The cheapest blackjack in Vegas is found off the Strip, with some casinos offering $5 tables with 3:2 blackjack. That’s as cheap as it gets in Sin City, but you can find even cheaper blackjack without leaving home.
The cheapest blackjack is found at online casinos. And other than the fact that all decks are shuffled between each hand, online blackjack is the same as the real thing.
Looking to play for longer while keeping more of your money? Here’s your guide to the most budget-friendly blackjack.
Find The Right Online Casino
The best online casino comes down to three factors:
- It’s legally licensed in your state.
- It offers your ideal variation of blackjack.
- It has an enticing welcome bonus.
If you’re in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, or West Virginia, then you have some high-quality, legal online casinos with tons of blackjack variations and lucrative welcome bonuses.
Unfortunately, nowhere else in the US has legalized online casinos, not even Nevada.
All legal online casinos will let you browse their options before you join. Check the info on the blackjack game to check the rules, which we’ll go over in the next section:
Identify The Best Blackjack Rules
Usually, the better the blackjack rules, the higher the table minimum. But that may not be the case with online blackjack, which often has great rules alongside low table minimums.
Here are the best rules in blackjack:
- Blackjack pays 2:1 (but 3:2 is still good)
- Early surrender
- Late surrender
- Fewer than 6 decks
- Double down allowed after splitting
- More than one draw after split aces
- Resplitting aces
If you can find a game with at least 3:2 blackjack and at least a few of the best blackjack rules, you’re golden.
Make Sure The Table Minimum Is $1 Or Less
If you’re paying $5 a hand, you might as well play in-person blackjack. You can also play Live Dealer blackjack at Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania casino sites, which is a real-life dealer streamed in from a physical table. But the bet minimum is usually $5 or more.
If you’re looking for the cheapest blackjack possible while still enjoying great rules, digital online blackjack is your best bet.
So if you’re joining an online casino specifically for blackjack, make sure the rules are good – but they’re not charged $20 or more per hand. If you’re a high-roller, then single-deck blackjack should be a no-brainer.
However, most of us are looking for a way to play 20 hands for the cost of your one hand.
The table minimums can usually be found under the info section of the game. You can also reach out to the online casino’s customer support team to double-check.
Practice Makes Perfect
The only way to enjoy the great payback, aka RTP (return to player), percentage of blackjack is to play with perfect blackjack strategy, which is easy when you use a blackjack strategy chart.
You can find blackjack strategy charts with a simple web search. However, blackjack strategy charts are based on the rules of the game you’re playing. For example, six-deck blackjack that allows early or late surrender will have a different chart than eight-deck blackjack that doesn’t allow surrenders. If you’re playing a blackjack variation that uses 4-8 decks and a rule forcing the dealer to hit on a soft 17, you can utilize the chart in our How to Play Blackjack guide.
Once you’ve found the right blackjack strategy chart, practice in demo mode. All legit online casinos allow you to play the games without risking any of your own money, so get the hang of the game before switching to real-money mode.
Where To Play Online Blackjack
The best places to play online blackjack are the legal online casinos with the most blackjack variations. That usually means the casino gives players a nice balance of options. That means the best sites and apps for online blackjack include:
- BetMGM (MI, NJ, PA, WV)
- Golden Nugget (MI, NJ, WV, coming soon to PA)
- FanDuel Casino (MI, PA, NJ, WV)
- BetRivers Casino (MI, PA, NJ, WV)
- DraftKings Casino (MI, NJ, PA, WV)
Play Real-Money Online Blackjack For Free
There are lots of online casinos for real money that offer no deposit bonuses and deposit bonus codes for users looking to join.
One of the biggest benefits of playing blackjack online is the welcome bonuses. These are introductory offers that give new players free money to play their games of choice.
However, make sure to read the terms and conditions for the bonus before taking advantage. Some online casinos limit bonus play to slots, but others allow players to use it for blackjack.
The same goes for the no-deposit signup bonus offers. Usually, this is slots only, but you may be able to find a few that apply to blackjack games.
Blackjack Promotions
Some of the most unique promotions offered by online casinos involve blackjack deals. Here are some of the best examples:
- Blackjack Leaderboard Tournaments: Compete against other blackjack players by earning points for every bet during the promotional period. The players with the most points win a share of the prize pool, which can be five figures or more.
- Free Blackjack For Betting On Sports: All-in-one betting sites as well as sites that offer both casino games and sports betting but not poker, will have cross-promotional offers. For example, you can earn a $5 sports bet at FOX Bet for playing $10 worth of blackjack, and you can receive a $5 sports bet at William Hill if you lose $5 playing blackjack on select nights.
- Weekly Blackjack Specials: Some online casinos have special days or times of day for blackjack play. Make sure to keep an eye on the various Promotions pages – when an online casino is offering day-of-the-week blackjack specials, they’ll often move that promotion to the top of the page when the time has come, but you may have to do some digging, especially if you’re planning ahead.
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