Everything to Know About Blackjack’s 5-Card Trick
Blackjack is a widely played card-comparing game. You’re up against the dealer, and whoever gets the closest to 21 without going over that number wins the game. A little-known feature of blackjack games is the 5 card trick. Let’s have a look at what this is.
A 21 in Blackjack © Pixabay
Introducing the 5 Card Trick in Blackjack
Most people who play blackjack, whether it’s online, offline, or both, are familiar with the game’s basic terms and concepts. They understand things such as hitting, standing, and double down.
It’s perfectly possible to play blackjack and win the game with just a surface-level understanding of it. Like other casino games, blackjack has depth, and there are some features that not all players are familiar with.
One of these is the 5-card trick. This is something you won’t find mentioned in the paytable of a typical blackjack game. The reason is simple: the 5-card trick rarely happens. Let’s find out exactly what this is.
Blackjack’s 5-Card Trick Explained
When you start playing blackjack, you and the dealer are both dealt two cards. It’s possible for you to reach 21 with these: you simply need any card worth 10 and an A, which counts as 1 or 11.
If you have 21 with your first two cards and the dealer doesn’t, you win and vice versa. Winning the game in this way isn’t common, but it happens often enough that it’s understood by most players.
So, what exactly is the 5 card trick? It’s where, after receiving your first two cards, you hit three times, but – here’s the catch – your five cards don’t go over 21, though they can reach 21 exactly.
In some blackjack games, any player who has five cards but hasn’t gone over 21 is said to have performed the 5-card trick and wins. The payout is 2:1 or 1:1; it depends on the game.
How to Perform the 5 Card Trick in Blackjack
Performing the 5 card trick is simply a matter of luck. You need to be lucky enough to receive five cards whose collective value is 21 or under. There’s nothing you can do to improve your chances.
When you receive your first two cards, if they add up to 21 and the dealer hasn’t got 21, you’ve won the game, so there’s no need to try achieving the 5-card trick.
If your two cards don’t add up to 21, you should only try to perform the 5-card trick if your cards are of low value, e.g. 2 and 3.
When it comes to deciding what to do with your hand, if your hand total is a small number, you should hit. If the new card is low in value, hit for a second time.
If your fourth card is also low in value, hit for a third time. If your fifth card doesn’t take your hand total over 21, you’ve successfully performed the 5-card trick.
There’s some risk involved when trying to achieve the 5-card trick. If your hand total is 12 or higher, whenever you hit the card that you receive, it could be worth 10, which would make you go bust.
This is something you have to bear in mind whenever you try to perform the trick. Whenever your hand total is quite close to 21, e.g. 18 or 19, it’s best to stand.
What Casinos Pay Out for Performing the 5-Card Trick?
We mentioned earlier that not all casinos give you a payout if you have a five-card hand worth 21 or less. The truth is that very few land-based venues acknowledge the 5-card trick.
When it comes to online blackjack, it’s down to the game operator, not necessarily the casino site, to determine whether there are payouts for performing the 5-card trick. Unfortunately, most games don’t pay players for doing this.
To find out if a game pays out for the 5-card trick blackjack, check the paytable. If it’s not mentioned in the paytable or even in the game’s full rules, you won’t be paid for performing it.
So if you’ve been asking yourself, ‘does a 5 card trick beat blackjack?’, the answer is no. At least, that’s the case at the majority of land-based casinos and online casinos.
The reason the trick isn’t acknowledged that much is simple: it increases the game’s RTP. If you’re lucky enough to get a five-card hand worth 21 or less, your payout rate is technically better than the game’s average.
Even though having a value of 21 or less with five cards is quite rare, it still happens often enough for it to affect a game’s payout rate and for operators to decide not to pay out for it.
Generally speaking, trying to perform that 5 card trick isn’t worthwhile. This is because very few games acknowledge it, and even those that do do not give high payouts for it.
If you’re playing blackjack for real money, think about whether it’s really worth chasing the 5 card trick. Should you find yourself spending too much time and money playing blackjack, there’s plenty of help available online.
Trying to Perform the 5-Card Trick Yourself
Now you should have a good idea of what the 5-card trick is in blackjack. If you want to try to perform it yourself, it’s best to do so by playing a blackjack demo.
The advantage of demos is that they let you play whenever you like without having to pay. There’s no real money involved, so your gambling budget won’t be affected in any way.
All of the best blackjack sites in the UK offer free demo play. Join a top-rated casino and find a blackjack game. There should be a demo available. Many sites only let registered players access demo games.
With free play, you can practise performing the five-card trick blackjack as much as you like. See for yourself what it’s like trying to perform it and think about whether it’s worthwhile.
