Canada’s Best Live Dealer Blackjack 2023

How Does Online Live Dealer Blackjack Work?

With live dealer blackjack, the action is streamed by webcam from blackjack tables in casino-like studios. You make your moves just as you would when playing any online blackjack game, except that your decisions are communicated to a professional.

The studios are kitted out with all the equipment required for powering the live dealer experience. From the lighting to the high-definition cameras to the software, there’s a lot of tech in place to ensure each game of live dealer blackjack runs smoothly. Live chat is often available too, allowing players to speak with the dealer and other players in the game. 

How We Review Live Dealer Blackjack Casinos

Here at BestOnlineCasinos, our recommendations come from carefully researching each site. Here are some of the important elements we take into account.

Licensing

Offshore casinos aren’t bound by any Canadian regulations, so is there a way to tell if a site is legitimate? Yes: by checking that the site is licensed by a reputable gaming authority such as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). Our reviewers will only ever recommend licensed sites, as this ensures a fair, secure online gambling experience. 

Payment Methods

When playing live dealer blackjack or any other casino games, It’s important that players can make deposits and withdrawals in their preferred way. Sign up for any of the casinos listed here and you’ll enjoy a choice of payment methods, from debit cards to e-wallets to pay by mobile services. 

Bonuses

Everyone likes to get a little extra for their money. That’s why the team at BestOnlineCasinos always looks out for generous bonuses for both new and existing members. In this section of our review, we also analyze the T&Cs for each bonus, giving top marks to the most player-friendly conditions.

Software Developers

Software developers are the secret stars of the iGaming world. These companies create the games you play at online casinos, and we like to see sites hosting games from a good range of developers, including live dealer specialists like Evolution Gaming and Pragmatic Play.

Range of Games

When it comes to casino games, variety is always a plus, so we look for casinos that offer a range of different live dealer blackjack games. On top of that, we ideally like to see a whole heap of other games too, from the latest slots to random number generated (RNG) versions of blackjack and other table games. 

Customer Support

If you ever have any questions about a casino site, or encounter glitches or issues, it’s good to know you can quickly contact customer services. When reviewing sites, we check how easy it is for members to get in touch with staff, and what hours they’re on call. The ideal service would be live online chat, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 

User Experience 

We place significant emphasis on the user experience at live dealer casinos, as there’s nothing worse than playing on a laggy and glitch-ridden platform. Live blackjack dealer games require top-level software to ensure smooth and enjoyable gameplay. Ideally, we would also like to see mobile compatibility through an app or optimized HTML5 website. 

Site Design

Live online blackjack casinos must showcase an intuitive and aesthetically pleasing site design to achieve the highest ratings. Our casino experts always take this into account during the review process. The online casino games should be easily accessible, with comprehensive FAQ sections and a clear representation of factors such as betting limits and payout options. We also look for dedicated live blackjack dealer game sections to make choosing a game to play easier.

Live Blackjack Online Software Developers

There are a few software developers that have carved out reputations for creating online blackjack live dealer games. Here are some of the names you might see. 

Live Dealer Bonuses

Most blackjack sites offer bonuses to their customers, and we’ve outlined some of these below. Whichever kind you get, it’s important to check the T&Cs, paying particular attention to wagering or playthrough requirements ‒ these stipulate the number of times you’ll need to bet your bonus amount before you can withdraw any winnings. 

Sign Up Offers

A sign up offer or welcome bonus is a one-off perk for new customers only. It usually takes the form of free spins, a matched deposit bonus, or both.  

Matched Deposit Bonuses

These bonuses involve the casino matching a proportion of your deposit with bonus credits, up to a certain maximum limit. You can then use these credits to play casino games, usually including live dealer blackjack. Let’s say there’s an offer of ‘100% up to $500’ ‒ in this case, depositing $100 would get you an extra $100 in bonus funds to use on all eligible games. 

No Deposit Bonuses

While most sign up bonuses are activated once you’ve made your first deposit, some casino sites will give you a no deposit bonus just for becoming a new member. These often take the form of free spins or bonus funds.

Free Spin Bonuses

Free spins are exactly what they sound like: a chance to spin the reels of certain slot games, for free. Even if you’re mostly a blackjack player, free spins can be a nice extra to enjoy. Just bear in mind that wagering requirements may apply to your free spins winnings.

How to Play Blackjack

Blackjack is pretty simple: the objective is to get a hand higher in value than the dealer’s, without exceeding 21. Face cards are all worth ten, while aces can be worth either one or 11. Blackjack begins with the player being dealt two cards. If they add up to 21, that’s a ‘natural’ or a blackjack, and the player automatically wins (unless the dealer also has a blackjack, in which case it’s a tie, or ‘push’).

If the player isn’t dealt a blackjack, they can choose to draw another card (‘hit’), stick with the hand they have (‘stand’), or split the hand into two separate hands if they have two cards of the same value (‘split’). The player can also ‘double down’, which means doubling their stake and drawing precisely one more card only.

The player will either go over 21, which means they lose the game, or they’ll choose to stand at some point. It’s then the dealer’s turn to play, and whoever ends up with the highest hand without busting is deemed the winner.

Blackjack Rules

We’ve outlined the standard gameplay above, but the exact rules of blackjack will vary depending on the variation you choose to play. For example, some games allow players to ‘surrender’ a poor hand, in which they forfeit a proportion of their bet and quit the round. The rules on doubling down may differ too – for example, in European blackjack, players can double down if their hand total is 9, 10, or 11.

There may also be a set rule on whether the dealer has to hit or stand on a soft 17, which is any hand featuring an ace counted as 11. There may also be all kinds of side bets which can add more complexity to the basic game. 

Blackjack Games

As we touched on above, there are many different varieties of live dealer blackjack. Here are some of the most popular.

American Blackjack

American blackjack is also commonly known as classic blackjack. The Return To Player (RTP) can hit up to 99.65%, although you’ll need to follow an optimal blackjack strategy to bring down the house edge. This involves memorizing the best moves depending on your starting hand and the dealer’s up card. It takes hard work, but it can be seriously effective. Bear in mind that the more decks in play, the lower the RTP. 

Generally speaking, American blackjack favours the player more than other variants. The main difference is that the dealer can immediately tell if they have a natural 21 before you place any extra wagers. Subsequently, there’s less chance of doubling down and losing more bankroll if the dealer already has a natural blackjack. 

The payouts during American blackjack are similar to other variants, although many live dealer software providers have added bonus bets and other special features to the gameplay. You can find the standard blackjack payout ratios below: 

• Natural Blackjack – 3:2 
• Insurance – 2:1 
• Winning Without Blackjack – 1:1 

All leading live blackjack dealer software providers offer at least one classic variant. Playtech, Pragmatic Play, and Evolution are commonly regarded as the gold standard for live dealer blackjack games, offering a rich variety of tables, multi-angle HD cameras, and exceptionally qualified croupiers. 

Our all-time favourites are Evolution’s Lightning Blackjack and Free Bet Blackjack. The former throws Lightning Card 2x–25x multipliers into the mix, while the latter offers free double down and free split bets.

European Blackjack

These variations give European blackjack a slightly lower 99.6% RTP than the American version. Nevertheless, it still resembles one of the best online casino games where average payouts are concerned. You’ll have to follow blackjack strategy guides to get the most out of this card game, so we recommend doing in-depth research and revision before playing with real money. 

This is particularly important when opting to split aces or other high-value cards during European blackjack. The insurance of knowing whether the dealer has a natural blackjack before upping the ante in the American version is no longer available. As a result, you must be more careful and consider the possibilities of the dealer’s potential hand with more scrutiny. The same goes for doubling down. You stand to lose far more during European blackjack, so it generally requires additional patience and understanding. 

On the flipside, this variant typically involves just two decks. This can differ with live blackjack online options, so it isn’t a given. Players have a better shot at card counting with just two decks in play, and with the absence of Random Number Generators (RNGs) in live dealer games, this can be an effective strategy if you can take advantage. The base payouts are largely the same as American blackjack, but software developers are known to add their own flourishes. 

Live blackjack dealer games are less likely to use the European rules nowadays, although Canadian players can still find this variant at many platforms. Playtech’s comprehensive Live Blackjack Suite offers the choice of European or American rules. All variants involve eight decks, but players can make side bets such as bet behind and perfect pairs.  

Vegas Strip Blackjack

Players looking for live blackjack dealer games with Vegas Strip rules generally have many options to choose from. However, many titles won’t explicitly mention “Vegas Strip” in the title, so you may have to do added research to find what you’re after. Playtech arguably has the most intuitive approach, allowing players to choose which rules they prefer before playing. 

There are several advantageous elements to Vegas Strip blackjack. For example, you can split cards up to three times (but only once for aces). Additionally, all high-value 10 cards can be split even if they aren’t the same (e.g. a king and a queen). This blackjack variant also has a more relaxed approach to doubling down, so you can have more success if you play your cards right. 

Blackjack Switch

Geoff Hall, a card counter and casino enthusiast, invented Blackjack Switch at the turn of the century and went on to patent his creation in 2009. It offers players a greater deal of flexibility and can boost the RTP to an impressive 98.54%. However, as with all blackjack variants, this massively depends on successfully following blackjack strategy principles. 

One thing to remember regarding Blackjack Switch is that natural 21s have a 1:1 payout instead of 3:2. This may put some players off, but the ability to switch your second cards can make it easier to hit a blackjack. Additionally, this exciting variant has an exclusive “Super Match” side bet. This can pay out a maximum of 40:1 if you have four of the same cards in your hands.