Advantage for the players
Since you can see the dealer’s first two cards, different rules apply to this game so as not to make it too easy for the player. Of course, the casino you’re playing at also needs to make a profit. For example, if you have blackjack at this game, your bet is doubled only once, instead of one and a half times. The dealer does not necessarily have to stop after he has seventeen or more points in his hand.
It is up to the specific rules of individual casinos or hotels whether he stops at seventeen or buys another card. In addition, the dealer wins all ties except blackjack, and you cannot buy insurance against the dealer’s blackjack or surrender your hand, since you can both already see the first cards. If the dealer has between thirteen and sixteen points, two cards with values of ten points are automatically split, and if the dealer has twenty points, you must have at least one hard nineteen points.
Different casino, different rules
Some places have additional rules to reduce doubling and splitting. Sometimes casinos choose not to allow doubles after splits, or not to allow both doubles and splits at all. In any case, the rules vary from casino to casino. So it’s very important with this game that you read the rules carefully before playing Double Exposure at any location. Even between casinos in the same city in the United States the rules can be significantly different, as they all use a different method to keep the house edge. Holland Casino does not offer this game.
Double Exposure Blackjack
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Atlantic City
At the Tropicana, Claridge, and Taj Majal hotels and casinos in Atlantic City, this game is played with eight decks of cards, and the dealer must match seventeen points or more. Doubling is allowed only for hard values of nine, ten, or eleven, or for soft values of nineteen or twenty. Splitting is allowed only once, after which you can still double. If there is a tie in blackjack, the player wins from the dealer. The house advantage with these rules is 0.66%. This version has even been given the name of the city: Atlantic City Blackjack.
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Las Vegas
In this city, the rules differ even between the different casinos. At both the Stratosphere and Lady Luck, this game is played with six decks of cards, and the dealer must buy on a soft seventeen. In the case of blackjack tie, the player wins. In the Stratosphere you may only double on cards with a hard value of nine through eleven, but in the Lady Luck you may only double on the first two cards, even if one of those two cards is an Ace. In the Stratosphere you can split four times in total, and you are allowed to double after splitting, but in the Lady Luck you can only split once, and you are not allowed to double after that. In addition, if you play blackjack with a jack of hearts and an ace, your bet is doubled twice instead of just once. This is not the case with the Stratosphere. Therefore, the house edge at the Stratosphere is 0.68%, while at the Lady Luck it is only 0.26%.
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Reno
At the Circus Circus hotel and casino in Reno, this game is also played with six decks of cards, just like in Las Vegas. The dealer buys compulsorily on a soft seventeen and doubling is allowed only on a hard nine through eleven. Splits are allowed a maximum of one time, and you are not allowed to double after splitting. This version of Double Exposure Blackjack is very difficult to win, because ties in blackjack do not win. This gives the dealer more of an advantage, as evidenced by the whopping 1.47% house edge.
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Tunica
In the casino Big in Tunica this game is played with six decks of cards, just like in Reno and Las Vegas. The rules are similar to those of the Circus Circus casino in Reno. Doubling is allowed only on hard nine through eleven, and never after splitting. Splitting is also only allowed once, just like in Reno. However, in Big the player wins on a blackjack tie, while this is not the case in Reno. This also lowers the house edge slightly, to 0.96%.