One to many live dealer games

The term ‘one to many’ refers to the situation where a single deal (or spin in the case of roulette) caters for many players taking part in the game.

Live roulette and baccarat are easy to present as ‘one to many’ games by virtue of how the games work. Players place a bet and then the spin or deal takes place, with no further player decision making required and the one outcome applies to all. Simple.

But blackjack’s a very different game. Cards dealt to each player are played exclusively by that player and hit/stand/split/double down etc decisions must be made by each player during the course of the deal. For this reason live blackjack is mostly offered as a ‘one to not very many’ or to be more precise  ‘one to 7’ game . Each dealer deals to a maximum of 7 seated players (plus any bet behind players where this feature is available).

‘One to many’ blackjack

It’s true the rules of blackjack don’t make the game ideal to serve as a ‘one to many’ live game.  But this doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.  It can…and actually is by a few casinos.

Betphoenix, Smart Live Casino and the Vuetec casinos all offer a form of ‘one to many’ live blackjack.  The shots below are taken from a blackjack game at Betphoenix and they illustrate how one dealer deals to many players as well as a couple of other points about this type of game.

1. Typically available in Fun or Free play mode

The below game was not played with real money.  Free play is rare in live gaming because its an expensive format to offer…dealers cost money and casinos don’t to pay them to deal to play-money players.  More players = more required seats = more required dealers. Unless it’s a ‘one to many’ game when it doesn’t matter how many players (free or money) are taking part. For this reason, the same casinos that offer live dealer free play usually have one to many type games.

2. Dealer deals only one player hand

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re the only player playing the game.  But you’re not.

I choose to stand on 7 (which I clearly wouldn’t normally do) to show how a single deal accommodates many players.

3. Other players are selecting their next move

While I stand on 7, other players participating in the game will make the far better decision to hit.

4. Hit cards for other players come out

See the 10 card.  That’s for other players who chose to hit and not the knucklehead (me) who sat on 7.

Cards will continue to be dealt out to the ‘player’ hand while there are players out there needing more cards based on their hit/split/double down choices.

Getting comfortable with this altered deal convention doesn’t take too long.  And your cards are always presented on the virtual graphic to avoid any confusion anyway.

So what do we think of ‘one to many live blackjack‘

Well it ain’t for the purists.  I mean its a departure from the 7 seat/player game that traditional casinos offer so it doesn’t feel as real.  But it’s fast.  If slow play bugs you then you may struggle with a full 7-seat live table – especially where players are taking their time or are a bit inexperienced.

It’ll no doubt be offered by the major platforms in time because it’s a great way to service an unlimited number of players with only one dealer. Playtech are testing a one-to-many live blackjack game that should go live at bet365 some time soon.