Instead of asking whether you can triple down in blackjack, the more pertinent question is whether you want to triple down. The short answer is yes. In theory, you can, but you should do so only if you know the risks. The second question you need to ask is whether this practice is permissible. The short answer here is no, because casinos don’t always allow tripling down. But to understand the rather uncommonly used term “triple down,” you must first understand what it means to double down.
What Does Double Down Mean?
Doubling down is a common strategy blackjack players use to increase their chances of winning. However, it requires skill to ensure this strategy doesn’t backfire and result in you losing money. Doubling down means you double your original bet in the middle of a hand after the dealer deals your first two cards, after which you can only be dealt one more card. All the players with the third card who doubled down must stand.
When Should You Double Down?
Players should know when it’s advantageous to double down and when a hand is unlikely to improve by doubling a stake. As a rule, it’s only advisable to double down when players’ first two cards total 9, 10, or 11 with no ace or a soft 16, 17, or 18 (that’s an ace plus a 5, 6, or 7), but never when the player’s cards total more than 11 and never when the dealer is holding an ace. Naturally, the strategy carries some risks. For example, if the third card is a low card, players can’t hit again and may lose twice their original stake. On the other hand, if it works in your favor, everything changes — the key to a successful double-down lies in knowing when to do it, though. Some players in the history of blackjack have become legends because they knew how to use the double-down strategy successfully on more than one occasion.
What Does It Mean To Triple Down in Blackjack?
Tripling down is effectively doubling down twice, meaning players put triple their original stake on the table. Here, the double-down rules stay in place: players can only get one more card after their first two, and all the players with a third card must stand.
In most casinos, players can only double down once per hand, which means tripling down is effectively not allowed — whether in live dealer blackjack games or when playing blackjack online. If you are permitted to triple down, the protocol determines that you place your triple down on the wrong side of your original bet, and when the dealer gets back to your position, you say, “Double for less.”
Why Is Tripling Down Not Allowed In Some Casinos?
Most casinos have a betting limit on table games to protect themselves and their players from overextending and excessive losses. Tripling down can cause players to exceed the house limit, which is why the practice is not allowed. Even in the best online blackjack games, tripling down is seen as too risky, so if you’re looking for casinos that allow it, there are only a few to choose from between live and online blackjack games.
Is Doubling Down After Splitting the Same As Tripling Down?
Splitting is when a player creates two new hands from the original two cards they were dealt. The player then places an additional bet for the second hand, the dealer deals an additional card per hand, and the player continues as usual. You can only split pairs, but this doesn’t mean all pairs should be. If the player wants to double down on either of the two hands after the split, casinos will interpret this as tripling down, which most don’t allow.
Is Tripling Down Ever Allowed?
Some brick-and-mortar casino and live dealer online casino variants of blackjack, including Triple Up 21 and Power Blackjack, permit triple-down and quadruple-down play. In these variants, the dealer removes all 9s and 10s from the shoe. If most casinos don’t want you to triple down, they certainly would never advocate for quadrupling down as a move, so players must be confident to sit at one of those tables.
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