European No Hole Card (ENHC)

Outside of the U.S. mainland, the dealer rarely deals a hole card. The dealer takes only one upcard and delays the deal of her second card until all players have completed their play. In most countries, this increases the house edge since the dealer will take your double-down and split bets when she has a Blackjack. In U.S. games, a dealer Blackjack immediately ends the round and you never have a chance to split or double. Some countries will not take the split and double down bets. In those countries, the American Rules chart on the previous pages should be used. There exist also some less common variations, notably in Australia.

Some of the casinos that use ENHC also use a variation of surrender called Early Surrender vs. Ten (ES10). This is a good rule that allows a surrender when the dealer has a ten up, even if the dealer is eventually found to have a Blackjack. Advantages are provided below for shoes. ENHC pitch (single- and double-deck) games are very rare.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger