Blackjack Strategy Basics

Our Top-Rated Casinos for Blackjack

Here is a sample:

Playing a game like online blackjack means that there is no dealer watching you and taking notes. With a visible scheme of the cards being played, blackjack tactics can easily be put into place. Cards labeled "10" (that is, the 10s, Jacks, Queens and Kings) make up 16 of the 52 cards in the deck. About halfway through the deck, you will be able to accurately predict the dealer's down card and bet accordingly. This is a great time to make off-the-wall "double downs," or taking just one hit in exchange for doubling your bet. For example, if you are looking at a hand of 12 and it seems unlikely that the next card will be a ten, take the chance on a double down.

Take note of the chart above.

The value of the last hand is where you need to be, so bet carefully to stay in the game until the end of the deck. By this time, you should have a good idea of how the cards will be dealt, based on what is not marked on your board. Bet big when you know you have an excellent chance of winning, and bet the minimum when the house has it. Sometimes your intuition can lead you astray, so be cautious.

When playing multi-deck blackjack, you simply use the same blackjack tactics as for single-deck blackjack, only on a larger scale. The above chart is expanded for however many decks are used, and the cards are noted as they fall.

The reason why online casinos win at blackjack. Do not play fast, take your time and observe the cards. In multi-deck betting, the payoffs can be massive, but you will need deep pockets to sustain yourself until a 15-deck chart starts to show trends. Be prepared for unexpected results.

Most people play online blackjack the same way as if they were in a live casino.

And that is why online casinos win at blackjack. Do not play fast, take your time and chart the cards. In multi-deck betting, the payoffs can be enormous, but you will need deep pockets to sustain yourself until a 15-deck chart starts to show trends.

Advanced BlackJack Strategies

Like the doubling situation above, these are the hands that will make or break you. There is one hard and fast rule here: don't split 5s and don't split 10s for opposite reasons.

With the 5s, you turn a hand that should count as a 10 and either double or hit into two hands of five each that become potential problems when decorated with a 7, 8, 9, or 10.

With the two 10-value cards, you are asking for trouble by taking a nice pat 20, doubling your original bet size, and getting stuck with a 2-7 twice. If you don't think this happens, ask any practitioner.

What you want to do is maximize your chances. Aces are the cards you want to split, and this is a special situation. With the Ace, in most casinos, you are only allowed one card after you split. Obviously, you are hoping for a 10 on each.

The idea here is that if you don't split your Aces, you have a cumulative value of 2. The danger here is that if you draw 2 10s in a row, which is not at all unusual, you will bust. You are also trying to maximize your chances by turning a single bet into twice that amount.

See the chart for reference.

Insurance

The dealer will turn to you and ask if you want insurance if he or she shows an Ace. The time-honored advice is to say no, because the dealer has about a 1 in 3 chance of having a blackjack.

Insurance means that you are allowed to bet up to half of your wager that there is Blackjack or a 10 value card in the hole. You lose the bet if the dealer does not have Blackjack, but you are paid the insurance bet if there is Blackjack.

There is some flexibility here, however. Say you have played about a quarter of a shoe and you have noticed that you have seen very few 10's. (Note: It is always a good habit to keep track of the cards you have played if you can).

In this situation, you might decide to take the insurance based on your observation and the fact that the deck is rich in 10s. But in general, it is wise to decline the insurance. Just wave it off.

Luck, Steaks, Charms, Incantations and the Doo factor

The old and best online casino saying goes something like this: "I'd rather be lucky than good." I can personally attest to incident after incident of players making horrible decisions and winning hand after hand while sitting at the same table as a player who has been around for a while but can't seem to hit 20.

It happens all the time.

Of course, the problem here is a momentary turn of events that you don't want to count on repeatedly. Anyone can get lucky, but it takes some knowledge to be able to play and win on a regular basis.

Some people seem to be naturally lucky, while others seem to be the opposite. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. We have our lucky streaks and times when we can't find our own toes.

If you find yourself consistently losing at a table, don't stay. Take a break to clear your head, go for a walk, change tables, change the situation. A common response to this situation is: "I'm due." This due factor has as much to do with reality as George Foreman winning the Boston Marathon. It doesn't happen that way.

If you’re on a losing steak, don’t try to force it. Live to play another day.

Money Management

Much is said about this subject, but little is understood or practiced. There is a cookbook full of recipes for disaster known as betting systems, almost all of which lead to a precarious chance of risking more and more money in the misguided hope of recovering some money already lost.

One of the most popular betting systems is to double your bet until you win. There are only two problems with this: you may not win until you reach the table maximum, or you may simply run out of money first.

Here's a scenario: You buy in for $100 at a $10 table and lose the first hand. The system calls you to bet $20 and you lose again. The third hand now requires you to bet $40 and you lose again. In order to follow this betting pattern, you need to buy in for more money because you have almost exhausted your original buy-in.

So you buy another $100 worth of chips and bet $80, only to lose for the fourth hand in a row, which is not uncommon. You are down $150 in just four bets. You buy $150 worth of chips, bet $160 to double your previous bet of $80, and lo and behold, you lose the fifth hand. (Actually, you feel like having a drink at this point.)

Buying in again and betting $320, you lose that as well. You are now down $630, and the thought of betting $640 to make your original $10 profit seems a little far-fetched and illogical, but you are so desperate to leave the table with a profit that you do it.

And lose for eight losses in a row! If you think that can't happen to you, think again. (See the section on streaks).

From your original $10 bet, you are now out $1270!

Ouch! And the table limit is $1000. Now what?

You could slink away with your tail between your legs, or you could go to a table with higher limits and hope for the best. The way your luck is going, you don't want to try to cross the street in traffic. You might not make it to the other side.

The best money management system is time-honored and very simple: Bet less when you lose and more when you win. Easy to say, hard to do. The online casinos know that if they get you to a place where you're losing consistently, chances are you'll start "chasing" your losses with even larger amounts of money in an attempt to get out of the hole you've dug for yourself. Advice: Go slow and don't try to hit home runs.

If you find that you are consistently winning, for whatever reason, try betting a little more. There is a saying in the casino: "I won and I'm playing with their money. It's not their money. If you win the money, you keep it, and any money you lose comes out of the same pocket. Do you think the casino managers talk the same way, saying to each other, "Ah hah! We won this much today. Now we're playing with their money?!" No way.

Follow this advice: Leave when you win. If you bought in for $100 and doubled your money, take it and run! The odds are that the longer you stay and play, the more likely you are to lose it.

*The following online casinos are highly reputable and we recommend them for trying out our blackjack strategies, whether you want to play for free or for real money. We wish you good luck!