Blackjack is played somewhat differently in the land casinos of America and Europe. One of the significant differences lies in how the dealer’s cards are dealt. In American casinos the dealer deals himself two cards, one of which is face up and the other is face down. The face down card is called the hole card. In the European land casinos the dealer deals himself only the face up card. The hole card is not dealt at all. Therefore the European version of blackjack is sometimes referred to as the “no hole” variation. This is not a cosmetic variation. It has an important bearing on the game play and strategy. Online casinos that are predominantly America facing usually offer only the American variant. However, online casinos having significant clientele in Europe offer both variants and hence online players should understand the implication of these differences.

In American variants of blackjack if the dealer’s face up card is an ace or a ten value card, the hole card comes into play before the player makes his usual moves. If the face up card is an ace the player has the option of placing the insurance bet. The dealer then checks the hole card for blackjack. If the dealer has a blackjack then the players lose their original wagers. Players who had placed the insurance bet are paid out on that bet. If the dealer does not have a blackjack then the players lose the insurance bet and the game proceeds as normal.

If the face up card is a ten value card then the insurance bet does not come into play. The dealer checks his hole card for blackjack. If he has a blackjack the players lose their wagers. If the dealer does not have a blackjack then the game proceeds normally.

In European blackjack if the dealer’s face up card is an ace, the players have the option of placing the insurance bet as in the case of American blackjack. However the dealer cannot immediately check for blackjack because there is no hole card. After all the players have made their moves and have busted or are standing the dealer deals his second card face up. The original bets are evaluated in the normal manner. If the dealer eventually has a blackjack the insurance bets win, otherwise the insurance bets lose.

Apart from the difference in game play, the variation in the treatment of the hole card has strategic implications for the players. In the course of the game play the players may want to place additional wagers while splitting or doubling hands. In American variants the players have to make this decision after the dealer checks for blackjack and finds that he does not have one. Hence players can be more aggressive in their split and double moves because they cannot lose these additional bets to a dealer blackjack.

In European blackjack the situation is that the dealer’s face up card could be an ace or a ten value card and he could end up with a blackjack. In that event the player will not only lose the original wager, but also the split or double wagers to a blackjack because these wagers have to be placed before the dealer’s second card is exposed. Hence the player has to wager more conservatively.