Your average, off-the-street blackjack player who knows nothing about the game and probably makes bad decisions at least as often as good decisions is probably working against a house edge of 5% or so. If that player bets $100 per hand and plays 50 hands per hour, the casino expects to win $250 from that player in the long run. American Blackjack. Play American Blackjack. Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games in the world, and is often portrayed in the media. Originally known as '21', this game has become bigger and better and time goes on. There are numerous variations of blackjack available, however, the basic rules of the game remain unchanged.
Most, if not all, casino games have this special quality about them that cannot be emulated by other forms of gambling. They are thrilling and blackjack have the potential to bring you lots of money if you play your cards right, both literally and metaphorically.
Unlike betting on a horse race or a game of basketball, your profits or losses are mostly dependent on you – your skill as well as your luck. If there’s one casino game that stands out among the rest, it would undoubtedly be blackjack.
Widely played, and ardently loved all across the world, blackjack would be an excellent gateway for a novice into the world of gambling.
Here is how to play blackjack.
To begin with, let’s start with your objective. When playing blackjack, your main goal is to beat the dealer, who you play against. Unlike other card games, where you play against other players, your dealer is your one and only rival, regardless of the number of people at the table.
Next, we’ll move on to the gameplay. All the cards on the deck are assigned a value. The number cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value. This means that a 2 card will be worth 2 points, a 7 card will be worth 7 points and so on.
The face cards, namely the jack, queen, and king; are worth 10 points each. Depending on what benefits the player at that moment, the ace can be worth either 1 or 11 points.
At first, every player at the table, including the dealer, is given two cards. Both the player’s cards are face-up, and only one of the dealer’s cards are face up. Your main aim would be to get a total closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. This is why they call the game 21.
At this point, depending on their cards, a player has many options. Let’s take a look at each of them.
1. Stand
If you feel like you have been dealt a right hand, then you decide to stay. At this point, the dealer reveals his second card. If the dealer has a total closer to 21 than you, you lose when you play blackjack. If the dealer has a lower total than you, they have to hit or take another card. Whoever is closer to 21 without going over–is no doubt the winner. If a player or a dealer goes over 21, then they’re busted, which means they automatically lose. If both the dealer and the player goes bust, the player loses.
2. Hit
After you’ve been dealt your cards, and you feel like your total is much lower than 21, you can choose or opt to hit, wherein you will be given an extra card.
3. Doubling down
This option is usually only available when you’ve been dealt with your two cards, or sometimes when you choose to split. This is when you bet extra, up to your original bet, after you’ve seen your cards.
4. Split
Splitting is an option that is offered by some casinos when you are dealt with two cards of the same value, two 9s or two 5s, for example. In such a case, you have the option to split your cards, in which case each of these cards will be treated as separate hands.
To split, you would need to stake your original amount again, at which point you will be dealt a hand or given another card for each of yours.
For each hand, you can either choose to stand, hit or double down or even split again if you are dealt two of the same cards still. That is unless you get 2 aces, in which case you cannot hit again.
There you have it, the basics of how to play blackjack. Always remember to bet wisely and have fun.
One of the most often asked questions from players about blackjack strategy, is 'how should I bet?' You've got severaloptions and I'll discuss them in this article and offer my recommendation.
Flat Bet Blackjack Strategy
This means betting the same amount all the time. Most players don't like to bet this way because they figure if the dealer wins more hands then them they'll never win any money. Also, playersfeel it's boring betting this way. They prefer the thrill of sometimes betting more in the hopes that when they do so, they will win the hand and make a nice profit.
Here are the facts on the flat betting blackjack strategy. If you bet say $5 on every hand in a standard multiple deck game the house will have an edge of 0.5% against theskilled basic strategy player. That means you will lose on average 0.5% of every wager you make. So if you bet $10 on every hand and average 80 hands per hour you will have made a total of $800worth of bets. The casino expects to earn 0.5% of the $800 or $4.00. Of course, the more likely result is that you'll win or lose much more than $4 after an hour of play. But on average you canexpect over time to lose at the rate of $4 per hour.
Let's take an example of a player flat betting $10 on every hand. It's is a conservative betting strategy that leads to a relatively low theoretical loss rate. The fluctuation in this player'sbankroll will also be low which means the likelihood he'll have a big winning or losing session is not great.
Watch 'Why You Should Never Make the Blackjack Insurance Bet with Blackjack Expert Henry Tamburin' (March 2016)
In this video blackjack expert Henry Tamburin explains why a basic strategy player should never make an insurance bet. He gives details on three different situations that a player may encounterand why he considers blackjack insurance to always be a sucker bet.
Progressive Betting Blackjack Strategy
This is where things get interesting. The Progressive betting blackjack strategy is when players vary their bets in some way from one hand to the next rather than alwaysbetting the same amount on every hand. There are all different types of betting progressions but they all have one common denominator. You either decrease or increase your next bet dependingupon whether the hand you just played won or lose.
Win progressions encourage you to increase your bet size after a winning hand. For example, you make a minimum bet of $10 and if you win, you raise your next stakes on the hand to $20.
There are all different kinds of win progressions. The most common is a 1-2-3-5 progression. This means you increase your bet by the above multiples after each winning hand butas soon as you experience a loss, you start the progression over with a 1 unit bet.
Proponents of win progressions will tell you that you'll win more money if you win 5 consecutive hands compared to the amount you lose if you lose 5 consecutive hands. Of course, what theydon't tell you is that you never know when that 5 consecutive winning hand streak will occur.
There are also betting progressions in which you increase your bet following a loss. These Martingale type betting progressions are dangerous and you should never consider using them.
There are also hybrid betting progressions, which have you increase your bets following a win, but after two or three success wins you lock up some profit and gradually regress your bets. Thecreativity of progressive bettors is never-ending.
First of all, the blackjack strategy for betting progressions does not change the 0.5% house edge one iota. There has never been a correlation between the hand just won (orlost) and your chance of winning the next hand. In other words, using the criteria of the result of one hand (W/L) to base how you bet on the next hand has no scientific validity. So bettingprogressions, in the long run, don't work in the sense that they won't improve your long-term chances of winning.
But here's what betting progressions will do. First off they increase the fluctuation in your session bankroll compared to flat betting. This means you can win more using abetting progression compared to flat betting but you can also lose more. Secondly, betting progressions will increase the amount of money you wager per hour compared to flat betting. If a $10bettor uses a 1-2-3-5 betting progression, his average bet will $20. Over an hour he will average $20 times 80 hands or $1600 worth of bets. The casino's expected win is 0.5% of $1600 or $8. Inother words, a $10 progressive bettor stands to lose twice as much per hour as a $10 flat bettor.
Here's a tip to save you some money in the long run if you insist on using a betting progression. Instead of starting your progression at $10, start at a lower amount (ie. $5). This will reduceyour average bet to $10 per hour and cut your hourly theoretical loss rate in half.
But in the long run flat betting and betting progressions don't work in the sense they won't change the house edge against you and you will lose in the long run. So what betting system works?That, my friends, is card counting.
Betting When You Have The Edge (Card Counting)
With card counting, you know when you have the edge based on the change in the composition of the decks and therefore you'll know when it's the right time to bet more. Sounlike betting progressions that are based on whether you win or lose the previous hands, card counting is based on the mix of cards that were played on previous hands. If more small valuecards were played in previous rounds, there are more big value cards left in the unplayed cards, and the edge shifts from dealer to the player. This would be the best time to bet more.
But I'm a realist. Not a whole lot of average blackjack players have the time or mental concentration during play that is required to master one of the popular point count cardcounting systems. These are readily available in blackjack books. But even though millions of blackjack books have been sold since Ed Thorp's classic book, Beat The Dealer (circa 1962) firstrevealed card counting to the masses, the number of players who can successfully win money in the long run at blackjack number in the hundreds and thousands.
So what's the answer to betting at blackjack for the average player? I asked Don Pronovost that same question about four years ago. Don is a software developer that markets blackjack trainingsoftware. He spent the better part of two years and a trillion computer simulated hands looking for the solution to this dilemma. What he developed is Speed Count.
Speed Count is unlike any conventional card counting system. It's much simpler to master and requires much less concentration when you play. And unlike progressive betting systems, Speed Countwill give you a verifiable advantage over the casino You can read about Speed Count in Frank Scoblete’s book, Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution.
Free Bet Blackjack Online
Now that you know the scoop on betting at blackjack, I wish you many aces and faces the next time you play.
Bet Online Blackjack Tournaments
Henry Tamburin has been a respected casino gambling writer for the past 50 years. He is the author of theUltimate Blackjack Strategy Guide and was editor of theBlackjack Insider newsletter. You can read his latest articles on blackjack, video poker, and his personal playing experiences at https://www.888casino.com/blog/writers/henry-tamburin
Online Blackjack Gambling Bet
Try an online casino for FREE. We have over 15 No Deposit Bonus Codes. No credit card needed, just sign up andstart playing!