How to Play High Streak Blackjack: Rules, Strategy & Odds
High Streak Blackjack is a variation of traditional blackjack with a slight twist. Players have the ability to earn big bonuses on a side bet if they can get on a high winning streak. The side bet is only an option when the player has won the previous hand. The more fortuitous a player becomes, (i.e. the more hands a player wins in a row), the more lucrative the bonus payout can be; up to 10x the side bet for a 5-win hot streak.
This blackjack variant can be found at a multitude of online casinos, especially those powered by Microgaming. Other sites have a similar version known as Hot Streak Blackjack. The rules and payouts are basically the same, but the minutiae detailed below apply specifically to High Streak Blackjack as found at Microgaming online casinos.
Variations in the rules of High Streak Blackjack include the following:
- High Streak Blackjack is played with two standard decks of 52 playing cards. Unless you find this game at a live casino establishment, don’t bother trying to count the cards. Online casinos reshuffle the shoe with each passing hand.
- A player is permitted to double down on any hand total of 9, 10 or 11, regardless of how many cards it contains. To double down, the player is required to double the size of their initial wager. One additional card is then dealt to the hand, after which the player must stand on the total. Double down rescue is not an option.
- Splitting is only allowed once per hand on cards of the exact same rank and value (i.e. splitting a Jack + Queen is not allowed). A player can split Aces and may take as many cards as they wish on the resulting hands. However, split Aces cannot result in a natural blackjack.
- The dealer will accord to the following rules: The dealer must hit any total of 16 or below, and must stand on a total of 17 or above, even a Soft 17 (any hand of 17 with an Ace valued at 11). High Streak Blackjack is a standard hole card game, meaning that one of the dealer’s cards is face down and the other face up. If the dealer’s exposed card is an Ace, Face Card or 10, players are offered an option to buy insurance at a rate of half their original wager amount. The dealer will peek for blackjack before the hand proceeds.
- If the dealer has blackjack, all insurance bets are paid 2 to 1, but the original bets are lost. If the dealer does not have blackjack, all insurance bets are collected and the game carries on in normal fashion.
High Streak Blackjack Pay Table
- Natural Blackjack Pays 3 to 2
- Insurance Pays 2 to 1
- Beating the Dealer Pays 1 to 1
High Streak Blackjack Bonus Side Bet
The High Streak Bonus is a special side bet that can only be made after the player has won the previous hand. In order to win this bet, the player must win at least two hands in a row, including the previous hand and the current hand on which the side bet is being placed. The bonus side bet offers the following payouts, based on the length of a player’s winning streak.
- Winning 2 Consecutive Hands Pays 1 to 1
- Winning 3 Consecutive Hands Pays 2 to 1
- Winning 4 Consecutive Hands Pays 5 to 1
- Winning 5+ Consecutive Hands Pays 10 to 1
Note: Be careful about splitting hands in High Streak Blackjack as one losing hand will destroy a hot streak even if the other hand wins.