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Blackjack basic tips

Blackjack Basic Tips

By Tips & Tricks 2 Comments

Contrary to many other casino games, Blackjack barely relies on luck. It is a smart game that requires cleverness, skill and dedication. Above all, learning the basics can get you on track. Afterwards, it is all up to your willingness to practice and learn new tricks. These are some of the basic tips to get you going in the right direction.

As a Beginner, Go for the Single Deck Strategy

The main goal of each casino strategy is to lower the house edge. In Blackjack the house edge is minimal. Choosing the single deck game is a great way to lower it even more. Namely, this was the original way to play Blackjack before the rules changed. However, counting cards is still not forbidden, so players got accustomed to playing the multiple decks Blackjack.

The thing is that if the table uses less decks the chances of scoring a blackjack are higher. The logic behind it is quite simple. All the tens and aces are otherwise scattered in several decks, while in single deck Blackjack these are all condensed.

Watch Out for the Payout  

The usual payout is either 6 to 5 or 3 to 2. The experienced players prefer 3 to 2 payout. Simply, this actually means that for every $10 win, a player will get $15. Otherwise, in case of choosing 6 to 5, a player gets $12. This may not sound like a significant difference. However, in the long run, the gap gets huge. There are various calculators online that can help in projecting the possible winning amount.

Know When to Put Side Bets

Although house edge in Blackjack is not high, many consider side bets to be unprofitable. However, a player can always choose to stick to the side bets with the lowest house edge. Furthermore, if a player knows how to count cards he or she is equipped with the necessary advantage.

The Royal Match, for example, is one of the side bets with the highest payouts and lowest house edges. You will find it available at both single-deck and multi-deck tables.  In a single-deck version, the payouts are 3 to 1 for an Easy Match and 10 to 1 for Royal Match. Again, there are mathematically based systems behind Royal Match. All you need to do is find the proper literature and educate yourself.

Taking “Even Money” or No?

The question of all questions. To take or not to take… When playing the game, at one point the dealer will offer you “even money” for your blackjack. This means that the dealer will give you the chance to take the money you wagered. This happens right before the dealer peeks at her down card. If you choose to take “even money”, the dealer gives you the amount you wagered and removes your cards from the layout. It is a win-win situation, right?

Nevertheless, the math experts claim differently and call for deeper consideration. Namely, a six-deck game contains 312 cards. Among all these cards, 96 are ten-value cards (24 each of tens, jacks, queens, and kings). Now, imagine you hold a blackjack and the dealer shows an Ace. At that moment there are still 309 cards left. The calculation tells us that among those 309 cards, there are 95 ten-value cards. If we want to calculate further, we will see that the chance the dealer holds a ten in the hole is 30.7%.  This is the percentage of the time the dealer gets a blackjack and pushes a player’s blackjack.

On the other hand, this also means that another 69.3% of the time the dealer would not have the ten in a hole and your chances of winning more money are that much increased. It introduces a whole new perspective, doesn’t it?

Whatever strategy you choose to use, we wish you luck. Play safely and enjoy!

And do not forget to share your experiences with us in the comments below.