There are several Blackjack games you can play online, and when playing some variants you are going to be given the option of being able to perform a playing move known as a Double Down. When you choose to take this option you will be dealt out one additional card to your hand only.
But when you choose to take this betting option you have to pay an additional amount of chips to be dealt out that extra card and the price you will have to pay is the same amount as your wagered on the base game original hand.
It is worth pointing out that there are only a few times when you are playing Blackjack that you should place the Double Down wager as opposed to hitting your hand, for when you hit your hand instead of placing a Double Down wager you are dealt out the next card for free and will be given the option of being able to hit your hand again, whereas when you take the Double Down option only one extra card and one extra card only is dealt out to your hand.
With this in mind we are going to take a look in the Blackjack playing guide at the only time you should ever consider placing the Double Down wager, so make sure you pay attention to what we are about to tell you as playing this betting move at the wrong time will see you increasing the house edge you are playing against on the variant of Blackjack you are playing and that will ultimately decrease your winning chances!
Doubling Down Your Blackjack Hand
When you do wish to start playing Blackjack online then you will need to locate a Blackjack game with a low house edge before you start playing the first game you come across, for the lower the house edge the more chance of winning you will have when playing that variant optimally!
One game that you are going to find offered at a lot of online casinos is the European Blackjack game, and that game does allow players to Double Down their initial hand whenever they have been dealt out a hard hand valued at 9, 10 or 11.
Be aware though that out of all of the hand combinations that can be dealt out to you that are worth nine, ten or eleven it is the Dealers up facing card that you need to take notice of if you are thinking of performing the Double Down betting move!
With this in mind if you have been dealt out a hard eleven valued hand then you should Double Down your hand only if you can see via the Dealers up facing initial card that he is holding any card worth from and including a 2 through to and including a nine card. If the Dealers has any other card those being an Ace or any ten valued card instead of Doubling Down the optional playing strategy will call for you to hit that hand instead.
Moving onto when you have been dealt out any 10 valued initial two card hard hand, the same rules apply as when you have been dealt out a eleven valued hand as above and as such only Double Down if you can see that the Dealer is not holding any Ace or Ten valued card if he is then hit your hand instead.
Finally the only other hard hand combination that you can Double Down on when you are playing European Blackjack is a hard nine two card combination, and the correct playing strategy for this Blackjack game variant will call for you to always Double Down such hands when the Dealers up facing card is a 2 to 6 card, if the Dealer has any card worth a 7 or higher valued card on display then hit your hand instead.
By playing the Double Down moves mentioned above whenever you play the European Blackjack game at casinos such as those using Microgaming’s Gaming Platform then you will be playing those hands optionally and will be helping yourself get the house edge on that variant as low as is possible which will result in your getting the maximum inning chances when playing.
Conclusion
As you are never going to know before you get dealt out your initial two cards when playing Blackjack online whether you will be in a position to make the Double Down wager, you should always ensure before you place your initial base game stake onto the Blackjack table that you have enough cash in reserve in your online casino account to perform that betting move if the strategy for the variant you are playing calls for that wager to be placed.
If you do not have enough ahs in your casino account then you will have to hit your hand instead of Doubling Don on that hand and that will result in your losing out as per the optimally playing strategy.
So before you play off each hand of Blackjack when playing online for real money, also ensure you have enough spare funds available in your casino account to perform the Double Down wager if your hand calls for that bet to be placed! If you do not have enough cash in your casino account then adjust the stakes you are playing for downwards in value to enable you to Double Down if and when required!
