BlackJack Strategies
As with standard blackjack, the first thing to take into
consideration when playing online blackjack is: "How many
decks of cards are being used?" This number can vary from 1 to
as many as 15, depending on the casino you are visiting.
Single deck blackjack is hard to find, but it is the simplest
to keep track of. You simply chart the cards as you see them.
Here is a sample:
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Card
played:
Suit: |
A |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
J |
Q |
K |
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D |
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C |
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x |
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H |
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x |
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S |
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x |
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The benefit of online blackjack is that there is
no dealer to watch you taking notes. With a visible chart of
the cards played, blackjack strategies can easily be put into
place.
Take note of the
chart above. Cards with a designation of "10" (that is the
10's, Jacks, Queens and Kings) number 16 out of 52 cards.
About halfway through the deck you will be able to accurately
extrapolate the dealer's down card and bet appropriately. This
is a good time to make off the wall "double downs", or taking
just one hit in exchange for doubling your bet. If you are
looking at a hand of 12 for instance, and it does not seem
likely that the next card will be a ten, take the chance for a
double down.
The last couple
of hands is where you need to be, so bet conservatively so as
to keep yourself in the game to the end of the deck. By this
time you should have a clear idea of how the cards will be
dealt, based on what is left unchecked on your chart. Bet big
when you know you have the optimal chance of winning, and the
minimum if the house has it.
When dealing with
multiple deck blackjack, you simply apply the same blackjack
strategies as for single-deck, only to a larger scale. The
above chart is extended out for however many decks are being
used, and the cards are charted as they fall. Most people play
online blackjack the same way as if they were in a live
casino. And that is why the online casino win at blackjack. Do
not play swiftly, instead take your time and chart the cards.
In multiple deck betting, the payoffs can be enormous, but you
will need deep pockets to maintain 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 rule here hard and fast:
don't split 5s, and don't split 10s for opposite reasons.
With the 5s you are turning a hand that should be counted
as a 10 and either doubled or hit into two hands of five each,
that turn into potential problems when decorated with 7,8,9,or
10. With the two 10-value cards, you are asking for trouble
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 opportunities. Aces
are the cards that you do want to split, and this is a special
situation. With the Ace, in most casinos, you are allowed only
one card after you split them. Obviously, you are hoping for a
10 on each.
The thought 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 10-value cards in a row, not at all unusual, you will
bust. You are also trying to maximize your opportunities 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 would like
insurance if he or she is showing an Ace. Time-worn advice
suggests that because the odds of the dealer having a
blackjack are about 1 in 3, you answer no.
Insurance means that you are allowed to wager up to
one-half your bet that there is a blackjack or a 10-value card
in the hole. You lose the bet if the dealer does not have
blackjack, but get paid what you bet for insurance if there is
one.
However, there is some flexibility here. Suppose you have
played about a quarter of a shoe and you have noticed that
there have been very few 10-value cards seen (Note: it is
always a good habit to keep track of the cards that have been
played, if you can).
In this situation, you might elect to take insurance based
on your observation and the fact that the deck is rich in 10s.
But generally speaking, it is wise to decline insurance. Just
wave it off.
Luck, Streaks, Charms, Incantations and the Doo
factor
The old casino saying goes something like: "I'd rather be
lucky than good." I can personally attest to one incident
after another of players who made horrendous decisions winning
hand after hand, while sitting at the same table with a player
who has been around a while, but can't seem to win on 20.
It happens all the time. Naturally, the problem here is a
momentary turn of events that one wouldn'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 appear
the opposite. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. We have
our lucky streaks and times when we can't locate our own toes.
If you are losing steadily at a table, don't stay. Take a
break to clear your head, go for a walk, change tables, alter
the situation. One response to this situation that heard
time-after-time is: "I'm due." That due factor has as much to
do with reality as George Foreman winning the Boston Marathon.
Its 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 concerning this topic, but little understood,
and less practiced. There are a cookbook full of recipes for
disaster known as betting systems, almost all of which will
lead to a precarious chance of risking more and more money in
the misguided hope of recovering some money already lost.
One of the more popular betting systems says to double your
bet until you win. Only two problems here: you might not win
until you hit the table maximum, or you might just run out of
money first.
Here's the scenario: you buy in for $100 at a $10 table and
lose the first hand. This system calls for you to put $20
down, and you lose again. The third hand now calls for you to
be $40, and you again lose. In order to follow this betting
pattern, you need to buy in for more money because you've
exhausted almost of your original buy-in.
So you purchase another $100 worth of chips and bet $80,
only to lose for the fourth hand in a row, not all that
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. (actually you feel like
drinking one at this point.).
Buying in once more and betting $320, you lose that as
well. You are now out $630, and the thought of betting $640 to
make your original profit of $10 seems a little far-fetched
and illogical, but you so desperately want to leave the table
on a winning note, that you do it. And lose for eight losses
in a row! If you think it 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 go to a table with higher
limits and hope for the better there. With the way your luck
is running, you don't want to try crossing the street in
traffic. You may not make it to the other side.
The best money management system is time-honored and very
simple: Bet less when you are losing and more when you are
winning. Easy to say, hard to do. The casinos know that if
they get you in a place where you are losing steadily, the
chances are that you might start to "chase" your losses with
even larger amounts of money in an attempt to get out of the
hole you've dug. Advice: go slowly and don't try to hit home
runs.
If you find that you are winning on a steady basis,
whatever the reason, try betting a little bit more. There is a
saying around the casino: "I've won and I'm playing with their
money." It isn't their money. If you won the money, then it is
yours to keep, and any you lose will be coming from the same
pocket. Do you think the casino managers talk in those same
terms, 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 have won. If you
bought in for $100 and you have doubled your money, take it
and run! The odds are with the casino that the longer you stay
and play, the better chance you have of losing
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/fun,
or if you want to play for real money. Good
luck!
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