WagerWorks Online Power Blackjack

Published: January 24, 2013

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Some online blackjack players prefer the standard land casino variants and these are offered by all software providers. Other players like variety and innovative features. For them software providers tweak the rules, but take care to preserve the average returns. It for such players that the leading software provider WagerWorks has created an online blackjack variant titled Power Blackjack. It can be licensed by online casinos as an instant play game through the WagerWorks remote gaming server.

One of the highlights of Power Blackjack is the Power Double feature, which gives players a second chance. When they double down on an initial hand value 9, 10, or 11, they can ask for a replacement of the double down card. The replacement facility is not available for double down on other two-card hands. The second feature is Power Split. When players are initially dealt a hard 15 or 16 players can split this weak hand into two separate hands to improve their chances. In normal blackjack variants the Split is valid only when the initial cards are of the same rank. Hence Power Blackjack gives players the power to improve their chances of winning in certain circumstances.

In order to be fair to the online casinos that offer this blackjack variant some of the usual benefits have to be downgraded to level the playing field. In Power Blackjack only one rule is changed to favor the online casino. If the dealer ends up with a hand value of 22 he does not bust as he would in regular online blackjack variants. The bet pushes and the player’s stake is returned. The payout for blackjack remains at 3 to 2. The normal Split rules are as follows. A split hand leading to a two card value total of 21 is not a blackjack. When aces are split, only one additional card is dealt to each hand. In other cases the players may re-split each split hand once. Players may also double down on the first two cards of any split or re-split hands. Players can take Insurance in the normal manner when the dealer’s face up card is an ace. The dealer stands on all hand values of 17. With these rules Power Blackjack offers an average return to player of 99.77%, which is comparable with the return in normal online blackjack variants. However, in order to achieve this return, players will have to wager with optimum strategy. If players make incorrect moves their returns will fall.

The regular WagerWorks table game features have been incorporated in Power Blackjack. The speed of game play can be adjusted using the Speed setting. The Normal mode has animated card dealing and is preferable for new players. Expert players can increase the speed through the Turbo mode which eliminates certain animations. The audio consisting of the dealer’s voice and game sound effects may be enabled or disabled as per the player’s choice. The quality of the graphics can be set to one of four options. Those players with high Internet speeds should set the quality to Best, but those with low connection speed should set the quality to Low. The graphics quality will fall but the smoothness of the game play will be preserved.

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