What is Chinese Blackjack (Xi Dach)?
Introduction
Chinese Blackjack is a variant of blackjack with numerous other names, ranging from 21-point, to the Hokkien name ban-luck, to ban-nag in Cantonese, to Xi Dach.
In Malaysia, Chinese Blackjack is called Kampung Blackjack, which means ‘village blackjack’.
Chinese Blackjack, or Xi Dach, is commonly played in Southeast Asia (SEA), and many of its rules are similar to blackjack. As is tradition during the Chinese New Year, which most SEA countries celebrate, families and friends gather to gamble casually, in the belief that the new year brings with it a fresh batch of new luck. During this time, Chinese Blackjack is one of the games most commonly played.
Nowadays, you can also find Xi Dach played at online casinos, alongside the standard variants of blackjack online.
The Appeal of Chinese Blackjack
In Xi Dach, games are played with one or two 52-card deck(s), and any number of players can participate. One player may choose to be the dealer, or players can also take turns.
This game came about as a less formal style of blackjack gameplay with looser rules. When playing with friends or family, not everyone may enjoy playing casino style blackjack. In casino style, there needs to be a dedicated dealer who plays differently from players, which means they don’t get to experience the game the same way.
Under casino rules, when cards are opened, the dealer has to obey the rules and play till at least 17 points. When they reach this limit, they will stand, while players are free to exceed it.
This makes blackjack a complicated game to play casually, and players may feel that the odds are unfairly weighed against dealers. By playing Xi Dach, casual players can at least feel that the odds are fairer.
Differences between Xi Dach and Casino Blackjack OnlinE
Aside from that, there are also various other differences in Xi Dach compared to casino blackjack online. For example, the value of cards. Depending on how many cards a player is holding in their hand in Xi Dach, the value of the Ace changes accordingly.
If you have two cards, an Ace is valued at 10 or 11. If they have three cards, an Ace is either worth 1 or 10. When you have four or more cards, the value of the Ace drops further, to 1.
Unique Rules
Thanks to the informal nature of Chinese Blackjack, it has some unique rules that you won’t find in casino blackjack online or other variants. .
In Xi Dach, one of these features is that if the dealer is holding a total of 16-20 in their initial hand, they can choose to reveal only a few players’ hands, settle their won or lost bets, then hit again and reveal other player hands. If the dealer busts, all players will receive an even sum of prize money for their card hands. If the dealer hits 21 without busting, the dealer wins.
There are also unique winning combinations for games of Xi Dach. These combinations are called ban-nag, free hand, ban-ban, and 5-Dragon.
Ban-ban: A hand with two Aces. This offers a payout of 3:1. But if the dealer also has a ban-ban, the result will be a push (a tie).
Ban-nag: A hand with an Ace and a card valued at 10, paying out 2:1. If the dealer’s hand is ban-nag, their hand can beat all others except ban-ban.
Free hand: A hand with a total value of 15. When a player or dealer has a free hand, they can make the choice to continue, or stop playing the free hand. If the dealer takes the option to change hands, the hand ends and they then re-shuffle the cards.
5-Dragon: A hand that contains five cards without busting. The payout is 2:1, unless the hand total is 21, which offers 3:1. If the dealer has a 5-Dragon without busting, the starting bet of every player is doubled, and paid to the dealer.
House Advantage
The prevalence of these unique rules in Xi Dach mean the game is tilted in favour of the dealer, giving them a house advantage.
This advantage gets even bigger due to the risk of players having to pay the dealer two or three times their original bet, if the dealer gets a 5-Dragon.When played at home or with friends, players tend to take turns being the dealer, to ensure everyone gets fair odds.
Conclusion
Xi Dach, or Chinese Blackjack, is a unique spin on classic blackjack online that may not be as well-known compared to other variants, but is definitely worth playing if you enjoy high-stakes games. If you can’t get a group of friends or family together to give it a try, you can consider playing the game at an online casino like Legabet. Just dive in and give it a try, you might find your new favourite game!
