When you play blackjack online with proper basic strategy, you greatly increase your chances of winning real money. Basic blackjack strategy is derived from computer simulations which show the ideal plays for every possible deal. This information is crucial when learning how to play blackjack online. To end this guide on how to play blackjack with friends online and the best multiplayer online blackjack games in 2020, let's look at something completely different. A blackjack-RPG game. To join multiplayer games of blackjack online and launch your first private game of blackjack with friends, you need to follow these steps: Register a free account on this page Confirm your e-mail address Click on the ' Live Casino ' icon Select the blackjack table where you want to bring your. 07:12 Jul 14th, 2018 Blackjack Games, Land Based, Online Gambling. Blackjack is by far one of the most popular casino card games because it allows knowledgeable players a chance to earn winnings much easier than a game of chance would allow. With just a basic knowledge of how the game of blackjack works and the systems and strategies that gives.
In short; There is no federal law against playing blackjack online. There are some states where it is declared illegal however prosecution would be extremely rare and would most likely be against any establishment rather than the player.
It is completely safe to play blackjack online for real money.
It's often reported that playing blackjack online for real money is illegal in the US.
But is it really?
Let's tackle this head on and resolve this confusing and commonly misunderstood issue.
So let's get one thing straight:
Playing Blackjack Online is NOT Legally Prohibited in Any Way by Federal Law
There is no law whatsoever against gambling online at the federal level which is a myth that has been established most likely from a misinterpretation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 which states:
The Act prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law (termed 'restricted transactions' in the Act).
This is basically saying it's prohibited for banks to knowingly accept transactions that are a result of an illegal online bet.
It does not in any way state that it is illegal for a player to participate in gambling online!
Another reason why some people may think it is illegal is the confusion of the Federal Wire Act which is related to sports betting and does not apply to whether online blackjack is legal since they are considered different forms of gambling.
Play Blackjack Live Online
If you want to try playing blackjack online for real money, we recommend US players to visit Bovada casino.
Are There any State Laws which Explicitly Allow Online Blackjack?
Another reason why it's confusing to determine whether it's legal to gamble online is the fact that most states actually don't have any specific laws which apply to online gambling in general.
If there is no specific law prohibiting online gambling then it is considered legal.
However there are three states that have explicitly passed laws specifically for allowing online gambling which are:
Interestingly, Nevada has allowed for online poker but have prohibited online casino gambling.
States Where Online Blackjack is Technically Illegal
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Montana
- Nevada
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Wisconsin
There are 9 states that have prohibitions against online casino gambling however it should be noted that the real target of these laws are the online casinos themselves and not the player.
The likelihood of being criminally charged is extremely low and even if you were it would most likely be considered just a misdemeanor
There is only one incident I have been able to find dating back to 2003 in North Dakota where a player, Jeffrey Trauman, plead guilty for placing a bet over $500 and was charged with a misdemeanor and subsequently fined $500. (source: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=grrj)
So for further clarity, let's look at a table of all states so you can easily distinguish the laws of the state you reside in.
State | Legal? | State | Legal? |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Yes | Montana | No |
Alaska | Yes | Nebraska | Yes |
Arizona | Yes | Nevada | No |
Arkansas | Yes | New Hampshire | Yes |
California | Yes | New Jersey | Yes |
Colorado | Yes | New Mexico | Yes |
Connecticut | Yes | New York | Yes |
Delaware | Yes | North Carolina | Yes |
Florida | Yes | North Dakota | Yes |
Georgia | Yes | Ohio | Yes |
Hawaii | Yes | Oklahoma | Yes |
Idaho | Yes | Oregon | No |
Illinois | No | Pennsylvania | Yes |
Indiana | No | Rhode Island | Yes |
Iowa | Yes | South Carolina | Yes |
Kansas | Yes | South Dakota | No |
Kentucky | Yes | Tennessee | Yes |
Louisiana | No | Texas | Yes |
Maine | Yes | Utah | Yes |
Maryland | Yes | Vermont | Yes |
Massachusetts | Yes | Virginia | Yes |
Michigan | Yes | Washington | No |
Minnesota | Yes | West Virginia | Yes |
Mississippi | Yes | Wisconsin | No |
Missouri | Yes | Wyoming | Yes |
If You Are Unsure, Seek Legal Advice
When in doubt, seek professional legal advice: This website serves to provide players with advice and is not legally binding. Therefore, if you ever have more nuanced questions, do consider consulting a legal professional.
How would I deposit and withdraw money given the UIGEA and Where Can I Play?
The UIGEA has made it considerably more difficult for US residents to deposit and withdraw money from casinos. For example, e-Wallet services such as PayPal or Moneybookers, which are commonly used to transfer funds to/from casinos, usually will not work with US residents engaging in online gaming. We recommend US players avoiding these in general.
Most often, players from the US will be able to use debit cards, direct bank wire transfer, checks, and automated clearing house (ACH). The best method though is to use Bitcoin which is extremely quick and doesn't have any excess fees. Read our complete guide on how to buy Bitcoin to deposit at a casino here.
For US residents outside of New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware, we recommend playing at Bovada or Betonline.
Related Reading
FAQ
The most recent prosection recorded incident occurred in 2003 where a player was fined $500 and charged with a misdemeanor.
Offshore online casinos do not fall under US jurisdiction so we highly recommend sticking to well known brands such as Bovada or BetOnline.
Pennsylvania has been the most recent state to legalize online gambling and it is expected that West Virginia will be following suit by 2021.
Yes. Since they are located offshore, they do not have to abide by the restrictions made by the UIGEA
Yes, but as with participating in any service online, it is up to you to do your own due diligence before making any wager. While we can recommend reputable various online casinos to play at, we insist that you read the terms and conditions at any online casino so you know exactly what is involved.
This is our first blackjack game and trainer and I'm proud to finally add our version 2 with enhanced graphics and the ability to learn how to count cards to my website. The game is mostly self-explanatory. If you make an inferior play, the game will warn you first. I recommend that before you play for real money both online in person that you practice on the game until you very rarely are warned you a making an inferior play. If doubling or splitting is mathematically the correct play, but you don't have enough chips, the game will give the best advice for what you can afford to do. Do not change rules mid-hand. If you do, the change will not take effect until the next hand. The advice is based on my own analysis and basic strategy tables for one, two, and four+ decks. The deck(s) is(are) shuffled after every hand.
If you find any bugs, please contact me. A screenshot would be appreciated if you claim the game is misplaying a hand. I get a lot of incorrect reports that the advice given is incorrect. This usually can be explained by the user not using the correct basic strategy for the rules selected. I have also had many comments about the advice on a player 16, composed of 3 or more cards, against a 10. As a rule of thumb, the player should stand in that situation. However, that is a basic strategy exception. The game only knows basic strategy. Also, please note that it is a standard blackjack rule that split aces get one card each. If one of them is a ten, it is not a blackjack, it is just 21 points. That is how blackjack is usually played.
I would like to thank JB for his outstanding work on this game, and Dingo Systems for the cards.
Online Blackjack Bonuses
We constantly maintain a database of all the casino bonuses from the hundreds of online casinos we have reviewed, and we note which bonuses allow blackjack to count towards the wagering requirements. The below table shows a ranked list of the best money online blackjack bonuses, the ranking also takes into consideration wagering requirements, bonus amount offered, the quality of the site and more.
Rank | Casino Name | Bonus | % | Wager | Cash | Code | Casino Name | Bonus info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | King Billy Casino | 🧙 | $100 | 200% | 1000xB | |||
King Billy Casino | Bonus | 🧙$100 | ||||||
% | 200% | |||||||
Wager | 1000xB | |||||||
Code | ||||||||
2 | Sloto'Cash Casino | 🧙 | $33 | - | LCB33 | |||
Sloto'Cash Casino | Bonus | 🧙$33 | ||||||
% | ||||||||
Wager | - | |||||||
Code | LCB33 | |||||||
3 | Win A Day Casino | 🧙 | $68 | - | FREE68LCBN | |||
Win A Day Casino | Bonus | 🧙$68 | ||||||
% | ||||||||
Wager | - | |||||||
Code | FREE68LCBN | |||||||
4 | Las Vegas USA Casino | 🧙 | $11000 | 100% | 90xB&D | WIZARDBONUS | ||
Las Vegas USA Casino | Bonus | 🧙$11000 | ||||||
% | 100% | |||||||
Wager | 90xB&D | |||||||
Code | WIZARDBONUS | |||||||
5 | Old Havana Casino | 🧙 | $11000 | 100% | 90xB&D | WIZARDBONUS | ||
Old Havana Casino | Bonus | 🧙$11000 | ||||||
% | 100% | |||||||
Wager | 90xB&D | |||||||
Code | WIZARDBONUS |
Blackjack Online FAQ
Q1: What are the rules in online blackjack games?
A: As in land casinos, they vary. Online help files are notoriously badly written and incomplete. The Wizard of Odds, we try hard to keep an accurate listing of rules for every brand of software and live dealers. You may find such rules, for every game, in our Software Review section.
Q2: Generally speaking, are the rules better in land or online casinos?
A: All things considered, I would say they are better online. For one thing, you almost never see a blackjack (ace and 10) pay 6 to 5 only online, while this is becoming the norm in land casinos in the United States.
Q3: What are the typical rules at live dealer casinos online?
A: Live dealer rules are very similar to what you would see in a land casino. The typical rules are:
- Eight decks
- Dealer stands on soft 17
- Dealer does NOT peek for blackjack
- No surrender
- Player may double on any two cards
- Player may double after a split
- No re-splitting
Be careful double or splitting if the dealer has a ten or ace showing. At most live dealer brands, you will lose everything if the dealer gets a blackjack. Under this 'no peek' rule, the only time you should put more money out on the table against a potential dealer blackjack is to split two aces against a dealer 10.
The house edge under the rules above is 0.61%.
Q4: When are the cards shuffled in online blackjack?
A: In a fully electronic game, they are probably shuffled after every hand. In a live dealer game, they are usually shuffled about half way through the shoe.
Q5: Oh really?! Even with only 50% penetration, what is to prevent me from counting cards against a live dealer?
A: I've asked this question of some people in the business. Nobody would tell me exactly how they protect their game against counters, but they assured me that they do. If I ran a live dealer casino, I would run a test of every player to see how their bet size is correlated to the true count. Then I would carefully examine the play of such players with a strong correlation.
Q6: How do 'probably fair' casinos accomplish so-called in blackjack?
A: It is rather involved, but here is typically how it is done:
- The casino will generate a random long string of characters, called a Server Seed, hash it, and give the hashed result to the player BEFORE he makes a bet.
- The player chooses a string of characters himself, called the Client Seed, or accepts a random default provided by the casino.
- The client and server seed are combined and hashed.
- The hashed result from step 3 will be parsed somehow, with the hexadecimal characters converted to base 10 and then mapped to specific cards if in a desired range.
- The game will deal cards according to their order in the hash from step 3. This hash should be long enough that running out of cards would be almost impossible.
- After the hand, the casino should reveal the Client Seed, which the player may verify hashes to the result provided before the bet. It is then a tedious process above to do all the math to convert the hash to actual cards, but the player may do that if he wishes.
I go into this in greater depth for a particular brand in my page on Blackjack (Encrypted Version).
Q7: I don't want to bother jumping through all those hoops to verify fairness in an encrypted game. Do you think that just the ability to verify fairness is enough to keep the casinos honest?
A: No. Encrypted or not, a casino could cheat the player in any game, except sports betting, any time they wished. In the case of an encrypted casino, the operator could choose a Server Seed that causes the player to lose after the bet is made. If the player catches them in a hash mismatch, which I think very few players bother to check, the casino can simply ignore the accusation or deny it without comment. This is exactly what happened to me at Wixiplay.
Q8: Your story aside, how common is cheating at blackjack, or any game, online?
A: In my opinion, it is quite rare.
Q9: How can I improve my odds of not being cheated?
A: There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Internet casinos out there. In the absence of any serious government regulation, the industry has done a pretty good job of regulating itself. Between legitimate watchdog affiliate sites and some common sense, here are some ways to choose a reputable brand to trust with your hard-earned dollar:
- Read the fine print. Most casinos have a good looking main page, but dig around the more obscure pages like terms & conditions. If you see a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes, that should set off a red flag.
- Ping customer support. If you can't think of your own question, ask anything, for example, 'Do you accept players from Kyrgyzstan?' See how long it takes for them to reply and measure their professionalism and courtesy of their reply.
- Check reputable affiliate sites. Many affiliate sites promote whoever pays the most, but the good ones are picky about who they promote and will intervene in the unlikely event of a player dispute. We would like to think of ourselves as one of the good ones. A good way to avoid the worst of casinos is to check the blacklists of reputable affiliates.
- Smart small. Players should always bet in moderation anywhere, but especially when opening a new account online with an unfamiliar brand. Dink around with a small deposit and small bets until you have built up some trust.
Q10: Any other words of advice before playing blackjack online?
How To Play Blackjack Online For Money
A: Whether playing online or in a land casino, use the appropriate basic strategy for the rules offered. The Wizard of Odds blackjack strategy calculator will give the correct basic strategy for almost any set of rules.
A much greater problem than outright cheating is online casinos faulting players on a technicality in the rules and seizing whatever funds they deem appropriate. This is a particularly a problem with bonuses. The terms and conditions for bonuses can be pages long and very restrictive in terms of allowed games, bet sizes, and types of bets. If the player loses, nobody ever checks, but after a win and withdrawal request, suddenly the play may be subject to careful review for compliance. Never assume that because you were invited to play a bonus via Email that you're eligible for it. Casinos typically blast everybody in their list. An easy rule to overlook is when a bonus is eligible for 'new money' only. Don't expect the casino to enforce this rule when entering a couple code, but do expect it when you actually make a withdrawal and they look for any reason to deny it.
While bonuses can make your money last much longer and increase your chances of winning, they are a minefield in terms of compliance. Read the rules carefully. If in doubt the way you play is compliant, then don't ask for the bonus in the first place.