
Multi-Player Progressive Blackjack
Multi-Player
Progressive Blackjack is played with eight
fifty-two-card decks. The deck is re-shuffled
after approximately one-third of the shoe (the 8
decks of cards) has been dealt. All face cards are
valued at ten and the cards from 2-10 are valued
as indicated. Aces can be valued at either one or
eleven; if counting the Ace as eleven would put
the hand over twenty-one, the Ace is automatically
counted as one instead. You need not specify which
value the Ace has. It's always assumed to have the
value that makes the best hand. The value of a
hand is simply the sum of the values of the
individual cards. For example, a hand containing a
Jack, 3, and 4 has a value of 17.
Your chips are stacked by denomination ($1, $5,
$25, $100, $500) at the bottom of the game window.
Select the amount you would like to wager on a
given hand by clicking the left mouse button on
the chip of that denomination. The amount wagered
per hand may be increased or decreased by placing
the mouse on the stack that you wish to add or
subtract to your bet. Each time you click the left
mouse button you will add a chip from that pile to
your planned wager amount. Likewise by clicking on
the right mouse button you can decrease your
planned wager amount. You may repeat your last bet
by simply hitting the "0" button of your numeric
keyboard. Other keyboard shortcuts are summarized
below. If you place a wager that is lower than the
minimum table bet limit, your bet amount will be
automatically adjusted to the minimum bet amount.
To qualify for the Bonus Jackpot you need to
place a $1 bonus bet. You do this by clicking on
the flashing chip holder directly in front of you.
You may place a Bonus bet prior to playing your
hand as long as the lights surrounding the chip
holder are flashing. Players may win a bonus
payout, if they receive two or more consecutive
Aces as the first cards dealt to them in their
hand. The size of the Jackpot increases with every
bet. The current level of the Jackpot is displayed
at the left-hand side or right-hand side of the
screen depending on your seating position. You may
also qualify for a bonus payout based on the suit
and number of aces held in a particular hand. See
the Bonus Payout Table.
In Multi-Player Progressive
Blackjack, each
table can accommodate five players and the dealer.
A shining white light will note your spot on the
table. In between hands, you may change your
position on the table by clicking on the desired
spot. Each player begins a hand by placing a bet
on the table as described above. Once you have
placed a bet on the table, you may choose to skip
the given deal (before your first card is dealt)
by clicking on the "Pass" button or to proceed
with the bet by pressing "Deal". If you do not bet
or pass within 15 seconds from the beginning of
your turn (marked by a light shining on your white
circle), you will be automatically excluded from
that particular hand. Note that if you join a
table in the middle of a hand, you must wait until
the round is over and after that you will be able
to bet on the next hand. Each player will then
receive two cards face up. The dealer will receive
one card face up and one face down.
When it is your appropriate turn
(marked by a
light shining on your white circle), and based on
the cards you hold and the one visible from the
dealer's hand, you can do the following by left
clicking on the appropriate button:
Hit:
Requests another
card. You can request
a hit as many times as you like, but if your total
goes over twenty-one, you will Bust and lose the
hand.
Stand:
Requests that you receive no more
cards. The hand as it currently stands will be
judged against the dealers.
Split:
If you have two cards of the same
denomination, a Split button will appear. You can
split your cards into two hands and play each hand
separately. Your original bet will be duplicated
for the new hand. Each hand will be played out as
usual except when splitting Aces, where only one
additional card per hand is dealt. A white box
displaying your card total will appear over each
hand indicating which hand is active. The split
option can only be used once per hand -- you
cannot split part of a split hand. Any winning 21
obtained after splitting a pair is paid
1-to-1.
Double Down:
If you select this
option,
three things will happen: you will get exactly one
more card, your turn will end, and your bet will
be doubled.
Insurance:
Whenever the dealer's up card is
an Ace, the player has an option of taking
Insurance. The player may opt to take insurance by
clicking on the "Insurance " button. If you do not
wish to take insurance, you simply click on the
"Pass" button to proceed with the rest of the
hand. If the player believes that the dealer's
down card is a 10-ranking card, then the player is
permitted to place a side bet of half the original
wager as insurance. If the dealer does have a 10
ranking card, the player is immediately paid
2-to-1 on the insurance bet, but the original
wager is lost unless the player too has Blackjack
and pushes with the dealer. Here the player is
simply betting that the dealer's unseen card is a
10-valued card.
Note: The Double Down and Split options
will only be available immediately after you
receive your first two cards. If the dealer has an
Ace showing, you will be offered a chance to buy
Insurance for half of the amount you bet. When you
buy Insurance you are, in effect, making a second
bet. You are betting that the dealer has a natural
blackjack. If the dealer does have a natural
blackjack (in other words, his down card is a ten
or a face card), you will collect a payoff of 2 to
1 on your Insurance (except in the case of a Split
hand – see details above). You will also lose your
original wager, unless you have a natural
Blackjack too. If the dealer does not have a
natural twenty-one, the rest of the hand is played
out as usual and you will lose your Insurance
money.
If you win the
hand, you will get back your
original bet plus the same amount in profit. A
hand that consists of an Ace and any ten-value
card is called a natural twenty-one, or a natural
Blackjack. If you win with a natural Blackjack,
you will be paid off at three-to-two odds, which
means you get your original bet back plus 150%
profit. (So if you bet $50 and win with a natural
twenty-one, you get $50 (your bet) plus $75 (your
bet plus half of your bet), which totals to
$125.