Vegas Downtown Blackjack

Vegas Downtown Blackjack is virtually an identical twin to the game of blackjack. The game is played with 2 standard 52-card decks. After each hand is completed, the deck is reshuffled. Players are dealt two cards each. The first objective is to obtain a hand that beats the dealer’s hand. The second objective is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over which is also known as “busting.”

As many people will know, there are several variations of the blackjack game available to play, and this particular version gained its named as it is somewhat based around the land-based game that can be found in the Downtown area of Las Vegas.

Vegas Downtown Blackjack can now be found on numerous different online gaming platforms, and since its appearance has become one of the more preferred versions as it has one of the lowest house edges and exceptionally liberal rules when it comes to playing the game.

Vegas Downtown Rules

Obviously, being a a blackjack game, a lot of the rules surrounding playing Vegas Downtown are similar to the classic version of it. However, what rules make this particular variant different?

• Vegas Downtown Blackjack is played with two decks of cards only
• The dealer stands on hard 17 and above but hits on soft 17
• Players may double down on any initial 2-card hand
• Players may double down after splitting
• Players mat re-split to a total of three hands
• The dealer is able to peek at his face-down card for blackjack when his face up card is an Ace
• Players may play one bet position

Because the game is only played with two decks, many card counters prefer this over other versions of blackjack, thanks to the simplicity it brings. The fact that players also get to double down on any initially dealt hands and after splitting is also an added boon.

Difference Between Vegas Strip and Vegas Downtown Blackjack

Vegas Downtown is not to be confused with the similarly named Vegas Strip Blackjack. There are a couple of differences between the two variations. For a start, Vegas Strip Blackjack is played with four decks of cards as opposed to two, while the dealer must stand on soft 17 only in this game. Rules surrounding doubling down and re-splitting are exactly the same, as is the fact that the dealer can peek at his cards to see if he has blackjack should he be dealt a face up Ace.

Players may also only play one bet position in Vegas Strip Blackjack as well. So, while the only two rule differences are those relating to decks played with and dealer standings, these subtle differences are enough to make a difference. For a start, it means that the game is that bit harder for card counters when it comes to Vegas Strip, thanks to there being four decks.