Key facts
- Free Bet Blackjack gives you a free double on a two card hard 9, 10 or 11 and a free split on every pair except ten-value cards. The free chip wins like real money but costs nothing if it loses.
- The catch: if the dealer finishes on exactly 22, every hand still in play pushes, except a blackjack. With 6 decks and the dealer hitting soft 17, that happens on about 7.35% of dealer hands.
- On Crown Melbourne's approved rules with 6 decks, the house edge is about 1.44% in our calculation, against 0.77% for ordinary blackjack with the same soft 17 rule.
- The push on 22 alone would cost about 6.8% of each bet. The free doubles and splits give about 6.2% back.
- Strategy changes: free split every pair except 5s and tens, take every free double, hit 12 against a 4 and 13 against a 2, and play hands bought with a free chip more aggressively.
How Free Bet Blackjack works
Free Bet Blackjack is normal blackjack with two gifts and one catch. The gifts are free doubles and free splits. The catch is that a dealer total of 22, normally a bust, becomes a push.
The VGCCC approved Free Bet Blackjack at Crown Melbourne on 25 March 2024, with an optional "Pot of Gold" side bet. Crown's approved rules, version 29.0, set it out:
| Rule | Free Bet Blackjack at Crown Melbourne |
|---|---|
| Free double | On the first two cards of a hand, or of a split hand, totalling hard 9, 10 or 11 |
| Free split | Any pair except ten-value cards; tens can be split with real money |
| Splits | Up to three hands; aces split once, one card each |
| Dealer draws | To hard 17 or soft 18, so the dealer hits soft 17 |
| Dealer 22 | A stand-off for every hand still in play, except a player blackjack |
| Blackjack pays | 3 to 2 |
| Dealer blackjack | You lose only your original bet |
| Decks | 4 to 8 under the general rules; Pot of Gold pay tables are for 6 or 8 |
Evolution's live version, as the maker describes it, gives the same free double on two-card hard 9, 10 or 11 and free splits on all pairs except 10, J, Q and K, with Perfect Pair and 21+3 side bets. Check the on-screen rules for the dealer 22 rule and the soft 17 rule; they decide the price.
What a free bet actually is
When you qualify, the dealer puts a free bet token beside your chips instead of asking for more money. The token has no value of its own. If the hand wins, the token is paid as if it were a bet equal to your original stake. If the hand loses or pushes, the token simply goes back.
Worked example. You bet $20 and get 6, 5 against a dealer 6. You take the free double and receive one card.
- You win: $20 on your bet plus $20 on the token, a $40 profit.
- You push: nothing changes hands.
- You lose: you lose your $20; the token costs nothing.
On a normal table the same double would put $40 at risk. Here only $20 is at risk for the same upside. With free splits it is the second hand that rides on a token: you can win two hands' worth while risking one.
The dealer 22 rule and what it costs
Free bets are not a gift because the dealer 22 rule takes them back and more. With 6 decks and the dealer hitting soft 17, the dealer finishes on exactly 22 about 7.35% of the time in our calculation. In normal blackjack those are wins for every hand that has not busted. In Free Bet they are pushes, even for your 20 or 21.
We calculated the trade in two steps, with 6 decks:
| Rules | House edge |
|---|---|
| Ordinary blackjack, Australian rules, dealer hits soft 17 | 0.77% |
| Same, plus dealer 22 pushes, with doubles and splits paid for normally | 7.60% |
| Free Bet Blackjack: dealer 22 pushes, free doubles and free splits | 1.44% |
So the push on 22 costs about 6.8% of every bet, and the free doubles and splits hand back about 6.2%. The net price of the package is about 0.67% of each bet, nearly double the cost of the ordinary game beside it. With 8 decks we get 1.45%. These figures allow one split per hand; Crown's extra resplits would trim them slightly.
Our online blackjack Australia guide compares that with the other versions, and Blackjack Switch uses the same dealer 22 rule for a different trade.
Free Bet Blackjack strategy
Free money changes the right play. We solved the Crown rules for 6 decks and compared each decision with ordinary Australian blackjack where the dealer hits soft 17. EV is the average result per $1 of original bet, counting dealer blackjacks.
| Your hand | Dealer shows | Ordinary blackjack | Free Bet play | Free Bet EV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8, 8 | 10 | Split (minus 0.52) | Free split | +0.03 |
| 4, 4 | 10 | Hit | Free split | +0.02 |
| 2, 2 | 10 | Hit | Free split | +0.08 |
| 6, 6 | 10 | Hit | Free split | minus 0.04 |
| 7, 7 | 10 | Hit | Free split | minus 0.04 |
| 9, 9 | 10 | Stand | Free split | +0.10 |
| 9, 9 | 7 | Stand | Free split | +0.68 |
| 5, 5 | 10 | Hit | Free double | +0.21 |
| 10, 2 | 4 | Stand | Hit | minus 0.28 |
| 10, 3 | 2 | Stand | Hit | minus 0.40 |
| 10, 10 | 6 | Stand | Stand, never split | +0.59 |
The pattern is simple:
- Take every free split and every free double. In our solver, splitting is the best play for aces and every pair from 2s to 9s against every dealer card. The one exception is 5, 5: take the free double on 10 instead.
- Never split tens. That split is with real money, and standing on 20 is worth far more.
- Hit 12 against a 4 and 13 against a 2. With the dealer's 22 now a push, a dealer starting on a small card is less likely to bust in a way that pays you.
- Play free hands harder. On a hand whose stake is a free token, a bust costs nothing, so in our solver you should hit hard 17 against a dealer 7, hit 14 against a 2, and hit 12 against a 2 to 4.
Everything else follows the ordinary chart in our blackjack strategy guide. One thing does not change: insurance still loses, about 7.4% of every insurance bet with 6 decks.
Pundit tip: the free chip is not free if it makes you play more hands or bet bigger. Price the game at 1.44%, not at the feeling of getting something for nothing.
Pot of Gold side bet
Pot of Gold pays on the number of free bet tokens you receive in a round. Crown's approved rules have two versions for 6 or 8 decks:
| Free bet tokens in the round | Version 1 pays | Version 2 pays |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 100 to 1 | 100 to 1 |
| 4 | 60 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| 3 | 30 to 1 | 25 to 1 |
| 2 | 10 to 1 | 10 to 1 |
| 1 | 3 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
Most rounds produce no token at all, and the bet loses. Because the number of tokens depends on your own splits and doubles, we have not put a single house edge on it. The VGCCC amended the Pot of Gold pay tables on 9 July 2025, so read the sign. Our blackjack side bets guide prices the side bets that do have a fixed answer.
Free Bet Blackjack online and live
Free Bet Blackjack is one of the live dealer games streamed from overseas studios, including an Infinite version with unlimited seats. Online casino games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia, and ACMA blocks the offshore sites that offer them; our live blackjack online Australia guide explains the formats and the law. For how Free Bet compares with every other casino game, see our house edge table.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Free Bet Blackjack better than normal blackjack?
No. On Crown Melbourne's approved rules with 6 decks the house edge is about 1.44% in our calculation, nearly double the 0.77% for normal blackjack with the dealer hitting soft 17, and well above 0.55% for the usual Australian game.
What happens when the dealer gets 22 in Free Bet Blackjack?
Every player hand still in play is a push, including your 20s and 21s. Only a player blackjack still wins. Hands that have already busted lose as normal.
Should you always take the free split in Free Bet Blackjack?
Almost always, in our calculation. Free splits are offered on every pair except ten-value cards, and splitting was the best play for aces and every pair from 2s to 9s against every dealer card, except 5s, which you free double as a 10 instead. Do not split tens: that split costs real money.
What does the free bet pay?
If the hand wins, the free bet token is paid at the same value as your original bet, so a winning free double on a $10 hand wins $20. If it loses or pushes, you lose nothing on the token.
Where can you play Free Bet Blackjack in Australia?
The VGCCC approved Free Bet Blackjack and its Pot of Gold side bet at Crown Melbourne in March 2024. Online versions exist but cannot legally be offered to people in Australia.
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