Live Power Blackjack: What’s New in Latest Evolution Game?

Trying new things with existing casino games is a time-honoured tradition for live dealer software providers. Players are constantly looking for something new to entertain them. If it is similar enough for them to transfer their knowledge to the new release, all the better! Even high profile software providers like Evolution Gaming are not immune to this. After all, a blackjack variant is far easier to make than Crazy Time!

However, we do not want to undersell what the developer has created here. Live Power Blackjack decides to boldly toy with some fundamental aspects of this game. Some cards are no longer part of the deck while the dealer peeks for blackjack more frequently. Join us for a deep dive into Evolution’s latest blackjack table, and let us find out if it is worth playing.

Introducing Power Blackjack!

Live Power Blackjack is a shared experience, similar to Infinite Blackjack before it. That means all players share the same seat, but make different decisions for the drawn cards. Using this system, there is no need to wait for an empty seat on the table to join. You can jump in and out at your leisure without any worries.

If you are already familiar with online blackjack variants, you will know what to expect here. The developers have made a few changes to the fundamentals of the original game. For starters, all nines and tens have been removed from the decks. That means Power Blackjack’s eight-deck setup has 352 cards instead of 416. The dealer can peek for Blackjack if he has a jack, queen, king or ace. Most important of all, players can now double, triple or quadruple down on first two cards and splits!

Despite all these changes, some elements have stayed the same. Dealers still stand on both soft and hard seventeens. The game follows Vegas rules, and doubling is possible on any two initial cards. You can split any pair, but a pair of split aces will only get one card extra. The payouts for blackjack, insurance bets and standard wins remain 3:2, 2:1 and 1:1, respectively.

Power Blackjack Side Bets

On top of the standard bets, Evolution Gaming included several side bets. These are optional wagers. They allow you a high risk, high reward style of gameplay where you can win a lot more than the top Blackjack payout. Power Blackjack offers four side bets, which is more than we usually see in our Online Casino, Online Gambling & Variations coverage.

• Hot3 checks your first two cards and the dealer’s face-up card. It pays if they form a 19, 20, 21, or if they are all sevens. All sevens is the rarest of them all, and pays 100:1 if won!
• 21+3 also looks at the three face-up cards at the start of the round. Here, the goal is to form a valid three-card poker hand. The stronger the hand, the better the reward! The lowest possible score is a flush, worth 5:1, while the best prize is a 100:1 awarded by a suited trips win.
• Any Pair peeks at the player’s hand to determine whether their first two cards form a pair or not. A standard pair pays 7:1, while a pair whose suits match rewards a 20:1 payout.
• BustIt is all about making the dealer bust! The more cards the dealer draws before busting, the bigger your payout will be. This is the most valuable side bet, as it pays 250:1! Winning that prize will require a lot of luck, as you need the dealer to bust with eight or more cards!

Worth Playing?

At first glance, you may not find Power Blackjack to be what you are after. The published RTP for this Evolution Gaming release is 98.8%, lower than all their other blackjack variants. The removal of cards also forces punters to adopt a new strategy. Fortunately, the developers were kind enough to devise one that works with their new release!

However, frequent and small wins are not the way the software provider wants you to play this game. The ability to quadruple your wagers and access to four side bets reveals Power Blackjack’s true design. The goal is to adopt a higher risk approach. Greater chances of losing, but also bigger odds of winning big! If this sounds appealing to you, then this release is definitely worth checking out.