid $40 - $20 for the original bet, then the lammer is removed and you receive an additional $20 for the ‘Free Bet’.
If you lose, your original $20 bet loses, and the lammer is locked up.
If your hand pushes, the $20 original bet remains and the lammer is locked up.
A free double down is not allowed for any soft hand (a soft hand contains an Ace). You can double down on a soft hand, but it must be with your money, there is no ‘Free Bet’ on a soft hand.
The casino will also pay for Free Splits.
And how does that work on the table in real life?
Let’s say you have a bet of $20 and are dealt a pair of 8s.
You tell the dealer you want to split them, and the dealer places a ‘Free Bet’ lammer in the place where the standard additional split bet would go.
The dealer will separate your pair of 8s into two, one-card hands. Your original bet of $20 goes on the first hand, and the Free Bet lammer on the second hand. You then play each hand in order as you would if you were splitting 8s on a regular blackjack game.
If either of the 8s receives another 8, you can resplit them if you want to. The dealer will place another ‘Free Bet’ lammer in place to indicate it’s an additional split. You can split up to 3 times into 4 hands, with all except one of them being a ‘Free Bet’.
If the hit cards can be doubled down upon, you can also do that with a ‘Free Bet’ lammer.
A double down hand after a split only receives one card.
In effect, you can split and double down into 8 hands total, with 7 of them being ‘Free Bets’ and only your original $20 being your money in action. The rest of the bets are ‘Free Bets’ placed by the casino.
For your winning hand, your original $20 bet is paid $20. For the winning hands with a lammer instead of a real money bet, the lammer is replaced with $20.
For hands that result in a loss or a push, the dealer simply picks up the lammers and the game moves on.
Free Splits are available on all pairs, except 10-value cards (so no splitting face cards, too).
After you’ve split, if you get a soft hand, you cannot ask for a free bet double down on the soft hand, but you can double down with real money cheques.
The effect of all these ‘Free Bet’ splits and double downs is to give the player an approximate 6% advantage.
Which of course doesn’t work for the casino.
To make the game work for the casino, they put in place the ’a dealer 22 is a push on all the remaining hands’ rule.
The House Advantage on that rule takes back 6.91% and gives the casino a House Advantage of 1.04%.on the game.
What’s the catch? Are there really “Free bets”?
Yes, in theory there really are ‘Free Bets’.
There is no doubt that the additional bets placed are free, and don’t cost the player anything in upfront cost.
But having given with one hand, the casino takes back the huge advantage with the other hand, by making a dealer 22 a push.
So the net effect is no, there really aren’t any ‘Free Bets’.
Some good strategic decisions are:
If you only remember one thing about Free Bet Blackjack, make sure it’s. . .
Basic Strategy charts for a Free Bet Hand, a Real Money Bet and Splitting Pairs.
The three Basic Strategy charts here show the strategy for playing a free bet, a real money hand and a pair, respectively.
Here’s my two cents on whether it’s worth playing.
The immediate answer is yes, it is.
And here’s why.
Even though the House Advantage on the game is a solid 1.04% in favor of the casino, when you consider that according to Peter Griffin in ‘The Theory of Blackjack’, the typical HA against the average player is 1.42%, Free Bet Blackjack now seems like a great deal.
There is an opportunity for the players to get ahead by running into a great shoe and being able to split and double down for free without the usual bankroll you would need in place to do so.
It’s an exciting opportunity to have a relatively small HA working against you when compared to other casino games. Pai Gow Poker has an approximate 2.5% HA against you. Even single zero roulette at 2.7% has almost triple the HA of Free Bet, and when you consider several of the other games, 1.04% suddenly isn’t such a bad deal.
I think it’s an exciting game, and one that may offer some serious adrenalin – especially when you get into the multiple split/double down scenario that may come.
I think congratulations are in order to Goeff Hall. He has managed to do what so many try to accomplish, and that is create a new game that is a fun variant, while keeping away from the ‘me too’ vanilla that plagues so many of the new game variants.
We have many articles in the Chipy Academy that offer lots of insight into the most popular casino table games and slot machines.
They cover everything from beginner to expert, and they’re all free!
And as always, good luck!
Is there live blackjack at Brango Casino that you guys recommend?
A while back there was a Blackjack option that could be played with your Chipy Coins. It was by Mascot Gaming. Any Blackjack option would be better than nothing, although I do see that the focus is more on Slots in the Play for Coins section.
I played and witnessed Blackjack teams , I know they exist to help each other eliminate other players like me. For Example , I had an opportunity in semi- finals to make final table, but I new I had to hit on hard 15 to make final table to give me a chance. The player to my right did not have enough chips to make final table no matter what she did, she was looking at my chips and decided to hit on 19, the card came out was a 5 , would have given me a 20 and a chance to move on, I got a king instead , busted out, I got little emotional and yelled at her for helping her team members on the end make it to final table. She just stood there quietly like nothing happened, so obvious .Maybe it's just me,I have great instincts on other players teaming up sometimes, I was right that time.
Richard C