Power Blackjack is quite popular and can be found throughout casinos in Las Vegas, as well as in the State of Washington. It can also be found at online casinos, those that are run by WagerWorks. There are differences in the rules that are used by WagerWorks and those used by offline casinos, we will discuss these differences. The one similarity is that it uses six decks.
Power Blackjack Offline Casino Rules
Power Blackjack is dealt just like a regular blackjack game. Players are given two cards, while the dealer gets a card face down and a card face up. The rest of the rules, like dealer offering insurance when showing an Ace, as well as checking to see if they have a blackjack. Other same rules include:
- Dealer stands on all 17.
- Players may double down after splitting.
- Players can split cards up to four time, excluding the Ace, which can only be split once.
- Surrender is not allowed.
- If the dealer gets a 22, like in Blackjack Switch, all players that are still in the game will push.
These rules are just like blackjack, with the exception of two important rule changes in Power Blackjack, which are Power Double Down and Power Split.
Power Double Down
When a player is dealt a 10 or 11 hand, they may use the Power Double Down. If the player decides to Power Double, they will double their bet and get dealt an additional card. However, if the player receives an undesirable card, they can get rid of the card and get the next card from the top of the shoe. The card that was discarded is out of play. No matter what the replacement card is, the player is stuck with it. They can’t get the discarded card back or get another card. Players cannot Double Down after making a split, but they are allowed to use the regular double down.
The best strategy would be for a player to always make a Power Double when they receive a 10 or 11. This will allow the player to exchange the card if they were ever given a non-desirable card and you can replace it if needed.
Power Split
Power Blackjack gives players the opportunity to split the two worst hands that a player can receive when playing blackjack. If a player has a 15 or 16, they can split their hand, regardless of whether they are pairs or not. If a player is dealt a third card, and their hand totals 15 or 16, they may not Power Split. After a player makes a Power Split, they can do a regular double down, but not a Power Double. Players can only Power Split once per hand, but they can use a regular split with paired cards more than once.
WagerWorks Rule Differences
WagerWorks deals the cards in a European style, where the dealer is only given one card, face up. The dealer will not receive their second card until all of the players have finished playing. This means that if the dealer gets a blackjack, all of the player bets made will lose, unless they have a natural blackjack.
Another big rule difference WagerWorks uses is allowing players to Power Double on 9 through 11, this includes soft 19 and 20. This would allow players to change their strategy, and possibly Power Double on more hands than usual.
