Buster Blackjack – Win When the Dealer Busts
When it comes to blackjack side bets, most of them will reward you for something that happens once in a blue moon, like getting two Queens of Hearts as your initial hand, or the combined total of your hand and the dealer’s up card being 21. This is not the case with Buster Blackjack online, though. This title’s side bet will actually pay you when the dealer busts. And as all blackjack veterans know, that will happen a lot. So, if you like playing side bets, this one is sure to tickle your fancy.
- Buster Side Bet
- Mobile-friendly User Experience
- Newcomer-friendly Rules Set
Down below, you will find our detailed review of Buster Blackjack. In it, we will analyse all the features and rules of the game and present you both its pros and its cons. Furthermore, you will find the basic strategy to use in order to lower the house edge as much as possible. And if you want to see the game in action, we have a video preview of it further down the page. In the end, no matter if this is your game or not, we will have relevant suggestions – either for a casino to play it at, or for other games to try. And once you finish with our review, you can also see which are the top blackjack sites in 2022.
Buster Blackjack Overview
| RTP: | 99.51%/ 93.80% |
| Blackjack Pays: | 3:2 |
| Number of Decks: | 6 |
| Dealer Rule: | Stand on Soft 17s |
| Dealer Peek: | Yes |
| Insurance: | Yes |
| Surrender: | No |
| Split: | Yes |
| Re-split: | No |
| Double: | Hard 9-11 |
| Double After Split: | Yes |
| Hit Split Aces: | Yes |
| Side Bets: | Yes |
| Multihand: | Yes |
When you look at the core gameplay of Buster Blackjack online, you will not see anything out of the ordinary. It is a standard six-deck game of blackjack with the dealer standing on soft 17s. Blackjack pays 3 to 2, doubling down is restricted to totals of nine, ten, or eleven, and the ability to split pairs. What’s somewhat unusual, but not that surprising is the ability to hit split aces as many times as you want.
The main selling point of the game, though, is not in the base gameplay. Let’s look at the Buster Blackjack payouts. It is the Buster side bet. It is an optional wager, in addition to the main one, that will award you different payouts when the dealer busts, depending on the number of cards they drew before that. The paytable is as follows:
- 3 or 4 cards pays 2 to 1;
- 5 cards pays 4 to 1;
- 6 cards pays 18 to 1;
- 7 cards pays 50 to 1 if you have no blackjack and if you do have one, it skyrockets to 800 to 1;
- 8+ cards pays 250 to 1 with no blackjack on your side and the massive 2,000 to 1 otherwise;
As you can see, you can make some pretty good coin off this side bet. Of course, the chances for that are not great, so we wouldn’t count on the side bet alone in this case. And yet, it’s good to know that the possibility is there.
Basic Strategy to Use
If you take a look at the basic strategy chart below, you will notice that it’s not at all complicated. In fact, due to the doubling down restrictions, the soft totals area of the chart is the easiest one you will see in an ordinary blackjack game. The hard totals portion, on the other hand, is pretty much standard. So, this makes Buster Blackjack a great game for newcomers. It will provide them with a chance to learn to play with a strategy chart, without having them memorise complex tables. Also, this strategy chart drives the return-to-player percentage all the way up to 99.51%.
And yet, while the strategy chart helps you minimise your losses, it doesn’t give you an advantage. The house edge still remains, albeit very small. If you want to give yourself some sort of an advantage, though, there are other ways to do it. Claiming a bonus and playing with that is a great example. Luckily for you, LeoVegas casino features an awesome welcome bonus, tailored specifically for bargian hunters. The casino will give you the chance to win up to £100 in real money. You will also receive 20 wager-free spins on Book of Dead, if you want to try your hand at slots for free.
Video Preview and Game Demo
Usually, when we explain the rules to you and provide you with a strategy chart, we give you a free demo to try them at. However, this time we cannot do that with the Buster Blackjack online, but we have embedded a video preview of the game in action down below. And yet, if you are still eager to give the game a go yourself, you can head on over to LeoVegas. The casino was kind enough to provide a free demo version of the game for everyone to try, so you don’t even need an account to test it.
Most of you probably know this already, but there is no better way to check if a game fits your preferences than trying it yourself. A review, as full as it may be, cannot capture the game in its entirety, as gaming is about the experience. Furthermore, reviews are written by human beings and while we try to be as objective as humanly possible, we still give you our perspective on things. Your impression of a title could be different from ours, so it is always a good idea to play the demo before you invest time and money into a game.
Final Recommendations
No game is perfect and this rings true for Buster Blackjack as well. So, if you don’t like the game, maybe we can interest you in some other titles? 6 in 1 Blackjack, for example, features the exact same base game, but gives you a choice of six different side bets to mix and match however you like. On the other hand, Blackjack Professional Series features only a single, rather bland side bet, but has awesome graphics and extremely solid main game. And Pontoon is just in a league of its own, so you might want to check out its full review.
And if you like the game enough to bet some real money on it, we have you covered. We suggest you head on over to LeoVegas and claim their welcome casino bonus. It feautres a nice package of up to £100 and 20 wager-free spins that you can get at any of your 1st-2nd deposits, while the RNG blakcjack tables offer 10% contribution towards the wagering requirements of 35x. Furthermore, the casino offers an unparalleled mobile experience, so you cannot go wrong with LeoVegas when playing Buster Blackjack online!