Betconstruct Live Blackjack

Live Blackjack Features

When we reviewed it, Live Blackjack by BetConstruct was a seven-seat variant with six decks. One attraction we noted was the option to ‘surrender’ your hand. This means you can forfeit your cards and receive half your stake back, should the hand you are dealt be a poor one. Surrender slightly improves the Return to Player of a game, which is good news for most players. Our own comparison data does not currently list surrender for this game and is still being checked, so confirm the rules in the game before you play.

Side Bets

As well as this helpful feature, BetConstruct blackjack also offered three different side bets when we reviewed it, including one we hadn’t seen anywhere else at the time. These side bets were:

• Perfect Pairs
• Honey Bonus
• Lucky 7s

Perfect pairs is available at most live casino blackjack tables, regardless of the developer. This bet involves betting that you or the dealer will get some kind of pair – either coloured, mixed or perfect. Perfect pairs, i.e. a pair of the same suit, paid 25:1 when we looked. Coloured pairs paid 12:1, and a mixed pair paid 5:1. Pay-outs can differ between casinos, so check the paytable in the game.

The Honey Bonus is quite similar to the 21+3 bonus that you will find at many live blackjack tables, but with a unique twist. Here you bet on yours and the dealer’s hands to make a poker style hand. These include a three-of-a-kind (20:1), a straight (10:1) and a flush (5:1). Added here was a suited blackjack bet, which paid 3:1 on top of your normal pay-out for a blackjack.

Thirdly, there was another side bet that we saw in BetConstruct games – Lucky 7s. The payout table we saw was as follows:

• One seven pays out 3:1
• Pair of sevens (different suits) pays 25:1
• Pair of suited sevens – 50:1
• Three unsuited sevens – 100:1
• Three suited sevens 500:1

Although side bets are generally not used by top-tier blackjack players, as they do not represent a good overall RTP, many players might see a massive 500:1 windfall on three sevens as just too attractive to not occasionally take a chance on.

One extra bet also offered is insurance. This allows you to forfeit half your stake if the dealer draws an ace as their first card, in return for a guaranteed win should the dealer then draw a blackjack. Insurance bets pay out at 2:1. If the dealer doesn’t draw a blackjack, the hand is played normally and you can still win. However, you will have lost half your stake.

Lastly, when we reviewed it BetConstruct offered neither bet-behind nor unlimited tables. This meant that should your preferred table be full, you had no choice but to head to a different one – which was a little disappointing, but not unforgivable.

One more negative that we had to mention was that BetConstruct blackjack tables often updated the electronic score of your hand before the live dealer had finished dealing your card. This eliminated some tension and added an avoidable feeling of minor inauthenticity to proceedings.

House Rules

When we reviewed it, the house rules at BetConstruct blackjack tables were generally as follows (our own comparison data still marks these as unchecked against BetConstruct’s help files, so confirm them in the game):

• Players can double on any two cards.
• Players may split on a 10 or pair draw.
• When splitting aces, each can only get one extra card.
• Any 21 on split aces does not count as blackjack.
• Dealer must hit up to 16.
• Dealer must stand on a 17, including soft 17.
• Players can surrender if the dealer does not have an ace.

Mobile

A lot of the mobile experience depends on the casino side of the operation and not the developer. However, live casino providers must do everything they can to ensure their part of the deal runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

With BetConstruct, we must say we were positively surprised. The streams were very good, even on small-screen devices, and the user interface was laid out in a simple but effective manner.

No fiddly operations, crashes or complex menu systems here! Side bets, splits and general mechanics were all easy to access and everything else was presented in a clear and concise manner, for the most streamlined user experience. When we tested it, BetConstruct’s overall experience, especially on mobile, was better than some bigger name developers we could mention.

Native & Private Tables

When we reviewed it, BetConstruct offered live blackjack with dealers speaking the following languages:

• English
• Armenian
• Farsi
• Russian
• Ukrainian
• Turkish
• Arabic

At the time, we hadn’t found any European focused live casino developers offering Farsi speaking live dealers, and not many offering Arabic or Armenian either. This looked like a clever move by BetConstruct – instead of competing with the big boys in the market for Spanish speaking or Italian speaking live dealer blackjack, they went after an under-represented section of the market. A distinctive angle from BetConstruct then, and one that might have appealed to Iranian or Armenian players.

In Comparison

When we reviewed it, BetConstruct surprised us with the quality of its live blackjack offering. The ability to surrender was a nice touch that favours players, as were some of the unique side bets. Most importantly, the fundamentals were solid – we thought the stream and studio quality came close to Evolution’s. The things holding it back then were the lack of enthusiasm from some of the live dealers and the lack of a bet behind option.

If that improved, BetConstruct’s live blackjack tables could find a place at more live online casinos.