Blackjack is a game of both skill and luck. A solid strategy coupled with effective bankroll management and promotion strategies can increase your odds of success, increasing your odds of victory. Unfortunately, however, many experienced players fall prey to common errors that reduce chances of success; recognising and avoiding such common pitfalls will enrich gameplay significantly and give an edge over competition. In this article you can find valuable Blackjack tips that will give you an edge in gameplay.
As part of a game of blackjack, players place bets on individual cards dealt out by the dealer and receive them in turn. Each card has an assigned value; with face cards (King, Queen and Jack) valued at 10 and Aces counting as either 1 or 11, while their value may change according to how it’s counted by a dealer. The aim is to get closer to 21 than their opponent without going over without going bust; each position or spot afforded them makes for a unique playing experience. Played over an semicircular table which can accommodate from 5-12 players simultaneously!
An essential aspect of developing an effective Blackjack strategy lies in learning its basic rules and terminology, including standard terms like ‘hit’,’stand’, ‘bust’ and ‘push’. Understanding hard and soft hands – ones without an Ace that may count either 1 or 11 depending on context – is also vitally important.
Learn the fundamentals of blackjack as well as when and why to double down, split or surrender depending on your hand and the dealer’s up card – this will reduce house edge dramatically and should become second nature over time.
To increase your odds of success in blackjack, always double down when dealing with two or three upcards from a dealer and when facing an ace. When starting with eights, nines or tens against six or seven upcards from a dealer it may also be advantageous to double down. Conversely, split pairs such as fives and sixes or 10s and eights against four or five upcards should never be split instead double down is recommended instead.
Another essential aspect of Blackjack strategy is learning to count cards – something which can be learned easily online through free blackjack games. There are a number of card counting systems, with Hi-Lo being particularly popular. By keeping track of your running count of cards and increasing or decreasing bet size accordingly when your count rises and falls, card counting can significantly increase your odds of victory and help boost odds significantly when combined with an accurate Basic Strategy chart.