Multi-hand European Blackjack Gold

Microgamings "European Multi-Hand Blackjack Gold" is, to the best of my knowledge, identical to the "Premier Blackjack" game more commonly found in their flash based casinos. I am unsure why they do not synchronize this naming convention between their various softwares, but alas, please consider this review equally applicable to "Premier Blackjack", "European Blackjack Gold", and "European Multi-Hand Blackjack Gold" at any Microgaming casino.

The major difference between "European" blackjack, and any other kind, is the "No Hole Card" rule - in the European game, the dealer receives only one card at the start of each round, and only receives his second card after the player has finished making decisions on each of their hands. In this particular version, this is an important rule to understand because should you choose to double or split your hands, you will lose the entire bet if the dealer should later turn over a Blackjack.

If you think that sounds like a bad deal, then bear in mind that in this game you may draw additional cards to split aces, which is extremely uncommon amongst American rules games.

Whilst this is not the lowest house edge blackjack on offer from Microgaming, it does happen to be the version I have had my most luck playing - in fact, the very first time I played this game I managed to amass over £1,000 from a £25 deposit in less than an hour.

The built in strategy guide is well programmed and tailored to the specific rules offered, which is very nice to see - no attempt is made to steal even a tiny percentage of house edge back from the player should they wish to use the autoplay function, or follow the advice given onscreen. It is also rare to find a double deck game that allows you to play up to five hands at once, and a small number of situations occur where it is appropriate to use composition dependent strategy (if playing five hands simultaneously) as a result - a real rarity online!

Mathematically, the shuffle after every hand benefits the player, but I'm sure I am not alone in failing to spot the "positive" effects of this rule in long term play. In fact, many players refuse to play this "cartoon" blackjack, and will insist on live dealer games if they wish to play blackjack online. This is understandable, and I can understand there suspicions, but nevertheless, I feel that Microgamings RNG Blackjack games are amongst the fairest offered online, and this one in particular has been very kind to me over a large sample size. Thoroughly recommended!

It's hard to put a downside on this game - Microgaming produce an excellent emulation of the blackjack card game, and I believe they offer a fair deal as well. Couple this with the great graphics and fast speed of play, and I cannot see why you would choose to play Blackjack anywhere else. The European ruleset may not be to everybody's taste, however!