Mega Fire Blaze Blackjack - Hot Playtech Casino Review, Strategy, and Tips

For starters, the rapidly expanding Playtech brand is making a bold bet with this game.

Specifically, they’re trying to introduce a bonus round into live casino blackjack. This isn’t a new idea, exactly, but it is without a doubt the best effort we’ve seen towards putting this innovation into practice.

It is remarkably difficult to improve upon casino blackjack. Not only is it one of the most popular table games in the world, it also boasts one of the lowest house edge’s in the entire industry…

…which is why the main game RTP for this release comes in so handsomely at 99.55%!

That would be unthinkably high for, say, a slot release, and indeed, it does require players to use sound strategy in their decisions. Even small deviations from optimal gaming practices result in instant increases in the house edge, to the detriment of players’ bankrolls.

But that demonstrates exactly why it’s so difficult to make meaningful additions to blackjack play. Just about any new idea will lower overall RTP, which will discourage savvy players from taking part.

(This is exactly why we routinely advice our readers to ignore side bets entirely… the house edge is almost comically higher for them than it is for the main game.)

Playtech makes a strong case for a middle way. For the base game, they retain the outstanding RTP mentioned above. For the multiplier bonus game, there is a small decrease in overall player advantage, but the RTP is still quite favorable at 97.47%.

Is there a drop-off there? Of course! But it’s not so severe as to discourage fans of the game to spend their time and bankroll here.

And of course, that’s not where the fun stops here!

It should come as no surprise that Playtech brings both innovation and rock solid core design to this title.

After all, this is the company that more or less broke the Live Dealer gaming trend wide open with their revolutionary Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Roulette adaptation!

The combination of added multipliers with game show-style presentation set that title apart from the competition, and it does very well here too. I mean, a chance to win up to 1000x the total bet size? That’s the kind of opportunity that will bring players running from all corners of the globe.

But there’s more to this title than just the bonus feature!

The base play comes with the kind of table rules that would bring most Blackjack aficionados across the casino floor straightaways. The betting range of $1-2,000 per hand renders this an accessible game for gamblers of (almost) all bankroll sizes; dealer always stands on soft 17 or above; doubling after splitting is permitted, but re-splitting is not; player blackjack pays 3:2.

There is also Insurance as well as two side bets (21+3 and Perfect Pairs) available, but as usual, we would suggest that you steer clear of those, as they offer far inferior odds compared to both the base game and the bonus game.

Base play takes the increasingly standardized ‘one-to-many’ setup, whereby any number of players can participate at the same time against one single dealer. Ever gambler will be dealt the same cards, but can make independent betting and play decisions. There are actually two player hands dealt each round – one can choose to wager on one, both, or neither.

Overall, standard Vegas rules are the guideline here, which is great news for gamers!

The design team has clearly taken some inspiration from Slot Game bonuses. And this seems to work well!

Just like in a Slot game, the bonus feature is only activated when certain conditions are met.

Those conditions aren’t all that complicated, though!

Basically, the goal is to collect “achievements.” These consist of:

• Player hands with a total value of 14 – a hand value equal to exactly 14 is worth 2 achievement points. If both player hands are worth 14, that’s good for 6 achievement points!
• Dealer hands that contain an Ace – 2 achievement points will be given for a single Ace in the dealer hand; two aces are worth 6 points.
• Total number of cards in the dealer’s hand – a four-card dealer hand is good for 1 point; a five-card hand nets 7 points; and a six-card hand awards 12!

The higher the number of achievement points acquired, the better bonuses become available.

Bonuses are separated into five categories – minor, mini, major, grand, and mega – but all players need to know is that move achievement points are better, and only the top bonus level (mega) unlocks the max multiplier of 1,000x.

Once the feature is triggered, the similarities to slot gaming become even stronger as a 3-reel grid appears. The game begins with three spins; any time a multiplier appears on one of the reel segments, the number of spins resets to three. This goes on until the counter drops to zero, or until every real position contains a multiplier. Then, the payout is awarded.

As the world of international casino gambling increasingly grows into a global industry without borders, it’s becoming the norm for fans of the tables to have their pick from an astonishing array of titles.

Even with every title every released available, though, this one is still very much worthy of attention. Base play offers fantastically player-friendly tables – combine this with casino bonuses, and it’s unlikely that better odds will be found anywhere in the online casino multiverse.

When you throw a hefty bonus round into the mix, things move from wildly appealing to irresistible!