Online Blackjack for Real Money

Blackjack is one of the oldest, most popular and most exciting card games in the world. It has graced the biggest casinos for many years and it was also one of the first games to make the switch to the virtual world. In this guide we’ll show you what makes this game so special, telling you how you can make money playing online blackjack for real money, and showing you the tricks of the trade.

Top Sites for Real Money Blackjack Online in 2020

As far as we are concerned, the main reason to play online blackjack for real money is because it’s so easy to beat the house. Of course you have to know what you’re doing and you have to be prepared to work. But if you put the hours in then you can consistently beat the house and keep your bank balance topped up. It’s also incredibly fun, even more so when you’re winning and the cash keeps on rolling in.

How to Play Online Blackjack for Real Money

Blackjack is very easy to play, which is why it’s often the game of choice for newcomers. It can take a lot to master it, but it’s easy to get the basics. All variations differ slightly, but basically the player gets two cards from which they have to make a total of 21, which triggers an instant win. If not, then they have to get closer than the dealer, whose cards they see at the end of play.

There are many side bets that can be added and there are also rules like Double Down, Split and Insurance and that can further complicate things for amateurs. However, these are easy to pickup down the line and your main focus to begin with should be on the basics. That’s all you really need to know to profit playing online blackjack for real money.

Real Money Online Blackjack Pros and Cons

Cons:

• Community: There is a certain joy to be had from playing on a table with other gamblers. This is one of the best things about playing blackjack in a real casino, but it’s something that you won’t get from an online game.

• Free Drinks: Online bonuses are great, but you can’t beat a free cocktail, beer or wine, and these are all on tap for players in land-based casinos.

Pros:

• Bonuses: While free drinks are great, you need to be a high roller to take advantage of the other perks offered by land-based casinos. On online casinos, however, these bonuses are available for everyone.

• Variety: There are usually only one or two games of blackjack available in land-based casinos, but online there are a huge number of games to choose from.

• Comfort: Casinos are fun, but you can’t beat the comfort of playing your favorite game in your own home.

• Quiet: The noise of a casino can be off-putting, leading to you make a lot of mistakes. The casinos rely on that, but in an online casino there are no such distractions. You can play at your own pace and in complete silence.

• Payouts: The competition is fierce on online casinos. They know that you can leave at the click of a button if their game isn’t up to scratch. As a result, they tend to offer much better payouts than offline casinos do.

Bonuses for Real Money Blackjack

Casinos very rarely offer bonuses aimed purely at blackjack players, but there are exceptions, especially where specific tournaments and offers are concerned. There are also many existing bonuses that can be used to play blackjack.

With that said, let’s look at the bonuses available at online casinos and the ways that online blackjack players can take advantage of them.

Welcome Bonuses

A Welcome Bonus is a package of bonuses that typically consists of a matched deposit bonus and a free spins bonus. The latter obviously can’t be used to play blackjack, but the former can.

A matched deposit bonus will offer you bonus credits on top of your initial deposit. The amount that you’re offered will depend on the matched percentage and the maximum cash amount.

For instance, if a welcome bonus says that you can get 50% up to $1,000, it means you can get 50% extra credits to a maximum amount of $1,000. In other words, if you deposit $100, you will get $50 for a total of $150. If you deposit $2,000 or more, you will get the maximum of $1,000.

These bonuses all come with strict wagering requirements (see below for more information).

No Deposit Bonus

No deposit bonuses are very popular with online casinos and they are great for small stake players who don’t have a lot of money to go around. However, they won’t do you much good with games of blackjack and many casinos actually prevent you from using these bonuses on table games like blackjack.

What’s more, no deposit bonuses aren’t always as impressive as they first seem. They don’t require you to make a deposit, but may require you to verify your account, which often entails submitting proof of payment and even sending them a picture of your debit or credit card.

Secondly, the amount offered by these bonuses is often very small, typically no more than $20, and this just won’t appeal to players who spend upwards of $5 on a single hand of blackjack.

If you don’t gamble with a lot of money, we recommend trying these bonuses out. They are also worthwhile if the terms are good and they are not being offered in place of matched deposit bonuses and other generous promotions. But if taking a small $5 no deposit bonus means you can’t collect on a much larger matched deposit bonus, we recommend giving it a miss.

VIP Scheme

A VIP scheme is essential if you want to turn a profit playing blackjack online. A VIP scheme is one that gives you points in exchange for playing casino games and allows you to turn these points into a host of prizes.

The best VIP schemes also have tiered systems, which means you can climb up the rankings. The more points you earn, the higher up the rankings you will climb and the greater the rate of points you will earn in the future.

The great thing about these schemes is that they can earn you a profit even if you are slightly in the red or breaking even at the end of a long session. This happens a lot in blackjack, and this is why the best players insist on joining casinos with loyalty schemes.

Reload Bonuses

A reload bonus is a matched deposit bonus. The difference is that this bonus is often much smaller than the welcome bonuses mentioned above and are aimed at loyal players and not new ones.

Reload bonuses are there to encourage regular deposits and many casinos offer them at least once a week. You’ll find offers like Top-up Tuesday or Top-up Thursday, where you’ll be offered a matched deposit between 25% and 50%, often with the same wagering requirements reserved for the casino’s welcome bonus.

If you’re particularly fond of a casino and have already used your welcome bonus, it’s worth taking advantage of these offers when you can to keep those free credits rolling.

Blackjack Tournaments

Blackjack tournaments are one of the best ways to earn a few extra credits playing your favourite blackjack games.

Blackjack tournaments work in much the same way as poker tournaments. You pay your fee, you sit at a table with other players, and you try to be the last person standing as people drop out of the tournament all around you.

The difference is that blackjack tournaments are often more focused on winnings and have a series of strict rules to ensure that you can’t simply sit out a bunch of hands and bide your time.

Some blackjack tournaments adopt a different strategy altogether and task players with earning as much money as they can during a predetermined period of time. To prevent high rollers from buying their way to the top of the table, tournament organizers focus more on profit ratios than actual cash.

For instance, a player who turns $10 into $100 will earn the same number of points as a player who begins with $10,000 and finishes with $100,000.

Wagering Requirements

Casinos aren’t in the business of giving you free cash and then letting you walk away with it. To prevent you from collecting your bonus and then making a withdrawal, most bonus payments will be released as credits that cannot be withdrawn. To actually withdraw it, you need to meet the wagering requirements, which are also known as playthrough rates.

Often listed as a multiple, such as 30x or 50x, the wagering requirement describes the number of times that you have to wager the bonus before it can be withdrawn. For instance, if you have a bonus of $100 and the wagering requirement is 50x, you need to gamble a total of $5,000 before that $100 (and whatever additional winnings you accumulate) can be withdrawn.

But where bonuses for blackjack are concerned, there are a few important things to note.

Firstly, wagering requirements can range significantly in size, often from a minimum of around 20x to a maximum of around 50x. However, some of these requirements are weighted against the bonus and others are weighted against the full amount.

As an example, if you deposit $100 and get a bonus of $200, a bonus wagering requirement of 50x means you need to wager $5,000, but a full requirement of the same amount means you need to wager $10,000. It’s a huge difference and, therefore, is something you need to pay very close attention to.

Some casinos will drop their wagering requirements to 25x to make them look more appealing, only to apply this amount to the bonus and the deposit, which means it’s ultimately the same as a 50x bonus wagering requirement.

The second big issue that blackjack players need to be aware of is that wagering requirements don’t always count when you’re playing this game.

For instance, if you gamble $1 on a slot that will count as $1 towards your total and allow you to edge nearer to withdrawing the money as cash. But if you bet $1 on a game of blackjack it might count for just $0.50 or less. In fact, some casinos offer a 0% rate for blackjack, which means you can’t meet your playthrough rate playing this game.

Check the terms and conditions of the bonus before you play to make sure you don’t waste your time or your money.

Real Money Online Blackjack for iPhone

There are iPhone and iPad apps available for most online casinos, allowing you to play online blackjack on your Apple device. Microgaming, Playtech, Net Ent, BetSoft and many others all have fully functional apps that work with Apple devices, and these are what the biggest casinos use.

In fact, these days there are more mobile gamblers than there are desktop ones, which means the developers often put more time and effort into their mobile apps than they do their desktop software. So, glitches are few and far between, and when they do appear they are often fixed before anyone realizes.

For safety, it’s advised that you don’t set your apps to automatically log you in as soon as you open them. If you do and you lose your device, then someone will have access to that app and to all of your money. This applies whether you have an Apple, Android or Windows device, because while the developers and the casino can keep you secure when you’re using their software and site, it’s out of their hands if you lose your device.

Real Money Online Blackjack for Android

There shouldn't be too many issues with playing online blackjack for real money on your Android device. However it’s not quite as simple as it is on the iPhone or iPad. That’s because the Google Play store don’t allow real money gambling games apps. As a result, you will need to visit the casino directly and then download their Android app.

Providing online gambling is legal in your country, then you’re not breaking any laws, so there is no issue in that regard. It’s just a choice that Google have made, one that keeps their app store a little more child friendly, but one that has been frustrating Android gamblers for a number of years now.

Biggest Blackjack Developers

All major online gambling developers have versions of blackjack, and most of them have several. This is a hugely popular game, so it’s often the first one they look to create. However, not all of these games are worth your time. Some offer very low payouts, some have poor graphics. Thankfully, however, there are some standout developers and some brilliant titles.

Below we have listed our favorite developers and games of blackjack:

Microgaming: The oldest developer in the world, Microgaming were the first to create online slots for real money and online table games. They also have some of the very best online blackjack games for real money. The best of these goes by the same Double Exposure Blackjack, which shows the dealer’s cards at all time. This is online real money blackjack at its very best, offering great odds and fun play. The graphics aren’t too bad either. They also create great roulette games, you can read about it here.

Playtech: If Double Exposure Blackjack isn’t your thing, then Blackjack Switch might be. This is Playtech’s version of everyone’s favorite card game. It has big payouts and is also great fun to play. In Switch, players play two hands at once and can switch the top two cards from those hands.

What are my Deposit and Withdrawal Options?

When it comes to online blackjack for real money, there are very few limitations in regards to deposit and withdrawal options. It is a game you will find at most online casinos, so the banking options depend on the casino itself. Typically you will be able to use debit cards, credit cards, web wallets, bank transfers and more. There are also more and more Bitcoin casinos cropping up, allowing you to deposit and withdraw using this cryptocurrency

Before you make your deposit to play a few hands of online blackjack, we recommend keeping these tips in mind:

1. High-Rollers Should Contact the Casino First: If you treat a $1,000 welcome bonus with the same indifference that a medium-stake player treats a $5 no deposit bonus or 10 free spins, you’re a high roller and may be entitled to more benefits. Contact the casino before you join, let them know how much you plan to deposit and ask them if there is anything they can offer you. Make it clear that the current bonus is not high enough and want to find a casino that can accommodate you. Casinos make a big fuss about high rollers as one of these players can earn them more than a hundred casual gamblers. You’re in high demand and need to make them work for you.

2. Check Fees: Payment fees can really eat into your profits and need to be checked before you deposit or withdraw. For instance, if you use a credit card, not only could you be charged 3% for a deposit and withdrawal, but you will also be charged a cash advance fee (all gambling transactions are recorded as cash advances) and pay an additional penalty APR. A deposit of $10 could cost you over $10 in fees alone.

3. Check Bonuses for Payment Exclusions: In the last few years, a number of online casinos have started voiding all bonuses for Skrill and Neteller users. Many players don’t realize this until it’s too late, but it’s become so common that all Skrill and Neteller users should check the terms for any such rule.

4. Check Terms for Country Exclusions: In addition to excluding Skrill and Neteller casino players, some online blackjack sites also exclude players from certain countries from accessing their bonuses and their other offers. Fort the most part, this isn’t a big issue, because if you live in one of these countries then the bonus likely won’t be advertised to you anyway. But it becomes a problem if you join just to play blackjack tournaments or leaderboard promotions and find that you can’t because of your location.

5. Keep Cryptocurrencies Safe: While gambling sites are very safe and secure, the same can’t be said for your computer or device. A gambling site is responsible if you deposit money with them and that money is then lost or stolen, but it is not responsible if you collect money from a site and then it is stolen from your computer. With currencies like Bitcoin, you need to be extra careful with regards to how you secure your coins.

Blackjack Tips: Learn to Earn

Blackjack is one of those rare casino games where the player can consistently beat the house. However, the casinos rely on players being inexperienced and eager, they rely on them not quite understanding how to earn. There are more players that don’t know what they’re doing and constantly feed the casino coffers, than there are players who know how to win.

So, to make sure you’re a winner and not a loser, just follow these steps:

• Learn Basic Blackjack Strategy: This is a mathematically sound way of playing, and one that can reduce the edge that the house has over you.

• Pick the Right Game: Some games offer big side bets and fun features purely as a way of blinding you from decreased odds. So, pay attention to the payouts and make sure you play games with a low house edge.

• Bankroll: Proper bankroll management is essential if you want to make it as a profitable player. This applies regardless of the game, but is especially true for blackjack.

• Be Strict: Don’t let luck factor into your play. Don’t do anything because it “feels right” and make sure you stick to your strategy at all times.

FAQ

Still got some questions about real money online blackjack? These frequently asked questions should be able to help.

Can I Count Cards Online?

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to count cards online. You can certainly try, but it won’t get you anywhere. Card counting works because all used cards are taken out of play, allowing the player to roughly calculate which cards are left and then act accordingly. In online blackjack, however, all used cards are shuffled back into the deck after each hand.

It only makes sense, as card counting would be very easy online and the casinos would lose a lot of money as a result.

However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Generally, virtual blackjack games shuffle all cards after a hand, but the same can’t be said for Live Casino games of blackjack. These adopt a more typical format, and because everything is real and not automated, the hands tend to flow as they would in a real casino.

Of course, the issue with Live Dealer games of blackjack is that you have a dealer monitoring you, which means you may get a virtual tap on the shoulder if your activity is indicative of card counting.

What is the Average Payout?

Games to avoid include Pontoon and European Blackjack, as well as Spanish 21. These games all tend to have a high house edge and therefore put the player at an immediate disadvantage.

Is it Legal to Play Blackjack Online?

If you reside in the UK and across many other European countries, you shouldn’t have an issue, but the site may need to be regulated by the authorities of your country for it to be legal there.

The good news is that the onus is on the casino to deal with this issue, and not the player. If you are based in the United Kingdom and play on a casino that is not regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, you’re not breaking the law, but they are.

The only downsides as far as the player is concerned is that they won’t have a meditator to turn to if they experience a problem with the site. Technically, you could still contact the authorities that license the casino, but depending on where these are based, they might not be much help.

What Happens if I Have an Issue with a Blackjack Site?

As alluded to above, if you play at a site that is regulated by your local provider, you can contact them and put the issue to them. That’s what they are there for. However, they don’t always help in the way they promise or the way you would expect.

Let’s use the UK Gambling Commission as an example, as it’s often considered to be the best regulatory authority and the one with the strictest rules.

If a casino licensed by the UK Gambling Commission wrongs you in any way, you can contact them and they should address the issue. The problem is, it takes them several weeks to do this and the response you get back often leaves a lot to be desired, with many players suggesting that they were ignored, the points of their case were overlooked, and, in some cases, they were merely given a form response.

The truth is, the regulator can’t provide much assistance. It is still essential for all sites to be regulated and it’s a prerequisite you should always look out for. Just don’t expect them to deal with the issue.

Instead, look to your payment provider for help. If you use a web wallet or credit card, you can contact them to initiate a chargeback, telling them that you have been scammed. If the issue is not that severe, you should make a complaint via the casino’s official channels, leave bad reviews or them, and make sure they understand their mistakes and know what they can do to set them right.

How do Professional Blackjack Players Make Money?

Pro blackjack players exist. It seems almost preposterous, considering that blackjack is a game of chance played against a casino that has an edge over the player, but it’s true.

However, there’s more to being a professional blackjack player that getting a little lucky every now and then. And contrary to what you might think, not all of them are counting cards (although that certainly is a way to tilt the odds in your favour).

So, what’s happening here?

Well, firstly, blackjack pros adopt a strict strategy that increases their chances of success. Known as basic blackjack strategy, it will ensure that probability is always on their side, or as near to it as they can get.

Secondly, they use casino bonuses and perks to their advantage. For instance, let’s imagine that you’re a pro player whose activity at the tables is a perfectly reflection of the 0.5% house edge. This means you will lose $0.50 for every $100 that you gamble or $50 for every $10,000.

Now, let’s suppose that you’re a high roller. Your first step could be to deposit $10,000 and get a welcome bonus of the same amount. This means you now have $20,000 to play with.

By the time you burn through that bonus, you will have lost some of it, but depending on the wagering requirements, you should still have over $5,000 worth of profit or $15,000 total.

At the same time, you will have crawled to the top of the loyalty scheme. If you continue playing at this rate, you can wager $1 million while only actually losing $5,000 from your balance.

The result is that you have $10,000 in cash sitting in your account and have accumulated enough loyalty points to get many thousands more, not to mention a host of special gifts, tournament tickets, event invitations, and more.

If you keep playing in that manner, you could also be asked to become an ambassador for the casino, in which case you’ll get more freebies and even a paycheque.

All of that is gifted to you despite the fact you’re consistently losing 0.5% of every dollar you gamble. Imagine how much better things would be if you counted a few cards or just had a little more luck.

Why Aren’t All Players Profitable?

If we use the above scenario as an example, you could ask yourself, “why aren’t all blackjack players turning a profit?” The answer is simple: They don’t know what they are doing.

When played right, blackjack is a game that only slightly favours the house. When played wrong, you might as well be throwing your money down a wishing well.

Amateur players are enticed by games of blackjack because they see the low house edges that these games offer and think that means they can win.

But those odds only count if you play the game properly.

If you only focus on your cards (a habit of many amateur players) always take insurance, split every pair you get and throw everything on side bets, the actual rate could be 5 or 10 times higher than that.

Online casinos and offline casinos keep offering games of blackjack because they know that for every 1 skilled and knowledgeable player, there are hundreds of amateurs.

What are Side Bets?

A side bet is something that is offered as an addition to a typical game of blackjack. Most of the time these are offered to make a game more alluring, and the majority of them do not benefit the player. They rely on luck as opposed to skill, and anything that relies on luck like this always plays into the hands of the casino.

However, if you’re looking for a little extra fun, maybe by risking some of your winnings, then side bets can be great. Some of the most popular side bets include ones that payout if you land a pair of cards, before paying even more for three of the same kind and four of the same kind.

How Many Hands Should I Play at Once?

It might seem like the more hands you play, the better your odds of winning are. But the truth is that your odds don’t increase much. If anything, they decrease slightly. And when you add the fact that all of those extra hands will increase your chances of making a mistake and deviating from your strategy, then overall your odds of winning will significantly decrease for every additional hand that you play.

Of course, it can be just as counter-productive to only play one hand, as you may get a little bored and impatient. So, the best thing to do is to play two or three hands at once. On games like Blackjack Switch, the minimum is two hands, and the same applies to many other other blackjack games with low odds. This is an ideal amount, and one that returns some of the best odds overall.

Which Blackjack Game is the Best?

There are dozens of blackjack variants, and these all have slight differences, from the side bets offered to the features available and the stakes that can be wagered.

Many casual blackjack players will focus on side bets and jackpots, as well as other gimmicks designed to draw them in.

What you should be focusing on, however, is the house edge. This is really the only thing that matters if you want to increase your chances of success every time you sit down to play.

Most games of blackjack should have a house edge of less than 1% (less is better) and there is no excuse for a game to be higher than this. Classic Blackjack variants are less than 0.5% and are often the best ones to play.

With Classic Blackjack, you get a 3:2 payout for a “natural” (also known as a “blackjack”) and allows moves like Double and Split. Generally, games with a Surrender rule also have a low house edge, as do games that allow you to see the dealer’s cards (Double Xposure) and to change your cards between multiple hands (Blackjack Switch).

Can I Get Bonus Playing Blackjack for Cash?

You most certainly can. If the casino is offering a bonus then you can take that bonus by playing online blackjack for real money. In fact, this is often the best way to get your bonus. The fact that online blackjack has such a low house edge means you are likely to get a higher return on your bonus cash. So, not only is it easier to turn bonus cash into real cash by playing online blackjack, but it’s also one of the quickest and safest ways to breeze through your play-through rate.

Real money online blackjack payouts differ considerably. They are referred to by a percentage amount known as a “House Edge”. This is basically the advantage that the casino has over you and the higher the number, the bigger the advantage. In Double Exposure Blackjack and Switch blackjack it is at its lowest and can be less than 0.40%. On other games it can be four or five times higher than this.It all depends on where you live. Most forms of online gambling are illegal in the United States. That has been changing rapidly in recent years and experienced a notable shift in 2019 and 2020, but for the most part, offshore online casinos are not allowed.