Uncommon but not unexciting, Pirate 21 Blackjack is a variation of one of the real money casino Australia’s classic card-comparing games. It features a number of rules that don’t apply to classic Blackjack, and allows players to not only play multiple hands simultaneously, but place optional side bets as well.
The game also uses what’s known as a Spanish deck, which is a standard deck of playing cards from which all 10s have been removed. Six such decks are used in a game. The decreased chances of a blackjack being dealt is compensated for by a range of side payouts offered by the game, for which players do not need to place side bets
The various departures from the rules mean that regular strategies just won’t cut it. However, the rules are still quite simple, so players should be able to work out new strategies in no time at all.
Familiar Basics in Pirate 21 Blackjack
Being a version of 21, it is only fitting that online Pirate 21 Blackjack retains a few basic elements of the parent game. For starters, the player’s ultimate goals remain unchanged.
The player needs to not only beat the dealer’s hand, but also bring the value of their hand of cards as close to 21 as possible, without going bust, which is to exceed 21.
The game retains the familiar flow of play in which the player and dealer are each dealt two cards, and whereby the player can take a third card, split their hand into two hands, not take more cards, or double their bet.
Pirate 21 Match Side Bet
One of the first big differences between online Pirate 21 Blackjack and the classic game that the player might notice is the Match Side Bet.
The side bet is optional, and if the player wishes to place it, they would do so once they have placed their opening bet. There’s nothing complicated about the side bet, and does not influence the game itself in any way.
In placing this optional wager, the player bets that one of the dealer’s cards will match one of their own. In some versions, the player receives a payout of four to one if the dealer’s card is of the same value, but of a different suit, or receives a payout of nine to one if the dealer’s card matches both the value and the suit of the player’s card.
Features of the Game
Some of the features unique to Pirate 21 Blackjack could work in the player’s favour, and include rules regarding blackjacks, ties, doubling, and splitting, as well as various side payouts.
If the player and the dealer are both dealt blackjacks, the player’s blackjack wins, and if the player and the dealer tie on other hands, the win also goes to the player.
In this game, the player can double down on as many cards as they please, and they can double down after splitting a hand, including on split aces. It’s also important to note that the player can re-split aces in Pirate 21 Blackjack.
In addition to the jackpot won by making 21, the player could also receive a side payout, depending on the cards that comprise their hand.
Side payouts are offered for 21 made up of five cards, six cards, or seven or more cards, as well as for a six-seven-eight mixed suits combo, a triple seven mixed suits combo, a six-seven-eight same suit combo, a triple seven same suit combo, an all-spades six-seven-eight combo, and an all-spades triple seven combo.
