Blackjack is arguably the most popular card game in New Zealand, although Kiwi poker players will disagree with that assessment. Blackjack is different from poker because when you play blackjack, you are competing against the house, but when you play poker, you are competing against other poker players at the table.
The objective in a game of blackjack is to get cards that hit the number 21, and when that happens, you get a blackjack. This is why blackjack is often referred to as the 21 game or the game of 21. There are mixed opinions on winning in blackjack as some believe that it is based completely on luck, whereas others believe blackjack is a game of skill.
We believe skill and luck are involved in determining who wins and losses in blackjack. When you are new to the blackjack game, you depend more on luck than skill. However, once you get accustomed to playing blackjack and understand the rules of the game, you can sharpen your blackjack strategy to influence the odds in your favour.
We have put together an easy guide to help you learn and play blackjack in NZ. Some of the questions that we address in this easy-to-play blackjack guide includes:
Where Can I Play Blackjack In NZ?
There are just two main options that you have when it comes to playing blackjack in New Zealand. The first option is to play blackjack at any of the 6 licensed brick & mortar casinos in New Zealand. The second option is to play online blackjack at a reputed NZ online casino.
Blackjack at Land Based Casinos
NZ has six licensed casinos that which allow Kiwis who are over the age of 20 to enter the casino floor and play blackjack games. The six casinos where you can play blackjack are:
- SkyCity Hamilton
- Grand Casino Dunedin
- SkyCity Queenstown
- SkyCity Auckland
- Christchurch Casino
- SkyCity Wharf Casino
If you have never played blackjack at a land-based casino, you should try it once and see if you like the experience. Before you start a game of blackjack, if you have any questions, you can always run them past the blackjack dealer who will be happy to help.
Do remember that each blackjack table will have a min and max bet amount displayed. You should pick a blackjack table that is conducive to your bankroll and how much you want to bet!
Blackjack at Online Casinos
Online blackjack is a lot more popular with Kiwis because it allows them to play blackjack from the comfort of home or while on the move as all online blackjack games are mobile friendly.
New Zealand currently has gaming laws that make online casino games legal, but that is about to change in 2026, as the Government of New Zealand is looking to legalize them.
Even though online blackjack is currently banned until 2026, many offshore casinos allow players in New Zealand to register and play real-money blackjack games online. Some of these NZ online casinos require players to download virtual private network (VPN) software and then sign up for an account.
However, there are many NZ online casinos that will accept NZ players without the need of a VPN. We have put together a list of safe and secure NZ online casinos that accept Kiwi players and allows them to play real money online blackjack. These NZ online casinos will allow you to play online blackjack and live dealer blackjack games.
How Do I Start Playing Online Blackjack
Follow these steps and you can play online blackjack in a few minutes.
- Select any NZ online casino from our featured list of NZ-friendly casinos
- Click the sign-up button and begin your account registration process
- You will need to enter your full name, date of birth, registered email and phone number
- Hit the Register button to complete the process
- Check your email for an account registration confirmation email and verify your account
- You can now login to your NZ online casino account and select a payment option
- Use this payment option to make a deposit
- Then head over to the table games or live dealer games section, choose which blackjack game you want to play
- Decide how much you want to bet on your blackjack game per round and start playing today
How Does The Game of Blackjack Work?
Objective
The objective in a blackjack game is to compete against the dealer (house) and get to 21. You do not compete against other players only against the dealer. If you get a higher hand than the dealer and it does not cross 21, you win. If you get a hand that is over 21, it is called a bust because you lose. If you get a lower hand than the dealer, you lose and the house wins!
Blackjack Card Values
Blackjack is played with a standard deck of cards. All the jokers are removed from the pack, and it is up to the dealer to shuffle and deal to each player at the table.
To play a game of blackjack, you must understand how to blackjack card values work in the game.
- Numbers 2 to 10 are taken at face value in terms of points. For example - a 5 of hearts is considered 5 points.
- Ace – can be considered as 11 points or 1 point (the player decides)
- King, Queen or Jack are fixed at 10 points each
- You get a ‘blackjack’ if you get an Ace and a King, Queen, Jack or 10 as it equals 21
Blackjack Tables
The traditional blackjack table at a casino is a semi-circular table with the dealer on one side and the players on the other. Most blackjack tables will accept up to 7 players, but some will accept up to 12 players and some will accept 5 players.
This all comes down to what each land-based casino accepts as per their house rules and regulations. When you play at an online blackjack table, you are playing against a random number generated (RNG) software that deals out cards randomly.
Blackjack Buy-ins and Min Bets
- You don’t have to wait for anyone to join you to play a game of blackjack, as you are only playing against the dealer
- You must make a deposit if you are playing at an online casino and then use those funds to buy-in to each game of blackjack
- If you are playing at land-based casino, you can buy chips at the cashier and then buy-in to each game with your chips
- Do note the min buy-in at each blackjack table and pick one that you are happy with
- To start a game of blackjack, place your buy-in and then click deal in online blackjack or nod your head at a casino blackjack table and the croupier will start the game
Role of the Blackjack Dealer
- The dealer will work clockwise if there are players at the table and deal out one card face up to each player. If it is only you at the table, the dealer will work with you one on one.
- The dealer will then put down one card face down for themselves
- The dealer will then deal another set of cards to the players, face-up so that each player now has two cards
- The dealer will then deal a second card to themselves but this time put it face up
- Once this is done, it will be up to each player to read their cards and decide what they are going to do next
How to Play Blackjack
- Count the value of your two cards and check if it comes close to 21 or if it is far off
- If you have two cards that give you a value of 17 or more, then you should consider ‘staying’ which means doing nothing
- If you have two cards where the value is in single digits or 11 or 12, you should consider hitting, which means getting the dealer to give you another card
- If you decide to stay, you don’t need to do anything but if you decide to hit, you need to press ‘Hit’ when playing online blackjack or nod to the dealer at a land-based casino and they will deal you another card
- If you decided to hit, you must now recalculate your new hand value and see if you have a blackjack (21), have busted or have come close to 21
- Once all the players at the table have done this, it will be up to the dealer to turn their first facedown card up and show their hand to the players
- If the dealers hand is closer to 21, then the house wins. If your hand is greater than the dealers and you have not busted, you win.
- Multiple players at the table can have a winning hand because they are playing 1-1 against the dealer and not other players
- If you win, the dealer will pay you based on the blackjack payout table
- You then have the option to walk away or play another round of blackjack
Should I Play Online Blackjack or Live Dealer Blackjack?
Online casinos in NZ offer players the option to play online blackjack where they are not interacting with anyone apart from the computer software that runs the online blackjack game. Players will not have any problem finding a blackjack table, a min bet that suits their bankroll, and will have the option to control the speed of each game.
There is also an option to head over to the live casino section, where players can play live dealer blackjack. This option lets players join a live blackjack game where a live blackjack dealer is live streaming from a blackjack studio, giving players a very similar experience to playing at a land-based casino.
Live blackjack games are an interactive gaming experience as you get to interact with the live blackjack dealer and other live blackjack players who are part of the game. Live blackjack games can be a little intimidating for first-time blackjack players as you do not control the game's speed and may feel more pressure when you see other blackjack players winning.
If you are new to blackjack, we suggest you play a few online blackjack games before checking out live blackjack. One of the ways to get accustomed to online blackjack is to play free blackjack games where no betting is involved. This will allow you to learn the game, make mistakes and not lose any money of your own.
When you get a better understanding how the game of blackjack works, you can switch over to real money online blackjack games.
Top 4 Blackjack Strategies To Boost Your Winnings
There are professional blackjack players and card counters who have exceptional analytical skills and can win consistently at the blackjack tables. Many casinos consider card counting cheating and will usually remove a player suspected of card counting.
Some casinos have taken legal action against blackjack players who have won huge amounts at the blackjack table only to find out that the money will not be paid out because they resorted to illegal strategies like card counting.
We have put together five simple legal blackjack strategies that will help new blackjack players make better calls at the table and boost their odds of winning.
Double Down Bets
You can leverage double-down bets to boost your winnings at the blackjack table. When you have your two cards dealt and the value is either 11 or 10, and the dealer’s face-up card is lower than 9, you have the option of doubling your initial bet. If you win, you end up with a bigger payout.
Splitting
If you end up getting two identical cards (two cards with 6), you have the option to split your hand and bet the same amount on your second hand. This option allows you to have two hands at the table, and even if you lose one hand, you can still work with the other hand and see if you come out with a blackjack.
Insurance
This is where you bet on the dealer to win and you end up with a winning payout, which is why this is called an insurance bet. You can make an insurance bet when the dealer’s faceup card turns out to be an ace, you then bet that the facedown card will be a 10 and result in a dealer blackjack win. You can make a side bet or a half bet as an insurance bet.
Surrender
When you end up with a bad hand and you feel like there’s no way you are going to win, instead of staying or hitting, you can use the surrender option. When you surrender, you will lose 50 percent of your bet, but you will end up getting back 50 percent.
Top 5 Blackjack Variants For NZ Players
There are many different blackjack variants that NZ players can engage in and have fun. These different blackjack variants are due to the tweak in blackjack rules that makes the game different from classic blackjack. Below, we go through the top 5 blackjack variants for NZ players.
Classic Blackjack
This is traditional blackjack, which is usually played with 1 to 8 decks of cards. It is the blackjack variant that we have described above and one that we commend to new blackjack players in NZ. If you can find a blackjack table that uses just 1 deck of cards, you should sit down and play.
American and European Blackjack
We are combining both these variants as the biggest difference between the two is the house edge. European blackjack generally uses two decks of cards, whereas American blackjack will have 6 to 8 decks for a blackjack game. The more decks used in a game, the higher the house edge. This is one reason why European blackjack is more popular than American blackjack
Spanish 21
This game is similar to American blackjack as 6-8 decks are involved, but with one big rule change. In Spanish 21, all the 10s are removed from the deck, and hence, you only play with 48 cards in a deck. With this rule change, players will have to rethink their blackjack strategy. This blackjack variant is best suited for more advanced blackjack players.
Progressive Blackjack
This blackjack variant makes things very exciting as you has a progressive jackpot waiting to be won on the side. The progressive jackpot increases with side bets that take place during the game where a player will have to hit a specific hand. When you place a side bet, the house edge increases significantly but so does your potential payout if you win!
Top 5 Do’s and Don’ts When Playing Blackjack In NZ
If you want to have a fun experience playing blackjack in NZ, please remember these 5 dos and don’ts of playing blackjack!
5 Dos When Playing Blackjack
- Decide how much you are going to spend in total on your blackjack session and stick to that amount
- Find a blackjack table that has a min bet which does not eat into your bankroll quickly
- Determine ahead of time which blackjack variant you are going to play
- Do make use of casino bonuses to help boost your blackjack bankroll
- Spend time playing free online blackjack games to boost your confidence and blackjack skills
5 Don’ts When Playing Blackjack
- Do not play blackjack games when you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Do not use insurance bets while playing as you are more likely to lose than win
- You should not use card counting or any other illegal blackjack strategies as you will get banned and your winnings will be confiscated
- Do not play progressive blackjack games if you are a new player or have a small bankroll
- Don’t borrow money and get into debt to fund your blackjack bankroll
Blackjack - Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I play blackjack games on a mobile device? All our recommended online casinos are mobile-friendly. Some of them have a mobile casino app and all of them will allow you to use your mobile browser to access their instant play casino platform. You will be able to play blackjack on your tablets and mobile devices while on the go.
- Is blackjack based on chance or is it based on skills? To win at blackjack, you need a mix of both chance and skills. A good blackjack strategy will increase your odds of winning, but it all depends on what hand you are dealt, which is based on your luck!
- Can I play blackjack at multiple online casinos in NZ? Yes, you can register an account and play blackjack at multiple casinos in NZ. You can check out our list of featured NZ online casinos and sign-up at any of them, and play blackjack online.
- What is the min bet at most blackjack tables in NZ? The min bet will often vary at each blackjack casino in NZ but on average the min blackjack bet is around NZ$5 per buy-in.
- Can I use cryptocurrencies to play blackjack games in NZ? You cannot use cryptocurrencies to play blackjack games in land based casinos in NZ but there are some crypto friendly NZ casinos that will allow you to play blackjack using cryptocurrencies. You can check out our featured list of NZ online casinos and see which ones accept crypto.