21 Burn Blackjack by Betsoft

Blackjack is a game that’s been around for ages. By now, there are countless strategies and guides which tell you how to play. Right down to what you should do for each combination of cards! As a result, it’s that much more important to find an exciting variant or two to spice things up. Which is exactly what Betsoft has done with their 2012 release!

This is an RNG-powered game, which means you play it by yourself, which is fantastic as far as convenience goes. Each round can go as quickly or as slowly as you need it to. We were also impressed with how well the visuals held up, despite its age!

Punters are treated with a traditional green table, which lists all the important rules. Then, using the coins on the bottom right, you can make a bet that’s to your liking. You can only wager on the main bet itself. If you want to play the Burn side-bet, you can do so after the cards are dealt. You can play up to three hands at once.

Once all the stakes have been placed, the dealer will deal three cards to the player. The first two are immediately visible, and the third is placed face down. The third card only comes into play if you click the Burn button. Otherwise, the game proceeds as usual: you hit or stand depending on what you have in your hand.

After you finish playing, the game will reveal its cards, and then check if anyone has gone over 21. That’s a bust and is an automatic loss for both the player and the dealer. If there were no busts, then the hand closest to 21 wins!

You’re able to bet any value between $1 and $100 with each round. A regular win will grant a 1:1 cash prize. If you play Insurance, you can get a 2:1 win from that. Meanwhile, blackjack only pays 1:1, a huge drop from its standard 3:2 win.

The reason for that is obvious: to push players into playing with the Burn side-bet. By choosing to Burn, you swap your second card with the face-down one. Sometimes it helps you win, and sometimes it gives you a worse card. If your burn card is an Ace of Spades, you score a 7:1 win. And if it’s any other kind of ace, you win a 2:1 prize.

Other bonuses include splitting and doubling. Splitting can only be done with two cards which have the same value. If you split a pair of aces and then get a ten, a hand is not considered a blackjack. The game also doesn’t have any restrictions on doubling: you can do it with any set of cards!