From a lesser known game developer called Golden Rock Studios, Back Blackjack introduces a new way to use side bets by adding another dynamic.
This makes it possible to win a minimum of 8x your bet and a maximum of 264x your bet, depending on how the side bets plays out.
It’s a fairly usual blackjack variation aside from this additional bet, using 6 decks of cards and with blackjack paying out at the regular 3:2.
The game is digital so uses an RNG to determine each outcome.
How to Play
It is possible to play up to five hands at a time on this game (3 if playing on mobile), and the minimum bet is £1 per hand.
Players must place a main bet of at least this amount in order to play the game, and a side bet cannot be placed and played unless this criteria has been met.
In terms of rules, it’s all very familiar:
- Dealer stands on soft 17
- Played with 6 decks
- Doubling available on any hand except split Aces
- Surrender not available
- Insurance not available
- Only one split per hand
- One card dealt to split Aces
So no big surprises in the base game.
Players simply choose a chip value from 10p to £5,000, then click on the hands they want to play, with each click adding another chip of the chosen value.
This can be altered as many times as needed before the player hits the ‘Deal’ button to start the game.
The betting area for the base game the the larger of the two circles, with the smaller being the area to place any chips on the side bet.
Blackjack Side Bet
The minimum bet on the main game is £1, but you can bet as little as 10p on the blackjack side bet, or back bet, so it’s possible to give it a go without seeing your balance deplete too quickly.
By utilising the side bet you are wagering that either you or the dealer will get blackjack (not just 21).
Should this happen, you will be paid out at a minimum of 8x your side bet stake, but there is a chance to increase that payout dramatically. Albeit a slim one.
Three dice will be rolled, and if all three dice land on the same number then the payout improves as follows:
| Result | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 , 1, 1 | 11x |
| 2, 2, 2 | 22x |
| 3, 3, 3 | 33x |
| 4, 4, 4 | 44x |
| 5, 5, 5 | 55x |
| 6, 6, 6 | 66x |
This applies when only one hand of blackjack is evident on the table.
However, should both the dealer and the player get blackjack, these multiples will be quadrupled so the payouts would be as follows:
| Result | Payout |
|---|---|
| 1 , 1, 1 | 44x |
| 2, 2, 2 | 88x |
| 3, 3, 3 | 132x |
| 4, 4, 4 | 176x |
| 5, 5, 5 | 220x |
| 6, 6, 6 | 264x |
The thing about this side bet is that you need to get lucky twice at the same time to hit any of the bigger payouts; you need a blackjack and then you need to roll the same number on 3 dice.
RTP
Your basic game of blackjack should have an theoretical return to player percentage of 99.5% when using basic strategy, it is ever so slightly lower here at 99.43%.
Side bets are often used by casinos to make games more profitable and as such have lower RTP’s and that is certainly the case here.
The RTP of the Back bet is 97.14%, but that could be a bit misleading since a lot of it will come from the very occasional big win of 264x, which not many players will see. For most people then, they will experience a much lower RTP during their time playing using the side bet.