Blackjack is played in all land casinos in Europe, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. The rules in each place differ slightly but blackjack games in any of these places have nominal house edges. All online gaming software providers offer blackjack games that exactly mirror the rules of those offered in land casinos. But they also offer variants that are never played in land casinos. These variants offer some innovative and exotic changes that not only appear to offer the player a super advantage but are actually quite interesting as well. Hence new blackjack players often make these blackjack variants their staple diet. However in these variants some of the usual rules are toggled so as to take away the obvious advantages and in the net the player is a loser. Two such games are discussed in detail to explain why players should avoid these exotic blackjack variants.

The first game is Blackjack Switch. In this variant the player plays with two hands. He has the option of switching the second card dealt in each hand. For example in one hand the first card dealt is 7 and the second card 9. This gives a total of 16 which is not that good to stand on and suicidal to hit. In the other hand the player has 10 for the first card and 2 for the second. This is suicidal to stand on and not to good for a hit because the chances of busting are significant. Suppose the player makes the switch. His first hand becomes 7 and 2. This is great for a hit because the possibility of reaching a total of 19 is very high. The second hand becomes 10 and 9, which is perfect for standing. Hence the value of being allowed to switch cannot be ignored. But there is a price to pay in the fine print. If the dealer reaches 22, he does not bust but the hand is a push. This alone reduces the player's advantage by a whopping 10%. A player's blackjack does not pay the usual 3 to 2 but only even money, further downgrading the advantage by 2%. There is no way a player can make money in Blackjack Switch in the long run.

The second game is Double Exposure. In this game both the dealer's cards are dealt face up. Hence the player's target is clear. Normally a player will never hit on a 17. But if the dealer has 18 then rather than lose tamely the player has to take the extra chance and go for a hit. This advantage is neutralized by changes in two of the normal rules. Blackjack pays only even money and the dealer wins all ties except blackjack. Normally ties are a push.

Hence if players want the excitement of such exotic blackjack games they should preferably play for free and not with real money. If they want to play with real money then they should play occasionally with small bankrolls.

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