Evolution has been on a spree of multipliers recently. After the initial spree of lightning games introducing multipliers to beloved live dealer classics, the team took a break. Their focus shifted to game shows and all the exciting gameplay they could offer. Now, Evolution is back to finish what they started. One jewel was missing in the lightning series crown. With the introduction of Lightning Blackjack, that collection will finally be complete.
Evolution Lightning Blackjack Live: How to Play, Payouts & Features
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This game comes very quickly off the back of Golden Wealth Baccarat. That game showed us Evolution was not going to follow their usual model when adding multipliers. The same is true for Lightning Blackjack as well. Rather than just applying multipliers to cards, the team opted for a more creative solution.
How to Play Lightning Blackjack Live
The core gameplay of Lightning Blackjack matches the game we all know and love. You are dealt two cards and need to strategize your way into beating the dealer. The hand closest to twenty-one after the round ends is the winner. If your first two cards form a sum of twenty-one immediately, you receive a better payout. The fundamentals of blackjack remain the same. Evolution simply adds around said fundamentals.
First, every bet you place is subject to a lightning fee. The fee is set to be 100% of your current wager. If you bet $10, you will be wagering $20 on that round because of the lightning fee. The fee is always active and cannot be turned off. It serves as a way for Evolution to maintain the same RTP while introducing multipliers into the mix.
Every round, multipliers are randomly assigned a value ranging from 2x to 25x. Multipliers are not applied to cards. Instead, they apply to the hand results themselves. One multiplier will be applied to wins under 17, then a separate one for 18, 19, 20, 21, and blackjack. If your hand sum was a 19 and you win the round, you will receive the multiplier associated with 19.
However, you do not receive the payout from said multiplier immediately. Instead, the multiplier is carried over into the next round. If you win the following round, the multiplier you scored last round will increase its prize. Meanwhile, the win from your current round will produce a new multiplier, which is carried forward in the next round. If you lose, the multiplier will also be lost.
Lightning Blackjack Live Payouts
As we previously mentioned, Lightning Blackjack does not change any fundamental rules of blackjack. This also carries over to blackjack payouts. Standard wins pay 1:1 when won. Blackjack wins pay 3:2. If you choose to play insurance bets, they pay 2:1 when won. Multipliers are then applied to these prizes. However, there are some things worth bearing in mind.
First, the multiplier only covers the bet for the lightning fee you paid for. If you increase your wager for the next round, the multiplier will not apply for all of it. It will apply for the original wager, and the excess amount receives a standard blackjack payout. That means raising the stakes on the following round is not necessary. Just getting a second win with the same bet will net you the multiplier benefit.
What happens if you split your hand and both hands end up winning? In such a scenario, Lightning Blackjack will choose the best hand score and will increase its reward. We feel this is fair. After all, doubling down and splits are not subject to additional lightning fees when they are played.
In case a push happens or an insurance bet wins, you receive your main bet back. However, the lightning fee and multiplier are lost.
You do not have to play the multiplier immediately. It remains available for you over the next ninety days. As such, you can come back to Evolution’s release when you are feeling luckier.
Final Thoughts
We were quite curious to see how the developer would handle adding multipliers to blackjack. After having a chance to try Lightning Blackjack out, we are quite pleased with Evolution’s implementation. The lightning fee can feel steep at times. Even so, this release will be entering the livecasino24.com list of favourites. As such, we highly recommend trying it out when you have the opportunity to do so.
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