Free Double & Split Blackjack Review
A buddy and I once found a two-for-one pizza 🍕 coupon in the mail, and for about 5 seconds we felt like geniuses. Then came the hard part. Who gets the free pie, and who covers the tip when the bill shows up?
We spent longer splitting the savings than we spent eating, and by the end the coupon 🎟️ had saved us less than the argument cost us in cold crusts.
Thankfully, Beterlive settles the splitting argument before anyone sits down in Free Double & Split Blackjack.
Gameplay
The table sits in a dark green and gold lounge, with teal neon strips running down the walls, glass display shelves and big palms in gold-rimmed green pots on both sides. Behind the dealer, a glowing vertical light panel does its best to look important.
The dark charcoal felt saves you a trip to the rules menu, since the house rules are printed right on it: free split on 2 to 9 and Aces, free double on hard 9 to 11, dealer pushes on 22 and dealer stands on soft 17.
A live dealer runs the show in an unlimited player format, so nobody gets turned away no matter how many players join a round. The cards come out of 8 decks of 52.
Cards from 2 to 10 count at face value, Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth 10, and the Ace flips between 1 and 11, whichever helps the hand more.
The dealer takes 1 face-up card and 1 face-down hole card. When that face-up card is an Ace, the dealer checks the hole card for a Blackjack, but only once Insurance decisions have closed.
From there, the dealer keeps drawing until reaching 17 or higher and stands on every 17, soft 17 included. Bust and the bet's gone, while equal totals end in a push that hands it back.
A Blackjack (an Ace plus a 10-value card as your first 2 cards) pays 3:2 when the dealer doesn't have one too, and it's a push if they do. Any other winning hand pays 1:1.
Hit draws 1 more card and Stand keeps the hand as it is. Double steps in on eligible hands whenever Free Double isn't on offer, and it takes a second bet equal to the first for exactly 1 more card.
Split is the paid version here, saved for pairs of 10-value cards (10, Jack, Queen and King), and it takes a second bet equal to the first. You only get to split once, a split hand can't be doubled, and split Aces receive 1 card each.
An Ace plus a 10-value card on a split hand counts as a plain 21 and pays 1:1, not 3:2. Insurance shows up when the dealer's face-up card is an Ace, costs half the original bet and pays 2:1 if the dealer has a Blackjack.
Take too long and the decision timer makes the call for you, hitting on a total of 11 or lower and standing on 12 or higher.
Looking at the stats, you get a 98.25% RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.
RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate., a low volatility rate, an 876x max multiplier and a max win capped at $53,950.
Features
FREE DOUBLE
A hard 9, 10 or 11 on your first 2 cards qualifies, meaning a hand with no Ace or with the Ace counted as 1. The house drops a free bet equal to your original one next to it, and the hand gets exactly 1 more card.
Win and both bets pay, lose and only the original bet is gone, and on a push only the original comes back while the free bet quietly disappears.
A 5-5 qualifies for both Free Double and Free Split, so you get to pick your favorite.
FREE SPLIT
Any pair from 2-2 through 9-9, plus A-A, qualifies. Your original bet stays on the first hand, the house covers the second with a free bet of the same size, and each hand gets 1 more card before playing on its own.
Winning hands pay as normal and a losing free hand costs you nothing extra. The one catch is a push on the free hand, which loses the free bet instead of returning it.
PUSH ON 22
This is the trade-off for all that free stuff. When the dealer finishes on exactly 22, every active hand that isn't a blackjack becomes a push, so the original bet comes back and any free bet is removed.
Player Blackjacks still win and hands that are already busted still lose. If every hand busts, the dealer doesn't bother drawing any cards.
SIDE BETS
Four optional side bets sit around the main bet spot, Dealer Bust, Lucky 3, Pairs and Poker 3. There's also an ALL SIDE BETS button below the bet spots.
Dealer Bust
Dealer Bust is the bet for anyone who enjoys watching the dealer bust. It wins when the dealer's final hand exceeds 21, and the more cards in that busted hand, the bigger the payout.
Lucky 3
Lucky 3 takes your first 2 cards plus the dealer's face-up card, in any order. Suited 777, Suited 678, Unsuited 777 and Unsuited 678 pay 500:1, 200:1, 100:1 and 25:1, respectively.
Further down the list, a Suited 21, an Unsuited 21, any 20 and any 19 pay 15:1, 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1, respectively.
Pairs
Pairs wins when your first 2 cards match up. A Suited Pair (same rank and suit), a Colored Pair (same color, different suits) and a Mixed Pair (different colors) pay 25:1, 12:1 and 6:1, respectively.
Poker 3
Poker 3 turns your first 2 cards and the dealer's face-up card into a poker hand. Suited Trips, Straight Flush, Three of a Kind, Straight and Flush pay 100:1, 40:1, 30:1, 10:1 and 5:1, respectively.
Performance
Splitting one pizza took us an hour, but this table never stalled once and dealt every round without a hiccup.
Maximum Win
The max win is capped at $53,950, the max multiplier sits at 876x, and the top bet runs all the way up to $5,200. If that's a bit rich for you, the smallest bet you can place is $1.
Conclusion
Free doubles and splits help stretch the main hand, since a win on either pays both bets while a loss only ever costs you the original.
The fattest payout on the screens is Suited 777 on Lucky 3, and even that falls short of the 876x max multiplier.
The cap works out to about 10 times the top bet, so the full max multiplier only fits under it on a bet of roughly $62 or less. Bet bigger than that and the cap gets there first.
Push on 22 is the price of all those free bets, because every dealer 22 turns what would've been a winning hand into a push.
A 98.25% RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.
RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate. means you should be able to settle in for a long night in the lounge. Low volatility and an 876x max multiplier fit together nicely too, since a gentle table isn't supposed to throw haymakers.
Basic-strategy players who want a steady, low-swing table with free extra bets on tap are the target. Players chasing a huge multiplier off a single hand should pass, and so should anyone hunting Free Spins or a bonus round.
Slot Details
Game Provider: Beterlive
Game Type: Video Slots
PaylinesPaylines are preset lines that run across the reels, and when you land matching symbols on them, that will result in a payout. The more paylines, the more ways you can win, but also the higher your bet per spin.: N/A
RTPRTP stands for “Return to Player.” The RTP describes the total bet amount that a game returns to players over millions of spins, and that figure is represented by a percentage. Table games, such as Roulette, typically have higher RTPs than many slots.
RTP needs to be considered in conjunction with a game’s volatility rate.: 98.25%
Volatility RateSlot games can have low, medium, high, or extremely high volatility rates (or a combination thereof).
The less volatile the game, the more often it should pay out, but the lower the amount, the less the payout, as this is in keeping with the risk you’re taking. Volatility rate should be considered in conjunction with a game’s RTP.: Low
Bonus Round: No
Progressive: No
Free Rounds: No
Max Multiplier: 876x
Max Win: $53,950
Published by
BitStarz, award-winning Bitcoin Casino
