Win at Blackjack

As is true of many casino games and especially of the card games, in blackjack the house always has the advantage. No matter how experienced and well-versed they are in blackjack, the player never has the edge. If both the dealer and the player bust in blackjack, the house always wins. No strategy can overcome this basic rule, so good blackjack strategies focus on reducing the house’s edge.

It is important to remember that the best strategies are based on odds, but that odds are only an estimate of what will happen based on average occurrences. Playing with the odds in mind is a good way to minimize your risks and optimize your hand, but the cards may go for or against your favor at any time. This isn’t luck; it’s just the nature of the game. Odds have nothing to do with luck, and luck should have nothing to do with your strategy.

Tips for Playing Blackjack

The first thing you need to determine when entering a casino with the intention of playing blackjack is whether the house dealers hit on 16 or 17. This is the basis for many strategies, and will sway how you play your own hand. Many strategies are also based on the number of decks the hands are drawn from (also called the shoe). Traditionally, the dealer draws from four decks, but more recently casinos have adopted the practice of using six decks. A high count early in the shoe may be more or less significant depending on the number of decks the shoe is comprised of.

Practice makes perfect. Play by yourself, play with friends, play online, play with a simulator—play as much as you can. This will help you to better visualize the strategies, gives you a real feel for how the game works, and helps you to see the consistency of odds when applied over time. Reading up on the game can help your playing too, but ultimately a working knowledge of blackjack is the most useful.

Know when to go. As with any other game that involves real money, it is important to recognize when it’s time to leave the table. Blackjack is a fast game, and the tide can turn very quickly for a player. On the other hand, many players unaccustomed to casino blackjack will delude themselves into thinking that they are on a “losing streak” rather than accepting that their skills are simply not sufficient for reducing the house’s edge.

That said, here is a very general blackjack strategy that incorporates the basics of the house and dealer’s advantage.

Basic Blackjack Strategy

You have no real way of knowing the dealer’s hole card, so many strategies encourage the player to always assume it is a ten. This—in conjunction with whether the dealer stands at 16 or 17--will be used to determine when you hit or when you stand. For example, if the dealer stands at 16, and they have a 7 face up, then you assume they have 17. If your cards total 16, then it is obvious that the only way you can beat their hypothetical 17 is by hitting.  

If your two cards total 12 to 16, you have what is called a “stiff” hand, which means that by hitting at this point your hand can go bust. Likewise, if the dealer has a 2 through 6 card face up, you will assume that they also have a stiff hand. A 17 or above is called a “pat” hand for both you and the dealer. When you hit is determined by the dealer’s hand.  If both you and the dealer have a stiff hand, then you will stand. If you have a stiff hand and the dealer has a pat hand (as in the previous example of their 17 to your 16), then the dealer will stand and you must hit to beat them.   

This is a very basic strategy, but the odds behind it are consistent, which is far safer to bet on than luck or intuition.

Counting Cards in Blackjack

Many players associate blackjack with card counting. Card counting, when done right, can definitely help a player to reduce the house’s edge, but card counting at a full table with a six or eight deck shoe can be difficult and is not an advisable strategy for beginning blackjack players. Furthermore, while it is not illegal many casinos do frown on the practice and as private properties are legally allowed to ban you from playing their tables.

It is far better to learn the actual statistics of the game and apply them as you play than to rely on card counting. Strategy cards for each shoe size are available all over the web and in specialty card stores. Furthermore, many casinos will allow novice players to bring these blackjack strategy cards to the table as long as they can use them without disrupting the regular speed of play.

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