Multihand Blackjack 5 by Playtech

A. Antonova (editor) | 13th January 2024

Casino software powerhouse Playtech is famed for creating authentic table games that offer life-like experience to players who prefer to place their bets from the comfort of their surroundings. Multihand Blackjack 5 is just one of the numerous examples of the developers’ expertise. The game poses as a great alternative for players looking for more action as it enables them to bet on up to five hands concurrently.

Multihand Blackjack 5 borrows its rules from the hugely popular variation Atlantic City Blackjack and attracts fans of the game of 21 with realistic visuals, smooth animations, and immersive sounds. The Playtech developers have equipped this blackjack variation with a number of neat features that enhance one’s gameplay and allow players to customize the game in accordance with their personal preferences.

Other than that, Multihand Blackjack 5 offers rather favorable rules and has also been optimized for mobile play which is to say you can attack the virtual blackjack tables from any location you prefer.

Visuals and Layout

The software specialists at Playtech are highly acclaimed in the industry for crafting visually aesthetic games that are easy on the eye and this craftsmanship truly shines in Multihand Blackjack 5. The graphics are extremely polished and mimic the ambiance of the blackjack tables in landbased casinos to the smallest detail. Players can tailor the game to fit their personal taste by changing the color of the felt, with the available options being blue, green, magenta, dark grey, orange, turquoise, and ivory.

The sleek visuals are combined with authentic sound effects which further improve the quality of one’s gaming experience. Once the game loads, you can hear the virtual dealer prompting you to place your bets. The dealer would also announce the total for each hand dealt at the table before settling the bets.

The soft music playing in the background would help you relax and fully immerse yourself in the gameplay. Players are also provided with a choice between three different ambiant background tracks but if you feel the music and the dealer’s voice causes you to lose concentration, you can easily turn them off.

The virtual table’s layout is designed with user-friendliness in mind so that everyone can play the game, even those who lack previous experience in online gambling. To start playing, you simply need to select the preferred chip value, then click one or more of the available betting boxes and hit the Deal button. If you accidentally place the wrong size of bet, you can clear it by using the Undo or the Clear Bet buttons.

When the bets on the last coup have been settled, you can click on the New Game button if you want to make a new bet of a different size. Provided that flat betting is part of your strategy, you can conveniently use the Rebet and Deal button to start another coup and get new cards dealt with the same-size wager. There is also the option of speeding up the pace of the game by activating the Fast Play functionality from the settings menu.

Bet Limits

Playtech developers have made sure anyone can play Multihand Blackjack 5 by incorporating a broader betting range into this variation. Players get to choose from several different chip values like 0.10, 0.50, 1.00, 5.00, 10.00, 25.00, and 100.00. These are positioned at the lower left corner of the screen and you must simply click on one of the chips to select the preferred value.

The betting limits may differ depending on which Playtech-powered online casino you are playing the game at. In most cases, however, the minimum bet is set to $2 which works to the advantage of more cautious or inexperienced players.

The table maximum normally amounts to $100, which is to say you will able to bet up to $500 per coup if you are playing the maximum of five hands at once. Most online casinos running on the Playtech platform offer the game in demo mode so that new players can test the waters first with play money before they proceed with real-money stakes.

Special Features

As was mentioned at the beginning of this review, Multihand Blackjack 5 is based on the Atlantic City variation of the popular card game and offers rather favorable rules to players. The game utilizes six standard decks, of 52 cards each, and requires the virtual dealer to draw to 16 and stand on all totals of 17 (both soft and hard). The payout for players’ naturals is at the standard odds of 3 to 2. Insurance is offered each time the dealer shows an Ace and pays 2 to 1 if the dealer indeed reveals a natural.

The rules allow players to split any pair they like but re-splitting is not an option here. When Aces are split, the player gets dealt only one additional card per Ace. You can double down on any two-card total you like, including on split pairs, which further increases the value of Multihand Blackjack 5.

Player mistakes are brought down to the minimum since the game displays warning messages whenever one attempts to hit totals of 17 (or above) or stands on lower totals below 11. Of course, those who feel confident enough in their skills should feel free to turn this feature off from the settings menu.

There are only two unfavorable aspects of this blackjack variation in term of rules and the first one is the absence of the surrender option. Neither early nor late surrender is allowed here. The second disadvantageous rule is that the dealer does not peek for naturals when showing a ten-value card. In such cases, the player is required to act on their hand first and only then would the dealer flip their hole card over.

All in all, this Playtech offering is perfect for those who prefer more betting action when playing the classic casino game that is blackjack. The game offers great rules, intuitive interface, and very realistic graphics that would surely make you give up on playing at landbased casinos. The betting limits are reasonable with a maximum of $100 per hand. The house edge is also rather low at less than 0.50%, so if you are into the game of 21, do give Multihand Blackjack 5 a try – you will not regret it.