Live Blackjack on NTC33: Four Tables, Their RM Limits and How the Seats Work

This page used to be called "Jackpot", and its old text talked about poker. The screenshots tell a different story: every one of them is a live blackjack table in the NTC33 (Newtown) app. So this is a guide to those tables, what they cost to sit at, and the rules printed on the felt.

The four tables

The table name and limits sit in the bottom-left corner of the video:

The practical point: the balance in these screenshots is RM42. That covers two hands at the Zirconia minimum and not even one at the other three tables. Live blackjack is a game for a balance several times the table minimum.

Seats and side bets

The Royale, Soho and Lounge tables have seven seats. Each seat has a main betting circle plus two smaller ones: PP (Perfect Pairs) and 21+3. When a seat is free, the top of the screen reads "Please take a seat" with a countdown bar; when a hand is running you may see "This round is currently in progress, a new round will start shortly".

• Perfect Pairs pays if your first two cards are a pair.
• 21+3 uses your two cards plus the dealer's face-up card as a three-card poker hand (flush, straight, three of a kind and so on).

The exact side-bet pay tables are in the game's help, under the menu icon at top left.

The rules on the felt

Printed across each table:

• Blackjack pays 3 to 2.
• Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17s.
• Insurance pays 2 to 1.

The basics: cards 2 to 10 count face value, J, Q and K count 10, and an Ace counts 1 or 11. You try to beat the dealer's total without going over 21. The small numbered markers next to each hand (15, 17, 18 and so on) show the running totals, which helps on a small phone screen.

Unlimited Blackjack

The Zirconia table is labelled Unlimited, and its felt is laid out differently: a Dealer's Pair bet is printed on it, and the player spots are marked with green arrows instead of seat circles. In Playtech's Unlimited Blackjack every player shares one starting hand and chooses their own action, so the table never fills up. It also has the lowest minimum of the four, which makes it the easiest to join on a modest balance.

Keeping it sensible

Blackjack has a lower house edge than most games in the app if you play the standard decisions (for example, always stand on hard 17 or more, and never stand on 11 or less). The side bets carry a much bigger edge than the main hand. Pick one table whose minimum is small compared with your balance, skip insurance, and stop at a limit you set before sitting down.

The NTC33 guide covers the other live tables, such as live baccarat. If you need an account, get an NTC33 game ID.