Vista Gaming Blackjack Software

Having launched in 1996, Vista Gaming is one of the oldest online gaming providers in the industry. They also own a
piece of gaming history, having opened CyberBingo – the world’s first real money
bingo site.

As a testament to Vista Gaming, CyberBingo is still running strong. And Vista
also powers three other sites in Vegas Crest Casino, BingoFest, and BingoSKY.

Obviously this company is skilled at creating bingo products. But what we
want to know is how good their blackjack games are.

That being said, let’s discuss what you can expect from Vista Gaming
blackjack in terms of their games, graphics, table layout, music, sound effects,
betting, game play, rules, and strategy. We’ll also cover Vista Gaming closer
and offer a recommendation on whether or not you should play their blackjack
games.

General Aspects of Vista Gaming Blackjack

2 Games

Vista Gaming only features two blackjack games, including a multi-hand
variation and Blackjack Bare All.

The bad news is that this is one of the most-limited varieties we’ve seen in
the industry. The good news is that Vista’s blackjack variations are very
different from each other.

The multi-hand game lets you play up to 5 hands per turn, and it features
basics rules.

Blackjack Bare All is just a different name for double exposure, where you
can see the dealer’s first two cards, rather than an up card and a face-down
hole card.

The differences don’t make up for the limited amount of variety. But at least
Vista Gaming doesn’t have a classic and multi-hand version, then try to pass
them off as two separate games.

8-Card Charlie

Vista Gaming blackjack tables feature an 8-card Charlie rule, where you
automatically win if you’re dealt eight cards without busting.

8-card Charlie is an ultra-rare rule, and the chances of you being dealt
eight cards without busting are slim to none.

Given that 7-card Charlie only reduces the house edge by 0.1%, the 8-card
rule’s impact is almost nonexistent. Still, it’s interesting that Vista Gaming
included this rule in their games.

Graphics

These blackjack games don’t have the most-authentic graphics that we’ve seen,
but they do offer bold and bright colors.

This makes Vista Gaming blackjack feel like a video game, rather than a
realistic experience. But the rich colors still make the tables look good.

The felt offers a clean look, with clearly legible rules and strong colors.

The wooden rim around the table is the most-realistic aspect, offering nice
detail in the woodgrain. It also features club, diamond, heart, and spade
decorations going around the outside.

The only bad-looking parts of the tables include the chips in the back, and
cards in the shuffling machine. The chips look like multi-colored blobs, making
them one of the ugliest background decorations that we’ve seen.

Table Layout

The lower part of the table features five spaces where you can place bets and
play hands. The chip denominations that you use to put in these circles are
located at the bottom of the screen.

The middle of the table displays rules on natural blackjack payouts,
insurance, and the dealer standing on a soft 17.

One other notable aspect is the placard at the top, which shows that minimum
bets are $1 and max wagers are $10.00.

At the very bottom of the screen, outside the table area, you’ll see displays
for your balance, winnings, and current bet size. Also note that the wager size
is listed above the betting circles too.

Overall, Vista Gaming does a good job of offering a user-friendly table that
requires little learning time.

Music & Sound Effects

Vista Gaming blackjack features both music and a female voice that announces
wins and losses.

As for the music, this is a classical jazz tune that makes you feel like
you’re in an elegant casino. If not for the video game-like table, both
blackjack games would offer an authentic casino experience.

Betting

The classic blackjack table allows you to use $1 and $5 chip denominations.
The double exposure table offers $1, $5, $25, $100, and $500 chips.

Given that the minimum bet on both tables is $10, we have no idea why there
are $25, $100, and $500 chips available on the Bare All table.

After selecting a chip, you click one of the 5 betting circles to place your
wager. You can make the max wager in all 5 circles.

Gameplay Options

One thing that we’re disappointed with regarding the options is the lack of a
rules page. We had to figure out the rules by playing and doing research.

Vista Gaming does offer some nice gameplay options, which you can access by
clicking the Settings button in the lower left-hand corner. Here’s a look at the
different settings:

• Sound Settings

  Adjust volume on the music, sound effects, and voice.

• Game Settings

  Change the game speed, and zoom in on the table.

• Table Color

  Adjust the felt colors to blue, green, or red.

• Hotkeys

  This shows you the hotkeys/shortcuts that you use to do the
  following: start the game, stand, repeat bet, split, double down, and
  collect cards.

While the absence of rules still disappoints us, we do like how you can
control multiple options with both the sounds and table colors.

Regarding the latter, most blackjack providers don’t offer more than one felt
color – let alone give you the option to change them.

Limited Free Play; Games Don’t Work at VistaGaming.com

Vista Gaming is really guarded about letting you play their games for free.

We initially visited their website and found low and high limit versions of
both blackjack games. Upon clicking each one, a pop-up window would appear.

We kept waiting for the games to appear, but all we saw was a blank, black
screen. After ensuring that we had the latest version of Flash, we confirmed
that the games indeed don’t work.

At first, we just thought that Vista Gaming doesn’t do a good job ensuring
that their samples work. But we began to suspect that they don’t want people
playing their games for free after signing up at BingoSKY.

You must create an account to play at BingoSKY before you’re eligible to play
any games.

This isn’t uncommon, but we were shocked at the limited free play we
received. After playing the game for a little while and exhausting our chips,
the Vista Gaming software didn’t reload them.

We even exited the game, logged out, and returned to see if our chips were
available again. Much to our surprise, there still weren’t any chips.

For this reason, we were only able to figure out some of the rules on our
own. The rest required researching what other sites discussed regarding the
rules.

In an age when online casinos let you play as much free blackjack as you
want, it’s bizarre that the Vista Gaming software is so restrictive. Most
players will just move on to the next casino if they’re not ready to make a
deposit, rather than deposit because they’re out of free chips.

Return to Player RTP

RTP is another murky area for Vista Gaming blackjack.

Michael Shackleford (a.k.a. Wizard of Odds) estimates that, based on rules,
the standard blackjack game’s RTP is 99.22%. This is incredibly low for online
blackjack since most providers don’t offer anything below 99.3%.

We searched for Blackjack Bare All’s RTP, but couldn’t find anything.
Considering the 0.78% house edge on the regular version, we don’t have much
confidence in Bare All either.

Software Security

Information on Vista Gaming’s website is rather limited. But under the
Services section, we see that they offer fraud prevention and risk controls
through their B2B operation.

Vista Gaming Blackjack Games

As discussed earlier, Vista Gaming only offers two games in Blackjack Bare
All and a standard version.

We use the word standard lightly because Vista Gaming’s multi-hand blackjack
features some odd rules. The same is true of Blackjack Bare All, which offers
strange rules along with a double exposure format.

Below you can see the rules, RTP, strategy, and how to play for each version.

Multi-Hand (Standard) Blackjack

Rules

We can’t begin to describe how weird the rules are for this game.

First off, the table states that the dealer stays on a soft 17, although they
actually hit. This is not only misleading, but also a huge mistake by Vista
Gaming because their tables say the wrong rule.

Next, the dealer usually peeks for blackjack on ace and 10 – not just one or
the other.

It’s also odd that you can surrender early against everything but an ace. In
fact, we’ve never seen the late/early surrender rules used in combination before
at online casinos.

One last strange rule is that you can double down on 8 to 11. When casinos
use a double down restriction, they normally only let you double down on 9 to
11.

All this brings us back to an earlier complaint about how Vista Gaming
doesn’t list rules for their games. If they’re going to create such an odd set
of rules, they should at least give you the option to see them.

Below you can see the rules for this standard blackjack variation:

• 3:2 natural blackjack (21 on first two cards) payouts.
• Dealer hits a soft 17.
• 8 decks.
• Dealer peeks for blackjack with ace up card, but not a 10.
• Double down on 8 to 11.
• No doubling after a split.
• You can only split once.
• Late surrender against ace, and early surrender against 2 to 10.
• 8-card Charlie

Return to Player RTP

The RTP is only 99.22%, which is really low for an internet blackjack game.
If you value your long-term chances of winning, then you’ll want to avoid Vista
Gaming blackjack.

Several of the rules are disadvantageous to players, including the dealer
hitting on a soft 17, double down restrictions, no doubling down after
splitting, only being able to split once, and 8 decks.

The split options for early surrender (2-10) and late surrender (ace) go in
your favor. But this isn’t enough to offer you a solid chance of winning.

How to Play

Each round begins with you selecting a chip denomination from the bottom of
the screen, then placing it in one of the available betting circles. If you’d
like to take your wager(s) back, click Clear to start over.

In the multi-hand variation, you can play between 1 and 5 hands per round.

When you’re finished making bets, click Deal to receive your first two cards
and see the dealer’s up card. If the dealer has an ace, they’ll check for
blackjack before the round continues.

You’ll have the following options for your hand: hit, stand, split (pairs),
and double down (totals 8 to 11).

After the hand is finished, you can make a new bet(s) or Rebet, which sees
you use the exact same bets and number of hands.

Strategy

Given the unusual rules covered before, strategy for Vista Gaming’s standard
blackjack game differs from other online versions. We consulted Shackleford’s
page again to see his recommended strategy card.

Here’s a look at the strategy that’ll help you achieve the optimal 99.22%
payback:

• Your total is 5 to 8: always hit.
• Your total is 9: double down when dealer’s up card is 3 to 6. Hit when
  their card is 2 and 7 to A.
• Your total is 10: double down when dealer’s up card is 2 to 9. Hit when
  their card is 10 to A.
• Your total is 11: always double down.
• Your total is 12: hit when dealer’s up card is 2 to 3 and 7 to A. Stand
  when dealer’s card is 4 to 6.
• Your total is 13 to 14: hit when their card is 7 to A. Stand when their
  card is 2 to 6.
• Your total is 15: hit when dealer’s up card is 7 to 9 and ace. Stand
  when their card is 2 to 6. Early surrender when their card is 10.
• Your total is 16: hit when dealer’s up card is 7 to 8. Stand when their
  card is 2 to 6. Early surrender when their card is 9 to A.
• Your total is 17: stand when their card is 2 to 10. Late surrender when
  their card is ace.
• Your total is 18 to 21: always stand.
• Your cards are A2 to A6: always hit.
• Your cards are A7: stand when dealer’s up card is 2 to 8 and A. Hit when
  their card is 9 to 10.
• Your cards are A8+: always stand.
• You have a pair of 2’s or 3’s: split when dealer’s up card is 4 to 7.
  Hit when their card is 2 to 3 and 8 to A.
• You have a pair of 4’s: split when dealer’s up card is 5 to 6. Hit when
  their card is 2 to 4 and 7 to A.
• You have a pair of 5’s: double down when dealer’s up card is 2 to 9. Hit
  when their card is 10 to A.
• You have a pair of 6’s: split when the dealer’s up card is 3 to 6. Hit
  when their card is 2 and 7 to A.
• You have a pair of 7’s: split when the dealer’s up card is 2 to 7. Hit
  when their card is 8 to 9 and A. Surrender when their card is 10.
• You have a pair of 8’s: split when dealer’s up card is 2 to 9. Surrender
  when their card is 10 to A.
• You have a pair of 9’s: split when the dealer’s up card is 2 to 6 and 8
  to 9. Stand when their card is 7 and 10 to A.
• You have a pair of 10’s: always stand.
• You have a pair of aces: always split.

Blackjack Bare All (Double Exposure)

Rules

Vista Gaming’s Bare All is just a term for double exposure blackjack.

Double exposure is unique in that you get to see the dealer’s first two
cards, rather than just one. This creates for interesting strategy and
decisions, given that you have more information.

Again, we stress how disappointing it is that Vista Gaming doesn’t list the
rules for their blackjack games. Going further, we haven’t seen a full list of
rules for their games on other sites.

This forced us to play and figure out what we could, until the free play ran
out and wasn’t replenished. Here’s what we found, combined with other standard
rules for a double exposure game:

• Natural blackjack pays 1:1 on your bet.
• The dealer hits on a soft 17. 8 decks.
• Dealer peeks for blackjack with ace, but not 10.
• Double down on 8 to 11.
• No doubling down after split.
• You can only split hands once.
• No surrender.
• 8-card Charlie.

Return to Player RTP

RTP isn’t listed for Blackjack Bare All, nor is it found online anywhere.
Given that we can’t even confirm all the rules for Vista Gaming’s specific
double exposure variation, it’s hard to get a definite RTP.

We’ve seen double exposure payback as high as 99.69%. But when considering
that the standard blackjack variation only offers 99.22% RTP, we doubt that
Vista Gaming’s Bare All pays any better.

The biggest problem with Vista Gaming blackjack variations is that they
include the weird rules that we discussed before – most of which favor the
house.

Even without knowing the RTP for Blackjack Bare All, we’re certain that
you’ll find higher-paying games through other providers.

How to Play

Blackjack Bare All plays the same as Vista Gaming’s standard blackjack.

The big difference is that you can see the dealer’s first two cards after
clicking Deal. This doesn’t make the rules any different, but it will impact the
strategy you use.

Another difference is that you have more chip denominations to choose from.
In addition to the $1 and $5 denominations, you can also use $25, $100, and
$500.

The standard and Bare All versions that we played have a maximum $10 bet, so
it makes no sense why any chips above $10 are included.

Strategy

We can’t find specific strategy anywhere for Vista Gaming’s Blackjack Bare
All. And it would take numerous calculations to figure out what moves you should
make based on Vista Gaming’s unusual rules.

If you play this game, we recommend using standard double exposure strategy.
This won’t get you to optimal RTP for Vista Gaming’s version, but it’ll get you
close:

• Your total is 5 to 8: always hit.
• Your total is 9: double down when dealer’s score is 4 to 6 and 12 to 6.
  Hit when their score is 7 to 11; 17+; and AA to A6.
• Your total is 10: double down when dealer’s score is 4 to 9; 12 to 16;
  and A2 to A5. Hit when their score is 10 to 11; 17+; AA; and A6.
• Your total is 11: double down when dealer’s score is 4 to 9; 12 to 16;
  and AA to A5. Hit when their score is 10 to 11; 17+; and A6.
• Your total is 12: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 6 and 12 to 16. Hit
  when their score is 7 to 11; 17+; and AA to A6.
• Your total is 13: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 6; 12 to 16; and A5.
  Hit when their score is 7 to 11; 17+; AA to A4; and A6.
• Your total is 14: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 6; 12 to 16; and A3
  to A5. Hit when their score is 7 to 11; 17+; AA to A2; and A6.
• Your total is 15: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 6; 12 to 16; and A2
  to A5. Hit when their score is 7 to 11; 17+; AA; and A6.
• Your total is 16: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 6; 11 to 16; and AA
  to A5. Hit when their score is 7 to 10; 17+; and A6.
• Your total is 17: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 17 and AA to A6. Hit
  when their score is 18+.
• Your total is 18: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 18 and AA to A6. Hit
  when their score is 19+.
• Your total is 19: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 19 and AA to A6. Hit
  when their score is 20.
• Your total is 20: always stand (natural 21 is automatic stand).
• Your cards are A2 to A6: always hit.
• Your cards are A7: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 8; 11 to 17; and AA
  to A6.
• Your cards are A8: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 19 and AA to A6.
• Your cards are A9 to A10: always stand.
• You have a pair of 2’s: split when dealer’s score is 4 to 7; 12 to 18;
  and A5 to A6. Hit when their score is 8 to 11; 19+; and A5 to A6.
• You have a pair of 3’s: split when dealer’s score is 4 to 7; 12 to 18;
  and A6. Hit when their score is 8 to 11; 19+; and A6.
• You have a pair of 4’s: hit when dealer’s score is 4; 7 to 11; 17+; and
  AA to A6. Stand when their score is 5 to 6 and 12 to 16.
• You have a pair of 5’s: double down when dealer’s score is 2 to 9; 12 to
  16; and A2 to A6. Hit when their score is 10 to 11; 17+; AA; and A6.
• You have a pair of 6’s: split when dealer’s score is 4 to 6; 12 to 17;
  and A5 to A6. Hit when their score is 7 to 11; 18+; and AA to A4.
• You have a pair of 7’s: split when dealer’s score is 4 to 7; 12 to 17;
  and A3 to A6. Hit when their score is 11; 19+; and AA to A2.
• You have a pair of 8’s: split when dealer’s score is 4 to 7; 12 to 18;
  and AA to A6. Hit when their score is 10 and 19+. Stand when their score is
  11.
• You have a pair of 9’s: split when dealer’s score is 4 to 6; 7 to 8; 12
  to 16; 18 to 19; and A4 to A5. Stand when their score is 7; 10 to 11; 17; AA
  to A3; and A6. Hit when their score is 20.
• You have a pair of 10’s: stand when dealer’s score is 4 to 12; 17+; and
  AA to A6.
• You have a pair of aces: split when dealer’s score is 4 to 16 and AA to
  A5. Hit when their score is 17+ and A6.

Where is Vista Gaming Blackjack Found?

Vista Gaming software is found at four gaming sites: BingoFest Casino,
BingoSKY Casino, CyberBingo Casino, and Vegas Crest Casino.

BingoFest, BingoSKY, and CyberBingo are all owned by the Vista Gaming
Network.

Vegas Crest Casino appears to be owned by another company since it has
several seals of approvals along with other software providers. The owner isn’t
listed, but we’ve seen PalauGames mentioned on several sites.

Given that VistaGaming’s sites and Vegas Crest are different, let’s discuss
details on both along with how you find Vista Gaming blackjack.

BingoFest, BingoSKY, CyberBingo

As the names suggests, these three sites are all focused on bingo. And given
that they’re owned by Vista Gaming, they feature the same navigation style,
promotions, and games.

But one notable difference at the time of this review is how BingoFest offers
a $25 no-deposit bonus for creating an account.

Another difference is that CyberBingo is a historic casino, having launched
in 1996. It’s also the largest of the three sites, currently holding a #283,654
global rank on SimilarWeb, versus #1,682,525 for BingoFest and #1,834,698 for
BingoSKY.

Regarding games, all of these casinos feature an adequate mix of Vista slots,
table games, video poker, and arcade games. The casino selection is nothing
impressive, but this is typical from bingo-focused sites.

Considering that the navigation is the same between all three casinos, it’s
not hard to find the blackjack.

Click the Games drop-down menu, then choose Table Games. From here you can
click either Blackjack or Blackjack Bare All to start playing Vista’s products.

Vegas Crest Casino

Vegas Crest features a sleeker site that offers a large number of slots from
Betsoft, Rival, Saucify, and Vista Gaming. The variety of providers means that
you’ll have more options with regard to gameplay and graphical styles.

But Vista Gaming does more than just offer games at Vegas Crest because
they’re listed more prominently than the other three providers. Furthermore,
they’re a B2B operation that offers customer service, back-end office software,
statistical reporting, and player risk controls.

What’s impressive about Vegas Crest is that they have more certification and
approval than the three bingo sites we covered. Some of the sites that have
given them an approval seal include: 7NoDepositBonus, LCB, USO,
OnlineCasinoReports, RTGBonus, and WizardofOdds.

Their games are also tested by both Gaming Labs and Technical Testing Systems
(TST). We don’t see any certification from Vista Gaming, so the testing must be
for the Betsoft, Rival, and/or Saucify games.

As for finding blackjack here, Vegas Crest doesn’t offer Vista Gaming’s
variations. Instead, they offer Saucify’s Atlantic City and Vegas Strip
blackjack.

You will find some other Vista table games here, including American roulette,
European roulette, and Texas Hold’em.

Vista Gaming Reputability

Vista Gaming is one of the oldest software providers in the online casino
industry. Microgaming, which launched in 1994, is the only company that’s been
around longer.

You don’t have this kind of longevity in online gaming without offering
quality products and services. For this reason, we believe that Vista Gaming is
a solid operation.

But we also wouldn’t say that Vista is the best operation when it comes to
licensing and testing. Here’s a look at the finer aspects of their reputability.

Curacao License

While there’s no mention of licensing on VistaGaming.com, their bingo sites
are all licensed by Curacao.

Opened the same year as Vista in 1996, the Curacao eGaming Authority licenses
a lot of US-facing operations.

Curacao isn’t regarded as an elite gaming jurisdiction, and they have very
little power when it comes to settling disputes. They also have light licensing
requirements compared to more-respected entities like the UK Gambling Commission
and Malta Gaming Authority.

This isn’t to say that Curacao is the absolute worst, given that Costa Rica
and Panama are on the lowest rung. But their licensing doesn’t inspire a wealth
of trust either.

Nevertheless, you’ll still find respected casinos that carry the Curacao
shield. Until proven otherwise, all the sites that feature Vista Gaming software
have solid reputations.

Complaints about Vista Gaming

We haven’t seen many complaints regarding the three Vista-owned brands. The
only thing that we saw were a couple of negative comments about CyberBingo.

These included a complaint about low daily deposit limits, and customer
support not getting back to a player multiple times.

The latter came through AskGamblers, and CyberBingo responded by politely
claiming that they responded to every email sent by the player.

We saw more complaints about Vegas Crest, which has a different owner. The
complaints were of the common variety, including long waits on cashouts, low
withdrawal limits, and excessive ID requirements.

No Testing Certification

We see nothing on Vista Gaming’s site explaining that they’ve passed
laboratory testing.

Many reputable providers have companies like eCOGRA, Gaming Labs, iTech Labs,
or TST test their software to ensure randomness and fair gaming.

But this isn’t the case with Vista Gaming because we can’t find anything
about them being tested.

This is disheartening and conjures fears that Vista could be offering faulty
and biased games. But again, we feel more assured when looking at their long
track record in the business.

Other Vista Gaming Games & Services

B2B Services

We assume that Vegas Crest operates their casino separately, but has a B2B
contract with Vista Gaming. Here’s a look at what Vista Gaming offers their B2B
clients:

• Custom back-end software so that casinos can manage all games and
  operations in real time.
• Financial and statistical reporting.
• Integration with CRM functionality.
• 24-hour live chat customer service.

Bingo

Vista offers close to a dozen bingo games that are connected to progressive
jackpots of varying sizes. At the time of this writing, jackpot amounts include:
$13,709; $11,431; $5,117; and $240.

A few of the bingo games are Diamond Bingo, Nickel Bingo, Pack & Line Bingo,
Spring Bingo, and Tourney Bingo.

Slots

Vista Gaming isn’t like most providers because they don’t stake their
reputation on slots games. But they still offer a few games that you won’t find
at casinos beyond Vegas Crest and the three bingo sites.

Some of these games include: Amazon Quest, Cupid’s Arrow, Fortune 88, Havana
Nights, Honey Money, Lost Vikings, Neon Cowboy, Panda Wilds, Puppy Party, and
Wicked Reels.

Table Games

Aside from the blackjack variations we discussed, you’ll find a handful of
other table games from Vista. These include: American roulette, baccarat, casino
war, European roulette, and Texas hold’em.

Arcade (Chain Reactors)

In addition to their bingo, another thing that sets Vista Gaming apart from
other software companies is their arcade games.

These basically amount to abstract slot formats with tumbling reels, vibrant
colors, and plenty of sound effects. While they play like slots, the chain
reactors still feel different from your average slot.

Conclusion

Good things about Vista Gaming blackjack include the music, solid graphics,
and longevity of the company.

The classical jazz tune is one of the best we’ve heard in online blackjack.
We only wish that the graphics were more traditional to create a truly authentic
experience.

We also like how long Vista Gaming has been in business without suffering any
major scandals. This gives us confidence in their real money blackjack, even if
it doesn’t have lab certification.

Unfortunately, there’s a laundry list of downsides to this blackjack
provider, including limited variety, odd rules, low RTP, and limited free play.

Vista Gaming only offers two games in standard and Bare All blackjack – both
of which have unusual rules. The latter wouldn’t be a big downside if Vista
provided rules sections.

The fact that you can only play the games free for a limited time is archaic.
While some providers previously did this to encourage deposits, nearly every
gaming company lets you play endless free blackjack these days.

The death knell to Vista Gaming’s blackjack operation is the 99.22% RTP for
the standard game. We couldn’t find RTP for Bare All, but it can’t be much
better since 99.22% is as bad as we’ve seen online.

The low RTP alone makes Vista Gaming blackjack unplayable. And it only gets
worse when you add in the other drawbacks we covered.