Arrow’s Edge Blackjack Software

The small software designer Arrow’s Edge
was founded in 2014, specializing in online casino gambling products like
proprietary virtual slots and table games.

In three years since then, the company has grown slowly, contracting with
three boutique online gambling platforms which serve the American market. These
sites are minor players within the massive online casino industry, showing that
Arrow’s Edge is still working to establish itself.

This page will provide the web’s most thorough review of the Arrow’s Edge
blackjack software, beginning with a company overview and list of affiliate
casinos, followed by a detailed breakdown of all blackjack variants on the menu.

Company Overview

Unfortunately, little is known about the origins or ownership of Arrow’s
Edge.

The company lists a toll free number as its primary contact information, with
no mailing address available on their website.

Furthermore, trademark and copyright searches revealed no official
registration with the federal government.

At this point, all we know about Arrow’s Edge is that the company’s software
engine is used to power three online casino platforms.

Affiliated Online Casinos

The following online casinos utilize Arrow’s Edge software:

• Drake Casino
• Gossip Slots Casino
• GT Bets Casino

Each one chooses to operate in the American marketplace, despite the federal
ban known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006.

Allowing customers in the U.S. to play isn’t necessarily a warning sign, as
dozens of small online gambling companies do so. On the other hand, serving US
facing online casino brands does suggest that Arrow’s Edge plays things a little
loosely when it comes to legality.

List of Basic Blackjack Games

Many online casinos, the three above included, choose to partner with several
software providers at once.

This allows the operator to grab great slot games from a company like Real
Time Gaming (RTG), while adding a well-rounded table games menu from Playtech.

In the case of the three venues which partner with Arrow’s Edge, the Betsoft
Company is the third wheel. Betsoft is a well-established European online
gambling software designer, and their portfolio of games is wider than Arrow’s
Edge.

We offer this preamble for one simple reason: when you sign on with any
Arrow’s Edge powered platform, you’ll find upwards of a dozen blackjack versions
and offshoots. But only one of those is actually designed and hosted by Arrow’s
Edge:

• Multihand Blackjack

The title of this game refers to the ability to play three “spots” on the
table, or separate hands, during each deal. We’ll delve deeper into the rules as
the page progresses though.

Curiously enough, the title Multihand Blackjack is the one used by Arrow’s
Edge on its company website. But when you visit its client casinos to actually
play the game, it’s shown as “New American Blackjack” instead. You’ll see a game
screen logo with fluid cursive print reading New American Blackjack, so remember
that when scrolling through the menu.

Finally, you’ll also find a secondary version of the game titled “VIP New
American Blackjack,” but this is follows identical rules and gameplay, while
simply increasing the minimum and maximum bets.

Graphics and Animations

One of the selling points of Arrow’s Edge software seems to be its crisp,
clean interface and visual display.

That’s interesting, because prior reviews for Arrow’s Edge have roundly
criticized the company’s graphics as subpar and underperforming. It appears as
though a massive upgrade effort has been undertaken in the intervening years,
because today the company’s blackjack software looks and feels like that of its
big brother Betsoft.

Rather than the stark red felt used for the game table on the old Arrow’s
Edge software, the current version is played on casino style green layout. The
oddly proportioned use of screen space that plagued Arrow’s Edge in early
attempts has also been remedied.

The dealer’s area of the screen depicts a chip tray neatly organized
according to casino custom, along with a multiple deck “shoe” containing the
virtual cards.

And when the cards start flying around the felt, you’ll see well designed and
intricately detailed graphics and animations. The face cards feature the same
ornate design you’d find on genuine Bicycle playing cards, and the black and red
shades for the suits pop off the screen. The cards are also “flipped” from face
down to face up, in the same style used by many experienced casino dealers to
draw out the drama.

The almost clone like similarities between the Arrow’s Edge blackjack
software and Betsoft’s products suggests that the companies are working in
tandem.

We found no evidence of a merger or acquisition while searching online, so
this is just a theory, but the fact that three client casinos use both Arrow’s
Edge and Betsoft – combined with the nearly identical visuals and gameplay –
leads us to believe there’s some sort of relationship behind the scenes.

Gameplay Interface

From the player’s perspective, the blackjack interface is just about as good
as it gets. You’ll be sitting at a perfectly replicated casino gaming table, one
which comes complete with a cushioned railing and even gold plated cup holders.
These accoutrements don’t come into play on a literal level, but they do manage
to accentuate the overall vibe by recreating the casino setting to a tee.

In the lower right hand corner of the screen you’ll see your arsenal for the
blackjack battle to come, casino chips in the following colors and
denominations:

• $1 – Red and green striped
• $5 – Red and orange striped
• $25 – Green and orange striped
• $100 – Black and yellow striped
• $500 – Purple and yellow striped

These chip graphics are enabled to be clicked and dragged, or simply clicked,
so select your chip of choice and scroll over to the lower portion of the felt
with your cursor. There you’ll find a circled outline with the words “Click to
Bet” contained within – and you’ll actually see three of these circles, one for
each hand “spot” on the table.

One more click on any of these Click to Bet tabs will lay down the chip you
selected, while a second click will double the bet, and so on. If you’re playing
multiple hands per deal, just click on the corresponding circle near each hand
outline to complete a bet, before moving on to the next.

And if you ever misclick and add too many chips at one time, don’t worry, as
the “Clear Bets” tab underneath your chip rack graphic will remove all pending
bets.

You can also head back to the chip rack to change denominations and tailor
your bet sizing.

When you have put your bet(s) up, you’ll notice two display counters in the
lower left hand corner of the screen adjust in kind.

The first display reads “Total Bet” and this reflects the accumulated wagers
you’ve put up for one, two, or all three hands.

The second display reads “Balance” in yellow print, and this reflects your
total bankroll at the moment. It will increase or decrease immediately after the
result of a hand is settled.

With your bets in place, the hand officially begins when you click on the
“Deal” button. This is found in the center of the screen, to the far left
alongside four other main game controls (Split, Double, Stand, and Hit).

By clicking deal, you’ll signal the virtual dealer to begin pitching cards.
Just like you’d see at a traditional live blackjack table, the first card comes
your way face up, followed by a single card face up to the dealer. You get the
next card face up to complete your two card starting hand, before the dealer’s
two card hand is completed with a face down “hole” card.

And if you’re playing more than one hand, the cycle will simply expand to go
Player > Player > Player > Dealer > Player > Player > Player > Dealer.

After all cards have been dealt out, you’ll run through your decision making
process as per usual.

In the Multihand mode, you’ll always be playing the hand to far your right
first, then the middle hand, and finally the hand to your far left. But to help
keep things organized, look for the convenient “Current Hand” tab which appears
with red arrows to signify which hand you’re currently acting on.

We mentioned this already, and its common sense really, but the action
controls available to you appear from left to right as follows:

1. Split
2. Double
3. Stand
4. Hit

Assuming you know the basic vernacular of blackjack gameplay, we’ll spare you
a remedial review, but if you are a beginner, we have a section where you can

read up on the complete rules of blackjack.

Each action control does exactly what it says, and in a convenient design
addition, only those actions which can legally be performed are highlighted and
made clickable once the cards are dealt. In other words, if you don’t have a
paired hand which can be split, the Split button is simply deactivated and left
“greyed” out.

This helps to de clutter the gameplay interface by allowing players to focus
in on actions that can actually be used.

Once you’ve made your decisions and created a hand total (or you’ve gone
bust), the dealer will do the same to complete the hand. If you’ve managed to
beat the dealer, the winning hand will flash with a small red banner reading
“You Win!,” with the total payout amount listed in smaller print underneath.

Upon losing to the dealer, or pushing, a generic banner will appear reading
“Lose” or “Push,” respectively. And should you go over 21 to “bust,” a garish
gold banner appears near the hand reading “Busted.”

From there, the cards in play will be swept away instantly and into the
discard pile, resetting the game screen for a new hand.

When that occurs, notice that the “Deal” button you pressed initially is now
replaced by one labeled “Re Bet.” Clicking on the Re Bet button is a great time
saver, as it allows you to skip the bet selection process in favor of keeping
the previous wager in place.

So if you bet $100 on the first hand and turn a winner, clicking on Re Bet
will put $100 up for the next hand – not the entire $200.

That about does it for the actual game play experience. And like we’ve
mentioned already, this interface is smooth and on point. You won’t see any
hiccups, freezes, or skips in the animations – the bane of online casino players
who still mistrust random number generators (RNGs) – and everything functions as
it should.

One minor complaint we noticed concerned the audio components, which didn’t
seem to be working at all when we played. This could be an issue with our device
though, and in any event, sound effects in virtual blackjack aren’t all that
relevant anyway.

Now, on to the specific House Rules used for Arrow’s Edge blackjack.

Rules and Gameplay Conditions

As mentioned above, Arrow’s Edge offers two identical versions of its
blackjack game, the basic style for recreational players and a VIP version for
high rollers.

When playing standard Multihand Blackjack (or New American Blackjack), the
betting limits begin with a minimum of $1 and cap out at a maximum of $200.

If you hop over to the VIP tables, the stakes climb to a $25 minimum and a
whopping $500 maximum.

Now that you know what you’ll be betting, let’s dive into the rules that
define how you’ll play the game:

Below you’ll find a full listing of the House Rules on Dealer and Player
actions for Multihand Blackjack, as found on Arrow’s Edge software:

• Dealer must hit and take another card when holding a soft 17 total
• Dealer must “peek” at hole card and check for blackjack whenever their
  up card is an ace or face (J, Q, K)
• Players can only double down on the first two cards of a hand
• Players can double down on any two cards
• Players can double down after splitting, except when the hand split was
  two aces
• Players can only split an exact pair
• Players can split two aces, but after the second cards are dealt to
  each, no hits or doubles are permitted
• After splitting, and receiving another paired hand, no further “re
  splits” are permitted
• Players are offered “Insurance” whenever dealer’s up card is an ace
• Insurance costs one half of the current bet for each live hand
• When dealer turns over blackjack on an Insurance hand, player’s side bet
  is paid out at 2 to 1
• All blackjacks are paid out at 3 to 2

Next up are the House Rules for deck construction:

• The game uses a six deck shoe
• That shoe shall be re shuffled after every “round”

This represents a fairly standard blackjack rules setup, if not one that
leans towards the house in terms of construction. For example, having the dealer
hit on soft 17s, rather than stay, slightly benefits the house. Furthermore,
restrictions on re splitting and actions following a split of aces further
decrease the player’s house edge.

House Edge Rate

Speaking of the house edge rate, the handy Wizard of Odds blackjack
calculator allows us to plug in these specific rules to determine exactly how
the Arrow’s Edge version stacks up.

In fact, many of the top online casinos today spread tinkered with
takes on blackjack that tend to favor the player even more.

The Amaya software engine, used to power the PokerStars online casino
component, runs Vegas Blackjack with a 0.40 percent house edge. It may not seem
like that big of a difference, what with percentage points serving as the
difference, but that means Arrow’s Edge blackjack is nearly twice as bad in
terms of the odds offered to players.

Generally speaking, we would never recommend playing an online blackjack game
with a house edge much higher than the baseline of 0.50. Sure, a few of the more
creative variants offer enough excitement and entertainment value to merit a
slightly higher rate. But this is nothing more than traditional blackjack played
using strict, house friendly rules. Unless you have no other options on the
table, it’s always best to find the lowest house edge out there before bringing
your bankroll into battle.

Blackjack Variants and Hybrids

Even though Arrow’s Edge is limited to just the one basic blackjack game, the
company’s software suite does come equipped with an interesting alternative.

The game of PokerJack is exactly what it sounds like, and by fusing the
classic card games of blackjack and poker, the Arrow’s Edge design team created
a new hybrid table game.

The structure of PokerJack is really just blackjack dressed up with a pair of
poker based side bets. On each hand, you’ll be putting up two separate bets – a
main Blackjack bet, plus a Poker bet that doubles as a Jackpot bet.

From there, the blackjack portion of the hand is played out as per usual,
with the following rules in place:

• A single deck is used in lieu of the six deck shoe
• Dealer must hit and take another card when holding a soft 17 total
• Dealer must “peek” at hole card and check for blackjack whenever their
  up card is an ace or face (J, Q, K)
• Players can only double down when holding a 9, 10, or 11 two card
  starting total
• Players can only split an exact pair
• Players can double down after splitting, except when the hand split was
  two aces
• Players cannot “re split” after splitting and receiving another paired
  starting hand
• Players cannot surrender

Using these rules, the main Blackjack wager is settled just like any other
game of twenty one.

Also of note for savvy players, the house edge on the Blackjack aspect of the
game stands at just 0.38 percent. That’s significantly lower than the 0.78 house
edge you’ll be up against playing the standard Arrow’s Edge blackjack offering.

What makes PokerJack special, however, is the inclusion of a poker hand
element.

Both the Poker and Jackpot bets are based on the poker hand value of the
first five cards you receive during the blackjack part of the hand. Obviously,
not all blackjack hands get five cards – you may hit a two card 20 and stand, or
go bust on three cards – so a special set of rules is used to settle wagers for
the Poker portion of the game.

Those rules are listed as follows:

• Players who stand or go bust holding fewer than five cards will receive
  additional cards to complete their five card Poker hand (two card hands get
  three more, four card hands get one, etc.)
• These additional cards have no bearing on the Blackjack portion of the
  hand
• Players who have drawn to hold six or more cards in their Blackjack hand
  will always use the first five cards as their Poker hand
• Players who split a paired hand in the Blackjack game must then split
  their Poker and Jackpot bets as well
• This splitting process works in the same way, so the Poker and Jackpot
  bets shall be doubled, and each hand’s first card will be used as the start
  of their eventual five card Poker hand
• When settling Poker bets, winners are paid out at a “to one” basis (2 to
  1, 3 to 1, etc.)
• When settling Jackpot bets, winners are paid out using a percentage of
  the progressive jackpot meter on a “for one” scale

The pay table used for Poker bets can be reviewed below:

PokerJack Poker Bet Pay Table

PokerJack Poker Bet Pay Table

Unfortunately, as fun as the idea of chasing flushes and straights at the
blackjack table sounds, PokerJack presents players with a double edged sword.

Take a look at the following table to review the odds and probabilities
associated with this dual Poker and Jackpot bet:

POKER HAND	PAYS	COMBINATIONS	PROBABILITY	RETURN
Royal flush	500 to 1	4	0.00 percent	0.08 percent
Straight flush	100 to 1	36	0.00 percent	0.14 percent
Four of a kind	50 to 1	624	0.02 percent	1.20 percent
Full house	10 to 1	3,744	0.14 percent	1.44 percent
Flush	8 to 1	5,108	0.20 percent	1.57 percent
Straight	5 to 1	10,200	0.39 percent	1.96 percent
Three of a kind	3 to 1	54,912	2.11 percent	6.34 percent
Two pair	2 to 1	123,552	4.75 percent	9.51 percent
One pair (7s and up)	1 to1	675,840	26.00 percent	26.00 percent
All other	Loss	1,724,940	66.37 percent	66.37 percent
Total	N/A	2,598,960	100.00 percent	18.13 percent

You’ll notice the bad news found in the lower right hand corner of the table,
as the house edge on this Poker and Jackpot bet stands at an astronomical 18.13
percent. That’s on par with some of the worst side bets in the industry, and
simply put, this is a “sucker bet” plain and simple.

AAnd the worst part is, you can’t play PokerJack’s player friendly blackjack
setup without also plunking a chip down on the Poker and Jackpot side bet too.
So unless you like to gamble it up with reckless abandon, we’d suggest steering
clear of this admittedly entertaining alternative.

Mobile Compatibility

The Arrow’s Edge website pledges that Multihand Blackjack, standard and VIP,
along with PokerJack, have been equipped for mobile play.

You can access mobile versions of your favorite Arrow’s Edge online casino
using iOS or Android powered tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices.

Conclusion

Overall, the Arrow’s Edge online casino software engine presents players with
a streamlined, but efficient, menu of old classics and new takes. That scope
doesn’t extend to the blackjack menu though, which is a big disappointment.

Perhaps the company’s higher ups decided to devote resources to the higher
house edge games that operators prefer to spread, but whatever the case,
offering just one blackjack game is a major oversight.

The modern online blackjack player is accustomed to toggling between dozens
of different rule setups and variants. Leaving their player base with no
alternative, except for the carnival game known as PokerJack, the Arrow’s Edge
design team left a lot on the proverbial table.