All About Chinese Blackjack

Chinese Blackjack is a game that shares many similarities with other variants, but it has several stand out features that make it unique.

Chinese Blackjack is an incredibly popular game around Chinese New Year with many people playing it at home as part of the festivities. But you’ll also find it on offer all year round in many Asian casinos.

The reason for the strong link to the Chinese New Year, though, is because of Chinese Blackjack’s strong symbolisation of good luck and fortune – in addition, it is also seen as a great celebratory activity to engage with family and friends over that period.

Whilst the original Blackjack game is believed to have its roots in 18th century France, the beginning of Chinese Blackjack is a little less clear.

The widely accepted heritage story is that sometime around the late 20th century in Macau, a region of China famed for its stacked casino industry infrastructure, the game was born.

Objective of the Game & Blackjack Similarities

Like the more recognised worldwide version of Blackjack, Chinese Blackjack also sees players set out to have a hand total worth 21, or as close as possible.

Again, the similarities remain with the card values, with 2-10 representing their numbers in terms of scoring, Ace flipping between a one or 11 and picture cards being worth 10.

The initial setup between dealer and players is the same, too, with the player receiving two cards only visible to them, whilst the dealer reveals one of their two cards.

Hands and Side Bets

In both versions of the game, players will also be able to have the insurance side bet when a dealer has an upward-facing Ace as their first card.

Players are offered the opportunity to bet half their original wager that the dealer will hit blackjack (a card worth 10 in value to support their initial ace).

If they do, the player will win a 2:1 payout, however, if they hit anything between ace and nine i.e. not securing blackjack, the player loses that side gamble.

Key Differences

The unique rules and situational understandings are what give Chinese Blackjack that something special, and drive its popularity.

Five Card Charlie

The Five Card Charlie rule is one of those very quirks, which is activated when a player manages to obtain five cards in their hand that total 21 or less.

Such a hand gives the player an instant win, even if the dealer has a hand worth a greater total value i.e. if a player hits five cards totalling 16, but a dealer has 20, the player still wins.

Blackjack Payout

When a player hits a true blackjack in the original version of the game: an ace and a card worth 10 in value, they are awarded a 3:2 payout.

This isn’t the case in Chinese Blackjack, though, with it instead paying out 1:1, just like winning a hand any other way.

Special Hands

Chinese Blackjack often rewards hands that aren’t favoured to be revealed by the odds of probability, with additional payouts regularly made if a player hits a three of a kind or a straight flush.

Surrender!

In certain versions of Chinese Blackjack players are allowed to fold their hand, and surrender only half of their bet rather than the full amount should they play the hand and lose.

Although you can never know the turn of the cards, and therefore any outcome could be possible, if players start with two cards totalling 16, the perceived worst total in Blackjack, it may be worth cutting your losses.

Winning Combinations

If you’ve ever played this oriental variant, then you’ll know it has different winning combinations to almost every other version of blackjack. These are:

• Ban-ban – A very special hand in Chinese Blackjack, as reflected by the 3:1 payout. It occurs when a player is dealt two Aces and two 10-in-value cards in their first four cards.
• Ban-nag – An ace and a card that has a value of 10 (the same has blackjack in other variants). It pays out 2:1
• Free hand – This is a hand value of 15 and allows either the player or dealer to hand back their cards for them to be put back in the deck and re-dealt.
• 5-Dragon – Not to be confused with Five Card Charlie, which is a combination of any five cards that totals 21 or less, 5-Dragon is a specific combination of five cards that total 21 or less, and can alter from casino to casino.
• 7-7-7 – Players with three 7 cards can receive a payout of anything between 5:1 and 21:1, depending on house rules

There are also some differences with how the player and dealer having the same hands are dealt with.

• If both hold ban-ban, it’s a push.
• If both have ban-nag, the dealer wins
• A player with ban-ban beats a dealer with ban-nag
• If the dealer has 5-Dragon below 21, players must double their initial bets
• If the dealer has 5-Dragon 21, players must triple their initial bets

Other rules are the same as you would find in most other common blackjack games.

As you can see, Chinese Blackjack is a unique variant that’s made more exciting by its myriad of different outcomes.