Blackjack Switch

Blackjack Switch is a casino gambling game invented by Geoff Hall and patented in 2009. It is based on blackjack, but differs in that two hands, rather than one, are dealt to each playing position, and the player is initially allowed to exchange ("switch") the top two cards between hands. Natural blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard 3:2, and a dealer hard 22 pushes all player hands except a natural.

Blackjack Switch was conceived after Hall - who was a card counter at the time - became frustrated at being dealt 2 weak hands when playing Blackjack that could be improved dramatically if the top two cards were allowed to be switched. Hall then developed this idea and exhibited the game at the G2E conference in Las Vegas in October 2000. Blackjack Switch was installed in Harvey’s Casino in Iowa in February 2001. After this Hall modified the game to include the ‘Push on 22’ rule in 2003. This modification led to the game being installed in Four Queens in December 2003. The game has since become widely available in offline casinos in Las Vegas and around the world and is offered online only by Playtech casinos.

Blackjack Switch is played with four, six or eight 52-card decks which are shuffled together. The shuffled cards are dealt from a dealing shoe or a shuffling machine.

A semicircular card table with a similar layout to blackjack is used. Each playing position has two betting boxes, rather than one, and the initial wagers these two boxes must be identical. However, each corresponds to a separate hand; during play they may be doubled and split independently, and are resolved separately.

In the initial deal, the dealer puts one card face up on each box of each playing position starting from his left, deals a face-up card to himself, and then a further card to each box left to right. After resolving any side bet, the dealer then consults each player in turn, initially asking them whether they wish to "switch" their top cards. For example, if the player is dealt 10-5 and 6-10, then the player may switch to transform the two hands into 10-10 and 6-5. After a player has made a decision whether or not to switch, the dealer offers him the chance to hit, stand or double, firstly for the hand on the player's right-hand box, then for the one on the left. As in blackjack, a player hand which exceeds 21 is "bust"; its cards are removed and its backing wager acquired by the house.

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