MH Perfect Pairs European Blackjack

100% bonus up to £300 + 20 spins Wagering Requirements: 30

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100% up to £100 Wagering Requirements: 35

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There’s probably no other casino game with a name that’s such a mouthful, and the title of this game does basically tell you all you need to know.

So, ‘multihand’ means you can play up to five hands at once, ‘perfect pairs’ refers to the side bet you can make with each hand, and ‘European’ refers to some standard rule changes from ‘Las Vegas Strip’ rules. This game is played with two full decks of cards.

You can split all pairs, and double down on your first two cards only as long as they are hard totals (i.e. one of the cards is not an ace). You cannot double down on split hands, and you cannot re-split them. Split aces can be played as any other split hand.

Insurance is available and pays 2-1. You cannot surrender on any total. The dealer stands on all 17s, including soft 17s.

The bonus bet is made by placing a chip in the ‘perfect pair’ circle next to the regular betting position. You win back cash if you are dealt a pair, as follows:

• Two identical cards (both suit and denomination) 30-1
• Two cards of the same denomination and colour 15-1
• Two cards of the same denomination only 7-1

Those odds of being dealt a pair do seem quite decent, but they don’t really stack up. The odds of actually being dealt any kind of pair are far worse than each of these payouts, so this is one sidebet that should definitely be avoided.

Once you lose the impression that ‘perfect pair’ is a decent side bet, then this is just your normal ‘European’ blackjack game, but with the enticing notion that only two decks are used. This renders the house edge down to a very lovely 0.4%, which is about as low as you can get when it comes to blackjack.

Conclusion

Plenty of casinos and software companies add side bets to blackjack in an attempt to make the game more interesting or, as is usually the case, to make the unsuspecting player part with more cash. ‘Perfect pairs’ is not a side bet that’s often found in Las Vegas casinos, mainly because most players understand it’s a bad bet.

Once you learn to ignore the side bet you have a very nice game here, and that high RTP of 99.6% is surely it’s most attractive feature!