Evolution is no stranger to exciting blackjack variants. After all, the studio has made many versions of the game, including ones where you occasionally get free bets or have random multipliers assigned to cards.
With plenty of experience under its belt, the developer moves to its next blackjack project: Power Blackjack.
Here You Can Play Power Blackjack
What is Power Blackjack by Evolution?
Power Blackjack is a variant of Infinite Blackjack, one of Evolution’s more popular releases. Infinite Blackjack was designed to be a one-to-many game where all players receive the same cards and can choose to play them differently. Power Blackjack uses the same system, making a few notable changes along the way.
The game removes all nine and ten cards, decreasing the number of cards in play. Power Blackjack uses eight decks, resulting in 64 fewer cards in the shoe than usual. Players will also have an opportunity to double, triple, or quadruple any initial two-card hand. Both additions open the door for new strategies, giving blackjack fans a familiar but fresh experience.
- Players can double, triple, or quadruple their bet on any two initial cards
- Nines and tens are removed from each deck
- Four side bets
- The number of players is unlimited
- The operating time is short – only 12 seconds
Each Game Round Starts with Betting Time
Every round starts with a 12-second betting time. Before any cards are drawn, players must decide how much money they want to put down for the round. During this time, they also have the option to wager on four side bets. Once the timer runs out, the dealer will draw two cards for the player and two for themselves. Only one dealer card is visible; the other is placed in a face-down position.
You’re now faced with six possible decisions. You can Hit or Stand, Split your cards if you have a pair, or Double, Triple, or Quadruple your main bet. These last three actions will result in only one more card being drawn. Furthermore, you can Double, Triple, or Quadruple Split hands.
After the player makes their decision, the dealer starts drawing cards. They keep drawing until their hand value is 17 or above, at which point they’re forced to Stand. You win the round if your hand total is better than the dealer’s.
Game Interface
If you’ve played live blackjack before, Power Blackjack’s user interface will be intuitive and easy to follow. Evolution offers all the features that make live casinos great, including the option to chat with the dealer. Opening live chat will also display messages sent by other players, allowing you to follow the conversation and join in more easily.
The game is streamed from the same studio Evolution built for Infinite Blackjack. The backdrop uses a mix of dark blue and gold, giving the game a more regal feeling than its predecessor. The table follows the same color scheme, with the betting section sitting at the bottom of the table and rising when it’s time to place wagers.
Interface explained:
- Main bet – Place your bet here to participate in the upcoming round.
- 21+3 – A wager on this position will let you take advantage of the 21+3 side bet if the conditions for it happening are met.
- Hot 3 – Place a bet on this position to take part in the Hot 3 side bet.
- Any Pair – Wagering here enrolls you into the Any Pair side bet.
- Bust It – Betting on this option lets you participate in the Bust It side bet.
Power Blackjack works like a charm no matter if you’re playing it on a mobile device or computer. You select the chip whose value best suits your budget and place it on one or more betting options you want to play. After the cards are drawn, you select the option you want to play to proceed with the round. You have six options:
- Hit
- Stand
- Split (if pair)
- 2x (Double)
- 3x (Triple)
- 4x (Quadruple)
After the round completes, you can click a button and repeat the wager you played last time. Alternatively, you can make adjustments and place a different set of bets altogether.
How to Play Power Blackjack
Time needed: 2 minutes
The process for playing Power Blackjack isn’t all that complicated. As such, you’ll have no issues following this step-by-step guide and enjoy Evolution’s top-tier title.
- Visit a live casino with Power Blackjack
Once you’re at the gambling site, sign into your account. You can access Power Blackjack either by searching for the game or finding it in the live casino section. Click or tap on the game tile to launch Power Blackjack.
- Place the Ante and side bets
Before you can get to the fun stuff, you will have to put some money down. Only the Ante bet in the middle is mandatory. The other four side bets are optional but can be considered if you want to try your luck and score bigger payouts.
- The dealer draws the initial cards
The host starts drawing cards once all participating players have money in the game. Four cards are drawn in total. Two are placed for the players, while the others are for the dealer. Only one dealer card is visible. If the dealer has a Jack, Queen, King, or Ace, they will check for Blackjack.
- Players make a decision
Once all the cards are dealt, players can choose to Hit or Stand. If they feel confident, they can choose to Double, Triple or Quadruple bet on the current hand, which improves payouts but only draws one more card. Finally, if players have a pair in hand, they can choose to Split it.
- The round ends
The dealer will start drawing cards for themselves until reaching 17 or over. If either side goes over 21, they automatically lose. If both sides are under 21, the one closest to 21 will win the round. In the case of Blackjack, players receive an improved payout of 3:2. In all other cases, the main bet’s payout is 1:1.
“What I like about Power Blackjack is that you never have to wait. There’s is always a seat at the table. The excitement is in the side bets in this game.”
Géron de Werd
The Side Bets of Power Blackjack
In order to keep things more exciting, Power Blackjack offers four side bets. These are easy to follow along with, allowing newcomers to try their luck with them. If interested, read our explanation of how these side bets work below.
“Any Pair”
The Any Pair side bet wins if the first two cards in your hand form a pair. The cards must have the same value: two Queens, two Aces, two Eights, etc.
Regular pairs are only worth a 7:1 payout. However, if you get a Suited Pair, where both the value and suit match (e.g. K♥, K♥), you receive a 20:1 reward instead.
“21+3”
21+3 is all about forming valid three-card poker hands. The side bet uses the player’s first two cards and the dealer’s visible card to try and form valid poker hands. You can see explanations for different poker hands and their payouts below.
- Flush – non-sequential cards of the same suit (3♠, 5♠, J♠). Pays 5:1.
- Straight – following a numerical sequence but with different suits (7♠, 8♦, 9♣). Pays 8:1.
- Three of a kind – matching values but different suits (K♦, K♥, K♠). Pays 25:1.
- Straight Flush follows a numerical sequence with matching suits (5♣, 6♣, 7♣). Pays 35:1.
- Suited Trips – three identical cards (Q♦, Q♦, Q♦). Pays 100:1.
“Hot 3”
The Hot 3 side bet wins if players form specific combinations of three cards. Like 21+3, these combinations must be formed with the player’s initial cards and the dealer’s upcard. Winning combinations and their rewards are as follows.
- Total 19 (4♣, 5♥, J♦) pays 1:1.
- Total 20 (5♦, 5♣, J♠) pays 2:1.
- Total 21 unsuited (5♣, 6♠, J♥) pays 4:1.
- Total 21 suited (6♥, 7♥, 8♥) pays 20:1.
- 7-7-7 (7♦, 7♠, 7♣) pays 100:1.
“Bust It”
Last but not least is the Bust It side bet. Here, your goal is to get the dealer to bust. The payout increases depending on how many cards the host busts with.
- Busts with 3 cards. Pays 1:1
- Busts with 4 cards. Pays 2:1.
- Busts with 5 cards. Pays 8:1.
- Busts with 6 cards. Pays 25:1.
- Busts with 7 cards. Pays 100:1.
- Busts with 8 cards. Pays 250:1.
Strategy to Play Power Blackjack
If you want to play this game optimally, you’re in luck. Below, you’ll find a strategy for this game which was vetted by Evolution themselves. They used this strategy to determine Power Blackjack’s RTP, which sits at 98.80%.
To make the strategy easier to follow, we’ve put together the following charts. These detail the optimal move for each combination of player and dealer cards. Follow along with them, and your odds of winning will be drastically improved.
Your Cards | Dealer Cards | ||||||||
Hard Cards | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | J/Q/K | A |
4-9 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
10 | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | H | H | H |
11 | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | H | H |
12 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
13 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
14 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
15 | H | H | H | S | H | H | H | H | H |
16 | S | H | S | S | S | H | H | H | H |
17 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | H |
18+ | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
Your Cards | Dealer Cards | ||||||||
Soft Cards | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | A |
13 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
14 | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H | H |
15 | H | H | H | H | QD | H | H | H | H |
16 | H | H | H | H | QD | H | H | H | H |
17 | H | H | H | QD | QD | H | H | H | H |
18 | QD | S | QD | QD | QD | S | H | H | H |
19 | S | S | S | S | QD | S | S | S | S |
20 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
Your Cards | Dealer Cards | ||||||||
Splits | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | A |
2-2 | H | H | H | H | SP | H | H | H | H |
3-3 | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | H |
4-4 | H | H | H | H | SP | H | H | H | H |
5-5 | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | QD | H | H |
6-6 | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | H |
7-7 | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | H | H |
8-8 | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP |
JQK-JQK | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S |
A-A | SP | SP | SP | SP | SP | H | SP | SP | H |
Key:
- S – Stand
- H- Hit
- SP – Split
- QD – Quadruple (Double and Triple are also acceptable if your quadrupling is too hard on your budget)
My opinion about Power Blackjack
Power Blackjack is an entertaining variant of the classic Blackjack game. The side bets make the game much more exciting, but keep in mind that they are generally unfavorable to play. Side bets usually result in a lower RTP (Return to Player), but in some cases, they can lead to a great payout. The beauty of Blackjack is that, with the right strategy, you can significantly reduce the house edge. As a result, you can frequently have winning sessions.