Visionary iGaming Live Blackjack

Introduction

Visionary iGaming, or ViG, has some of the best blackjack tables and games with the most favourable table rules.

There are two games: Blackjack Early Payout and Blackjack Surrender, which both offer ways to cash out before the dealer completes playing their hand.

Visionary iGaming caters to Grey and Black Markets casinos, so you don’t see them at industry conferences.

Finding casinos with their games is difficult unless you know where to look. About 60 casinos in restricted markets, such as the US, currently feature games by this provider, which is one reason why they keep a low profile!

This review is about ViG blackjack, and I’ll explain what’s so special about Visionary iGaming blackjack and the strategies you should use for these games with their particular rule sets.

I’d encourage you to hunt out Visionary iGaming casinos to try out the two games. They don’t have the slickest playing interfaces, but the game rules are probably the best you’ll find online. They even allow you to play with six decks, which is unheard of now!

Unique Things about ViG Blackjack

• Early Payout or Late Surrender – take your pick.
• Double Down After Split (DDAS).
• Dealer Hits on Soft 17.
• The game is played with six decks, shuffled manually.
• Standard-sized Bee playing cards are used.
• Blackjack Basic Strategy advice at all times.
• If you’re disconnected, the game will play Basic Strategy on your behalf.

Where To Play Visionary iGaming Live Blackjack

www.gambleaware.org

VIG Blackjack Video Review

Two Live Blackjack Games, One RNG Game

Visionary iGaming has three different versions of Blackjack. Strictly speaking, only two are played against live dealers, as the third is an RNG game. I mention it only because it’s packaged with the other two versions.

Early Payout or Late Surrender?

For many years, ViG was the only provider to offer Blackjack with Early Payout, where you can cash in your hand before the dealer has played his.

Now, other providers have jumped on the bandwagon and offer their versions.

This feature is a more advanced version of Blackjack Surrender. With it, you can cash out for a profit rather than having half your stake returned to you when you surrender.

For that reason and others I’ll explore later, it’s worth playing one of ViG’s two versions of Blackjack. Advantage players can play the odds better and get a return on potentially losing hands.

It’s up to you to decide which version gives you better payouts. My vote goes to Surrender, as you get 50% of your stake back, even in the most unfavourable positions, whereas Early Payout will give you much less.

Blackjack Early Payout in Detail

This is an unlimited-player game with three hands, so you can always get a seat. You play the hand as your own. Other players’ decisions have no consequence for you.

Uniquely, you can abandon your hand at any time in exchange for the amount shown on the tempting green button at the bottom right. In the example below, the dealer has a 5, and I have K and 3, for a total of 13. The game offers me £4.11, 82.2% of my original £5 bet.

Blackjack HD in Detail

Also known simply as Live Blackjack, this is ViG’s normal blackjack game. However, it, too, has a unique set of rules.

This game has Late Surrender, which allows you to get paid when you have a lousy hand. If you want to master this option, read my Blackjack Surrender guide.

Early Payout lets you take the money at any stage. Late Surrender can only be done when you see the dealer’s upcard and have two cards. That’s when you decide to stay in the game or take half of your stake back.

Visionary iGaming Blackjack Rules Explained.

Let’s examine how ViG blackjack table rules are different from those of other Blackjack games, how you should approach these rules, and what the correct strategy is.

Dealer Hits on Soft 17

You’ll feel like you’re in Vegas because, at most blackjack tables, there are H17 games, which means the dealer hits on Soft 17 (Ace and 6).

This is an unfavourable table rule for the player and has largely been abandoned among live dealer blackjack games.

It’s rare to see it when you play live blackjack online, but ViG seems to have added it to accommodate all the other favourable rules.

A dealer who is forced to Stand on Soft 17 won’t be able to improve his hand further, while a dealer who must Hit gets almost a free card that can’t bust his hand.

There’s nothing you can do about this. Or, almost nothing.

Since these two blackjack games offer a chance to quit the hand, either by cashing out for the offered amount or by taking 1/2 of your bet, consider walking away when you see the dealer has an Ace or a 6.

This protects you against the terrible house edge increase, something around 0.21%, that comes with the H17 rule.

Double Down After Split

Many players ignore DDAS in ViG blackjack games because they focus on Early Payout and Surrender.

But this rule is the most favourable one here, and it’s the reason to play ViG blackjack in the first place.

DDAS improves the RTP in your favour by about 0.19% when used correctly.

Many players say doubling your bet is where you make money in blackjack, and I agree.

You want to double your bet when in a particularly favourable position. Being able to double down after splitting the hand takes this a step further and gives you incredible control over your fate in blackjack.

Read my Double Down After Split Guide to start mastering this technique.

ViG Blackjack, the standard one, gives you options on both ends of the spectrum.

You can surrender your weak hand to get 1/2 of the stake back and double down on any two cards to make your bet 2x. If you double down after Splitting, your bet can be 4x the original bet!

This range of bet manipulation you’re allowed here is not seen anywhere else.

Fewer Decks (6) Used

The industry standard is eight decks, which you’ll see almost always if you play other live casino providers’ Blackjack games.

At ViG, you’ll play with six decks shuffled when the shoe penetration reaches about fifty per cent.

It’s a long story regarding why fewer decks are more favourable for the player, but they are.

Expect a house edge reduction of a minuscule 0.026% because ViG uses six decks of cards instead of eight.

Playing Interfaces

There are two different playing interfaces for live blackjack. One is in full-screen HD mode and the other is displayed as a mixed-mode, with a smaller image of the live dealer and table. Both work as effectively as each other.

The standard settings are the same on both interfaces.

• The playing rules can be displayed in a pop-out window, as can the stake ranges for the table your playing on.
• Volume can be adjusted and you can pause the video stream (why? I’ve no idea!)
• Dealer chat is enabled if you have money in your account to play.

On the HD interface, you get to set some additional options like:

• Switching on/of the Blackjack card animations.
• Show video.
• Auto hit 8 or less.
• Auto stand on 18 or more.

These are nice little touches but not that useful as I’d possibly want to double depending on what the dealer has and how my 8 or less was made up.

The animations are fun, but I personally don’t like them so have this switched off.

Basic Strategy

Blackjack Basic Strategy has been integrated into all the games, so when it’s your turn to play, you’ll be advised on what action to take.

It’s not compulsory, so you can ignore the advice and play the hand your way.

Again, it’s an excellent addition and particularly useful if you’re starting to play the game and not quite sure how to play the hand.

Disconnection Policy

The great thing about this solution is that if you disconnect and can’t play your hand after your bet has been accepted, it will play for you using basic strategy.

Summary

You could say that the Visionary iGaming Live Blackjack solutions are the best out there. However, you’d have to look beyond the bells and whistles of mainstream providers and focus on what matters.

Certainly, ViG blackjack games are hard to beat with versions that allow Surrender and the unique Early Payout function.

They’ve got the basic rules right as well. You can double down on any hand value and double after a split, which is quite rare and is a rule the pro players are hunting for.

Many players will benefit from the Basic Strategy advice. If you’re a high roller, you must play at a table that will follow the Basic Strategy if you get disconnected.

These two things are small details, but they matter.

The only downside is the European Rules on the Early Payout game. There also seems to be too much glare from the studio’s lighting on the HD versions, which makes seeing the cards difficult.

At busy times, you may struggle to get a seat at the lower-stakes HD Blackjack table, but you can play Bet Behind.