Live dealer blackjack streamed from Smart Live's London broadcast studio and available via web-cast, Freesat and SKY dedicated channels. Games are 'for television' blackjack dealt from a 8-deck shoe re-shuffled at regular intervals, or regular 7 seat blackjack.
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Introduction
Smart Live blackjack's key point of differentiation from most other blackjack offerings on this site is the fact that is a 'for television' game, broadcast not only via the Smart Live Website, but also on a number of cable channels for UK subscribers. It is more like a game show than a casino gambling experience; the casino actually calls its croupiers 'presenters', and may not be the ideal option for blackjack purists.
They now also have a traditional 7 seat game, which will please the blackjack purists.
Television broadcast
For UK players, the game is currently broadcast on SKY and Freesat dedicated channels and will no doubt be rolled out to other cable and potentially free-to-air channels in the future. While this fact presents an attractive offering for those with access, it is not without its shortcomings.
The obvious one is that most players around the world do not have a required subscription to enjoy this option. Further, game times presently are not 24/7 and quite limited. At the time of writing, blackjack was only available 6:00PM - 12:00AM (GMT) daily. These time restrictions apply to the site webcast as well.
Many players but only 1 player deal ('one-to-many' game)
In most other live blackjack games, you are dealt a hand that you play exclusively, as would happen in a casino. Most offer amulti-play format where you are allocated a seat at a virtual table (typically of 7) and each player plays his hand in turn as dealt by the dealer.
At Smart Live, the dealer (sorry, presenter) is dealing a single hand, but many players are playing this hand via the television broadcast or web. How is this possible? An excerpt from Smart Live's house rules reveals the answer..
'Our unique online interface allows you to play the hand your way while others play the hand differently. This means that while everyone will start with the same two cards, and the dealer will always start with the same starting card, the rest of the cards are not dealt to a particular hand. The cards are dealt into the middle of the table and are then assigned to whichever hand is appropriate based on your decisions. You will see this represented in your web browser. You will win or lose the hand based solely on the decisions you have taken; the decisions other people take will have no impact on your hand.'
