European Blackjack: Rules, Strategy and Expert Tips

Welcome to ‘European Blackjack’. This is an in-depth look at the differences and similarities between European Blackjack and American Blackjack, the two versions of the world’s most popular casino game.

Once you have read through this article, you will know the different rules and methods of play between the two versions, how those differences affect your play, and how the odds change based upon the different rules in place.

Let’s get started.

European Blackjack Basics

What is the major difference between European blackjack and American blackjack?

European blackjack is easily identified because the dealer only gives herself one card, face up as part of the initial deal.  

In American blackjack, the dealer gives herself two cards as part of the initial deal, one face up and the second, the hole card, face down under the face up card.

No hole card?  European Blackjack.

Hole card?  American Blackjack

As you know, Europe is a big place. It consists of 44 countries and multiple diverse regions.

Generally, online and land-based casinos are approved in most of those countries, but the laws vary by country,

This article focuses on the two main types of casino blackjack – the continental European blackjack prevalent across most of the continent including the UK, and how it’s different to the American version of blackjack played in many other parts of the world.  

And just because you’re not in Europe doesn’t mean that you can’t find yourself playing a European-style blackjack game.  

For example, the casinos in Macao all deal European blackjack.

And some of the European rules in place in Macao can be extremely liberal, so you can find a game with a House Advantage as low as 0.09%.

European Blackjack Rules

When doing the research for this article, I found several different versions of ‘European Blackjack Rules’ (EB) to choose from.

For example, some rules say a double down after a split is allowed and others say a double down after a split is not allowed.  

Some rules state that EB is dealt using two decks from a shoe, when I know for a fact that when I dealt this game in London, I was using a 6-deck shoe.  

Some rules say a late surrender is not allowed, but other rules say a late surrender is allowed but not if the dealer’s first card is an Ace.

And so on.  

Lots of variations to the rules – and some rules from different sources directly contradict each other.

I decided that the best way to get some clear information was to phone a casino in the UK to find out.  

So I did.

The first call was to The Victoria on the Edgware Road in West London.  

And the person who answered the phone told me that I could not speak to anyone in the blackjack department.  Not allowed.  Or the casino manager.  Too  busy. Or anyone who worked in management.  Not allowed. Or the cashier manager.  Not allowed. Or anyone else who worked there. Not allowed.  

I thought it was very odd for a business that relies on live customers.

So that was a surprise.

Next, I chose the London Barracuda club, at 1 Baker Street (yes, Sherlock Holmes’ neighborhood) and a 10-minute walk from the Vic.  

Immediately got put through to a blackjack supervisor, who gave me a very different picture of the rules.

I decided to choose the rules that seem to be the most common as confirmed by The London Barracuda but must warn the player of ‘caveat emptor’, which is a fancy way the Romans had of saying ‘check out the rules first, because they may be different to what you’ve been led to believe’.

Here are the European Blackjack rules that seem to be the most common:

The first four rules are consistent across all the sets of rules I found, but from #5 onwards, they may differ.

1. Dealers do not take a second initial card – the hole card. If the dealer gets a blackjack when they finally do get to take their second card, then the player loses everything they have bet, including doubles and splits.
2. Dealer stands on soft 17.
3. The player may only double on hard 9, 10, and 11 – except in the UK where they can double down on any first two cards.  
4. Blackjack pays 3 to 2.
5. The game is played using anywhere from 2 decks to 8 decks, but most casinos use a 6-deck shoe.  The Barracuda uses 6-deck continuous shufflers – which is actually a small plus for the players.
6. Double down allowed on any first two cards, and after a split (except Aces).
7. Aces can be split once, into 2 hands but no double down allowed on split Aces.
8. Players may split other pairs into as many hands as come up.  The supervisor I spoke to said he’d seen a player split into as many as 6 hands.
9. Surrender is allowed unless the dealer is showing an Ace.
10. Insurance is never offered, but if the player has a blackjack and the dealer an Ace up, the player is offered even money. No other hand can take Insurance – it’s simply not offered.
11. Only matching 10-value cards may be split – so queen/queen can be split, but jack/queen etc. cannot.  Having said that, I don’t remember anyone ever splitting a pair of face cards, either matching or not.

These rules with a Continuous Shuffle Machine would give a House Advantage to the casino of 0.63%.

When considered against a typical American Blackjack set of rules, including a 6-deck shoe with a cut card, the dealer hits a Soft 17 and other common American rules, the HA on that game would be 0.48%.

An overall difference of 0.15% - not ideal, but close enough to be acceptable to play against. 

European Blackjack Pros and Cons, and the Resulting Strategy

Below is a Basic Strategy chart for playing European Blackjack with the rules as stated above.

And below is the Basic Strategy Chart for the UK version of blackjack.

As you can see, there are a few rules in the UK version that are a bit of an eye-brow raiser. 

• Hit instead of double down with an 11 vs. a dealer 10?  
• Hit a pair of 8s vs split against a dealer 10, or Ace?
• Hit a pair of Aces vs. split them against a dealer’s Ace?

And here’s why!

When the dealer doesn’t deal themselves a hole card, and you’ve doubled down your 11, or split your Aces or 8s, if the dealer then pulls a blackjack, you lose not only your initial bet, but your split or double down bet as well.

The hand should be played as listed in the Basic Strategy charts because it is the mathematically correct way to play the hand, given the rules in place.

Here’s why!

Up until 2007 in the UK, you were not allowed to double down on any first two cards except a hard 9, 10, and 11.  

Which is still the rule they go by in much of continental Europe. 

It has to be stated here that when the UK first allowed legal casinos in the late 1960s, it was decided by lawyers and politicians with limited gambling knowledge but some serious benevolent paternalism in their hearts to protect the gamblers.

As the industry matured, everyone involved calmed down and became more sanguine about how the casinos were being run and the specter of organized crime involvement was fading. 

So in 2007, they changed the rules in the UK to allow the player to double down on any first two cards.  

And that’s why the UK Basic Strategy chart has many different options in the ‘Soft Hands’ section of the chart and the European Basic Strategy chart only has three. 

Because now you can double down on the soft hands in the UK – but you can’t in Europe. 

But as you can see from the UK Basic Strategy chart, there are some plays on the ‘soft’ hands that are different to the European Basic Strategy card. 

This is a direct result of the change in the laws, and allowed the players to double down on any first two cards in the UK, whereas they can still only double down on a hard 9, 10, and 11 in continental Europe. 

This has a particularly significant effect on the doubling down vs. a soft hand as you can see from the UK Basic Strategy chart, compared to the European Basic Strategy chart.

Both Basic Strategy charts are identical with the following exceptions:

Differences between European and American Blackjack

This table lists the most common differences between the two types of blackjack, and as you can see, there are many variations that are dependent on the casino that you happen to be playing in.  

Check the rules carefully before you jump in the game.

The one most important rule to look for is how much the casino pays for a blackjack.

A 6 to 5 payout for blackjack is a ‘don’t go there’ moment.

At 1.39% it really is difficult to overcome such a huge addition to the House Advantage.  
It is almost impossible to overcome.

You can still find a 3 to 2 game and most online games feature the 3 to 2 payout.

Expert Advice

House Advantage in European Blackjack Based on the Number of Decks in Use:

As you can see, the fewer decks in play, the better it is for the player.  So trying to find a game that uses fewer decks will definitely work in your favor.

Early Surrender

Early Surrender is your friend in a major way, if you can find a game where it is offered.

Here’s how to take advantage of Early Surrender if it’s offered on a blackjack game with European rules:

• Surrender if you have a hard 5 through 7 vs. a dealer Ace, including a pair of 3's.
• Surrender if you have a hard 12 through 17 vs. a dealer Ace, including a pair of 6's, 7's or 8's.
• Surrender if you have hard 14 through 16 vs a dealer 10-value card, including a pair of 7's or 8's.
• Surrender if you have hard 16 vs a dealer 9.

Blackjack pays 6 to 5

Just don’t play this game.  Instead of a regular blackjack game that typically has a House Advantage of approximately 0.5%, you’re now looking at an increase of 1.39% against you.  

Find a game that pays 3 to 2. It’s worth the extra effort.