Author Archives: RyanK

Doubling Down in Blackjack — When and When Not to?

Doubling down is a great move that can help you a lot if you know how to use it. In other words, if you manage to get it right, it could turn out to be quite profitable. The good news is that many blackjack professionals determined the method for doubling down.

In other words, there are concrete situations where you need to use this move and hope for the best possible outcome. Doubling down when it’s not the time to do it could result in losing a lot of money. So, let’s find out when to double down in blackjack.

First of all, you should double down when your total is 11 in USA online blackjack, as that means you’re very likely to get to the magic number of 21.

It’s also a good idea to use the double down move when you have a soft 16, 17, or 18, which means that you have an ace plus one more card that make this the final score. However, it’s only smart to double down if the dealer has a low card.

Sometimes, players double down when they get a hard nine or ten. A hand described as “hard” is the one that has no aces in it. Once again, you need to check the dealer’s card and see whether it’s smart to double down. If the dealer has a low card, you should consider using this move.

These were the three scenarios where doubling down is something you should consider doing. However, there are some scenarios where making this move isn’t the best option.

One of the most common pieces of advice is not to double down if you have anything higher than 11. In that case, it might be better to stick to a possible lower hand and hope that the dealer will go bust.

Also, many players suggest that you should avoid doubling down whenever the dealer is showing an ace. There is a chance that they’ll get blackjack if their hole card is worth 10 points, so you’ll make a big risk by doubling down.

Of course, there are no ultimate rules, just the ones that will improve your game a bit. However, you should remember that blackjack is a game of chance as well, so you might sometimes lose even if you do everything right.

If you want to play blackjack online, make sure to check out our Wild Casino review, as this platform offers several great blackjack games, and some of them even feature live dealers.

Can You Play Live Blackjack Games for Free?

Playing live blackjack is an exciting experience. Unlike RNG card games, live games feature a human dealer streamed in real-time. All you have to do is place bets and tell the dealer whether to hit, stand, or more. It’s pretty much like every other blackjack game, except that you get to feel the thrill of land-based casinos and still play it from the comfort of your home.

However, you won’t be able to play it for free. Let us elaborate.

The only type of blackjack that you can play for free in online casinos is RNG blackjack. RNG stands for a random number generator, and it’s used to describe all non-live casino games where an algorithm does the dealing, and the outcome is determined by a piece of code that makes sure it’s always random. However, once such a game is created, you don’t have to do anything to maintain it. Moreover, it can be played by thousands of players at the same time, and that’s why many casinos can offer USA online blackjack for free.

However, things are a bit different when it comes to live blackjack games, as they have a limited number of spots. Like in land-based blackjack, only several players can sit at one table at the same time, and online casinos cannot let someone who wants to play for free sit over someone who’d spend real money on the game. It’s simply not feasible for them.

Moreover, there are all kinds of maintenance costs when it comes to live casino games. For instance, live dealers need to receive their wages, and a single game sometimes features several dealers who work in shifts, which makes them even more expensive to maintain. Moreover, providers have to pay for equipment, such as cameras, computers, live tables, rent for live dealer studio, and more. That’s why you’ll always have to use real money if you want to play live dealer blackjack in online casinos.

Either way, playing blackjack in an online casino is an entertaining experience, and if you want to start your online blackjack adventure, pick one of the sites that offer both RNG and live games. The best platform that comes to mind at the moment is BoVegas. Feel free to check out our BoVegas casino blackjack review to learn more about available options on the site. Moreover, you’ll have an opportunity to learn about BoVegas banking methods, other games, customer support, and more.

Should You Play Blackjack With Bonus Money?

There’s something about blackjack that people simply love. It’s not just the fact that it’s the game with the lowest house edge (if the right strategy is applied), but it’s also about the gameplay itself, which is pretty exciting. However, players who claim bonuses aren’t fond of blackjack. In one of our previous articles, we explained how wagering requirements work for blackjack and why people who use casino bonuses usually don’t like to play this card game.

In this article, we’re going to do a simple math exercise to show you the core of the problem.

Every bonus needs to be wagered a certain amount of time before you can withdraw it. If the wagering requirements are set to x20, and you receive a $100 bonus, you’ll have to wager a total of $2,000 first. Once you do, you’ll be able to cash out your initial $100. The trick is that this only applies to online video slots and a handful of other games that have a higher house edge compared to traditional casino games, such as roulette and blackjack.

However, different games have different wagering contributions. So, let’s say that blackjack has a 10% wagering contribution. In that case, you’ll have to wager the amount that’s ten times higher than the wagering requirements. Simply put, you’ll have to bet $20,000 in our example to be able to withdraw $100. Is it worth it? It definitely isn’t.

Blackajck is Not a Game Intended for Bonuses

Bonuses are used to attract new players and retain regular customers. While there are some promotions from time to time that can enhance your USA online blackjack experience, don’t expect to earn a lot of money via the bonus. Instead, feel free to play blackjack with your real money, as there’s a better chance to win more that way. If you get the bonus, the best thing you can do with it is play slots and similar games and hope that the element of luck will help you meet the wagering requirements as soon as possible.

If you want to play the best blackjack games on the web, make sure to check out our selection of real money online blackjack casinos. All platforms were hand-picked by a team of experts with plenty of experience in the online gambling industry. Moreover, all casinos featured on that page offer plenty of other games, such as slots, baccarat, roulette, and more.

Wild Casino Offers a $9,000 Crypto Welcome Bonus

Wild Casino is an online gambling site that offers a wide range of popular games for casino lovers, including slots, table games, card games, and even plenty of great live casino options.

Needless to say, the site offers a decent selection of online blackjack games, so feel free to explore it before joining the site to learn more about them.

However, in this article, we aren’t going to focus on the games. Instead, we’ll cover the cryptocurrency welcome bonus. We already covered the standard welcome offer where you can get up to $5,000 in prizes, but the crypto bonus is even more lucrative. That’s because it aims to attract more cryptocurrency players who’ll enjoy USA online blackjack and other popular options on the site.

Every new player who makes a deposit in cryptocurrencies will have an opportunity to get up to $9,000 in bonuses. Here’s how the bonus works in detail.

It’s actually a bonus that’s applied to your first five deposits. When you make your first deposit, you need to use the code CRYPTO300, and you’ll receive a 300% bonus up to $3,000. For example, if you deposit $100, you’ll get $300 in bonus money.

For the next four deposits, you need to use the coupon code CRYPTO150, and you’ll receive a 150% bonus up to $1,500. In other words, depositing $100 will result in a $150 bonus. If you always aim for the highest possible reward, you’ll be able to get a total of $9,000 in bonus money.

Like every other bonus, this one is subject to various terms and conditions. The most important one is that the deposit + bonus amount is subject to wagering requirements of 45x for the first deposit and 30x for the remaining four deposit bonuses.

Moreover, the bonus is available only for certain slots, table games, and video poker games, but you’ll have to check manually to learn more about them. Also, not all games contribute the same to wagering requirements, and blackjack is traditionally one of the lowest-contributing games. Therefore, if you’re going to use this bonus, you better use it for some video slots that contribute 100%.

Finally, there’s a maximum cap on how much money you can win using the bonus amount. The CRYPTO300 bonus has a maximum cap of 10x or $20,000. The CRYPTO150 has the maximum cap of 20x or $30,000.

If you like playing blackjack games on the go, make sure to check out our selection of USA mobile blackjack and pick the platform that meets your needs. Wild Casino is on that list.

Drake Casino — The Drake Club Program Overview

Drake Casino has nothing to do with the popular musician, but it’s still a great online gambling platform that offers all kinds of games. Even though it’s focused on online slots, it still offers a wide array of other games, including several great blackjack options. One thing that really makes it stand out from the pack is its amazing loyalty section which is simply called the Drake Club. Let’s take a look at it.

Once you sign up, you’ll be the Ivory or the Signup level, and you’ll be eligible to receive the welcome bonus of 300% up to $2,000.

After you make your first three deposits and start playing games such as USA online blackjack or video slots, you’ll reach the Onyx level. The first two levels aren’t really considered the loyalty section at all. To enroll in it automatically, you need to make your fourth deposit and reach the Platinum level. You’ll then get 30% on all deposits, 75% up to $500, and 100% up to $500, which are all bonuses aimed at regular customers.

Once you become a member of the loyalty club (aka the Drake Club), you’ll have an opportunity to progress through a total of nine levels, with each level bringing you increased prizes. We’ll not discuss every level in detail, as all information about them is available on the casino platform, so make sure to check it out. Instead, we’ll just describe what you get if you reach Level 9, which is the highest level possible.

The last level is called Red Diamond. As its member, you’ll be able to get a 100% reload bonus on all your deposits. Every Tuesday and Thursday, you’ll also have a chance to get an additional 100% bonus of up to $500. In other words, if you deposit $500, you’ll get $500 more and have a total of $1,000 to play with.

To progress through levels, you need to collect points by making deposits and playing games. Moreover, you can use the points and go to the VIP Rewards Plan on the site, where you can swap the points for many other benefits and gifts.

If you like what you’ve read so far, make sure to check out our Drake Casino review where we covered the popular gambling platform in detail. We discussed available bonuses, games, payment methods, customer support, licenses, safety, security, and more.

Blackjack Games Available at CryptoReels

We mentioned CryptoReels on several occasions. What makes it stand out from the pack is the fact that you can use Bitcoin to deposit money to the site. That’s why the platform is named CryptoReels.

The site only accepts Bitcoin transactions at the moment, but that could extend to other cryptocurrencies in the future, given the name of the casino. Apart from crypto deposits & withdrawals, players can also use some other popular payment methods.

One thing you need to know about this platform is that its primary focus is on online video slots. That’s why all bonuses are basically aimed at slots players. Still, it doesn’t lack in other games, and there are quite a few USA online blackjack options you can find on the site.

To reach blackjack, you need to open the Games page and select Table in the game menu. This will load all RNG table games that are available on the site.

Apart from the standard option, players can also enjoy the Perfect Pairs variation, which allows you to place an interesting side bet and receive lucrative prizes if you get a pair. Moreover, there’s the European blackjack version, where one of the main differences is that you can only double down on hands with a value of nine, ten, or eleven.

If you like to really experiment with blackjack, you should definitely try Face Up 21, which is a version where both dealer’s and player’s cards are dealt face-up. Therefore, you’ll have more info on what to do next.

You’ll also find Match Play 21, another blackjack variations where dealers must hit if their hand is a soft 17 or lower.

There’s also the popular British variation of blackjack called Pontoon, and if you like to try other exotic variations, you should also check out Suit ‘Em Up Blackjack and Super 21.

These are basically all blackjack versions you’ll find on CryptoReels. Make sure to try them and see whether you like them. If you do, feel free to join the site, make a real-money deposit and start your online blackjack adventure. Don’t forget that CryptoReels allows Bitcoin deposits. If you have “digital gold,” you’ll make the deposit process much easier.

Finally, don’t forget to use an appropriate blackjack strategy once you start playing this game on the web, as it will help you maximize your winning potential and enjoy the popular card game even more.

Blackjack & Wagering Requirements: All You Need to Know

Blackjack is definitely the most popular card game in online casinos, as it has the lowest house edge. In other words, the possibility of winning the money is much bigger when playing blackjack than when playing other games, especially slots. That’s why blackjack has often been put in a separate category by many online casino operators.

Here is all you need to know: bonuses and blackjack are not good friends. When an online casino offers a great bonus, it probably means you will not be able to use it for playing blackjack. Technically, you will, but you will not be able to meet the wagering requirements as fast as you would be able with slots. In some cases, playing USA online blackjack does not affect wagering requirements at all.

Wagering Requirements

So, what exactly are wagering requirements? Essentially, they tell you how many times you need to wager your bonus amount before you can withdraw it. Let’s say that you receive a $50 bonus at 20x wagering requirements. In that case, you will have to spend a total of $1,000 before you can withdraw the original bonus sum.

However, this mainly applies to games that contribute 100% to wagering requirements. In most online casinos, these games are basically online slots, as they have the lowest RTP ratio.

It means that other games contribute less, and blackjack is often at the bottom of this list, contributing between 0% and 10%. It’s 0% in most cases.

What does this mean? Essentially, if blackjack contributes only 5%, it means you will have to wager much more money than you would wager on slots. In the example above, you will have to bet a total of $20,000 on blackjack to be able to withdraw the original $50. Not many would think of that as a good investment, especially because bonuses are often time-limited, so spending $20,000 in less than a month is something that not many people are willing to do.

Still, blackjack is a game you can enjoy even without any bonuses. However, if you still want to get a certain boost as a new player, make sure to get a good look at our list of casinos offering blackjack bonuses. Please examine every bonus carefully and pay special attention to wagering contributions for different games, including blackjack. This should help you determine which bonus is the best for you. Also, feel free to read our casino reviews to learn more about the platform of your choice before joining it.

Pros and Cons of Playing Online Blackjack with Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are still getting popular. Despite certain falls in their value, it seems that more people are interested in using Bitcoin and other similar types of digital money for online transactions. Needless to say, online casino operators immediately saw an opportunity to offer a safe, secure, and convenient deposit and withdrawal method for their customers.

Cryptos have it all — or at least that’s how they are marketed by many businesses, including online casinos. However, they are not perfect and still come with a couple of downsides that we’re going to explore in this article. Read on!

Advantages of Using Cryptocurrencies

The main advantage of using cryptos is that they are safe and secure. Being based on decentralized technology, there’s no way for a cyberattacker to penetrate and tamper with your transactions.

Moreover, cryptocurrencies have low fees. Simply put, there are no intermediaries making transactions happen so that nobody will charge you for their service. However, you still have to keep the network running, meaning there are small transaction fees.

Finally, cryptocurrency transactions are fast. The most you’ll have to wait is up to 30 minutes if you make a Bitcoin deposit or withdrawal, and that’s only when the trading volume is high. Other than that, transactions are processed almost instantly, meaning you’ll be able to play USA online blackjack in no time.

Disadvantages of Using Cryptocurrencies

As previously stated, cryptocurrencies also have some disadvantages. The most important one is that cryptos are very volatile. It means that their prices change pretty often. For example, the price of a single Bitcoin unit increased by tens of thousands of dollars in just a few weeks. However, it can also drop by several thousand dollars in a matter of days. It means that you can, for example, deposit 1 BTC, which was worth $40,000, and then when you withdraw 1 BTC, it could be worth $30,000 if the price decreased in the meantime.

Essentially, you must be willing to make a double bet when playing with cryptocurrencies.

No matter which payment method you select, it’s essential that you first pick a reputable and high-quality online casino that offers blackjack. Therefore, make sure to check out our list of USA blackjack reviews. We covered some of the most popular online gambling platforms and their blackjack options. Moreover, we also listed available payment methods for them. Some casinos on our list also accept cryptocurrencies.

Get a 450% Welcome Bonus on Crypto Reels Casino

Crypto Reels is an online casino that focuses on bitcoin. However, it also allows other payment methods, and no matter which method you choose, you’ll be able to get a lucrative welcome bonus and start your online gaming journey.

Every new player who makes a deposit will get a 450% bonus on top of their deposit. In other words, if you deposit, say, $100, you’ll receive another $450 in bonuses, which makes a total of $550 for playing online casino games.

There’s an upper limit, however. The maximum amount you can receive is $4,500. To get that amount, you’ll have to deposit $1,000.

The good news is that this bonus doesn’t have a maximum cashout. However, to withdraw the bonus, you’ll first have to meet the wagering requirements of 50x that are set for it.

Bitcoin Bonus

If you deposit in bitcoin, you’ll also have a chance to get a $75 Free Chip bonus. This is also only available for new players, and the wagering requirements are 50x.

Moreover, the free chip has a maximum cashout limit of 10x. To get this bonus, you must notify support at support@cryptoreels.com and claim the free chip.

The only downside of the welcome bonus is that it’s only available for online slots. Therefore, if you joined the platform to play blackjack, you’ll only be able to do it with your ordinary money.

Please feel free to refer to our list of USA online blackjack platforms if you want to find the best online card games.

Apart from the terms and conditions listed in this article, the welcome bonus at Crypto Reels is part of the general Terms & Conditions, so we advise reading them before starting your online journey on the popular platform.

Also, make sure to check other bonuses that are part of Crypto Reels. There’s a bonus for every day of the week and another separate Weekend bonus. Most of them are reload and free spins bonuses.

If you like playing casino games with cryptocurrencies, make sure to check out our list of the best Bitcoin blackjack casinos. All platforms that made it to the list were checked by our team of experts, who ranked them and excluded the ones that failed to meet our strict criteria.

In other words, our list consists of the casinos that checked every box of our stringent test. Needless to say, each and every site on the list features blackjack and Bitcoin as a deposit option.

How to Deposit and Play Blackjack Using MasterCard

Credit and debit cards remain one of the most popular deposit methods for online casinos. They offer a fast and secure way to transfer your money to the platform of your choice and start playing blackjack and other games you like as soon as possible.

Most importantly, credit cards are instant, and transaction fees are very low. Therefore, most people still trust them and use them on a daily basis.

The thing to take into account is that there are only four types of credit cards that are accepted in online casinos — MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover. However, MasterCard and Visa are much more popular than the latter two.

In this article, we’ll make a short guide on how to make a MasterCard deposit and play USA online blackjack right away. Let’s take a look.

A Step-by-Step Guide

The first step is to select one of the casinos that meets your needs, meaning it offers blackjack and accepts MasterCard as a payment option. Feel free to explore our website as we selected some of the best credit card casinos for American blackjack lovers.

After that, you need to log in and go to the Cashier section of the site, where you need to select MasterCard as a preferred payment option.

The next step is to select how much you’d like to deposit. Now, the minimum and maximum limits may differ for every casino. In most cases, the least you’re allowed to deposit is $10. However, maximum limits can go up to $10,000. Still, most of the time, you’ll be allowed to deposit $2,000 to $5,000.

If you’re depositing for the first time, you’ll have to provide your credit card number, security code, and expiration date. Don’t worry about security, as all online casinos featured on our site have cutting-edge security protocols, in addition to standard ones, such as SSL encryption.

After connecting the card, you can proceed with the deposit. You’ll usually have to wait just a couple of seconds before you can see the money loaded on your casino balance.

The same process can be repeated for all other credit and debit cards — not just MasterCard.

Therefore, feel free to explore our list of casinos that accept USA credit cards and pick the one that meets your needs. All of them offer lucrative welcome bonuses for new users.