I remember the first few times I played blackjack. I understood the rules a bit, but I still picked up a handful of losses and very few wins. At some point, I began to wonder if I was just unlucky or needed to work on my strategy.
I’m guessing you’re in the same shoes right now since you’re reading this blog post.
Well, I’ve gotten better since I first sat at a blackjack table, and from experience, I can tell you that winning comes down to a combination of fortune, strategy, and understanding details like house edge.
I know most players think it’s all down to luck, but you can’t bank on luck after every wager. Drawing from the lessons I learned in the last few years, I’ll provide some advice on how blackjack works alongside tips to improve your gameplay and enhance your chances of winning. Ready to master the art of blackjack? Let’s get started!
What is the Blackjack House Edge?
I did some digging when I started working on my blackjack skills and discovered house edge. If you don’t know what the term means, it’s basically the amount you’ll lose compared to your original bet over a long period of playing.
So, let’s say I play a table game with a 2% house edge. If we do the math over a long period, I’ll likely lose $2 for every $100 wagered. Of course, this figure is calculated for thousands of bets for everyone, not just one player.
I know we want to play games and win money, but these establishments need to make profit too. House edge is how that happens, and it’s also a crucial factor behind the belief that the casino always wins.
While this isn’t necessarily true, it’s also important to stay realistic about the risks of online gambling and how to approach those risks responsibly.
One advice I’ll give you as you visit betting sites is to check the house edge before betting on slots. You can use that percentage to figure out how much you can win in the long run. The house edge for blackjack is 0.5%, but this is only the case if you’re playing with a perfect blackjack strategy.
A perfect blackjack strategy might sound like you just need to play perfectly, but there’s more to it than that. Without sounding too technical, it just means you play certain moves depending on the hand you have and what the dealer’s face-up cards are. Remember this because we’ll get back to it later.
Playing with perfect strategy keeps the house edge at 0.5% and improves your winning chances. But I’ve discovered that most people wager with limited tactics or no strategy at all. When you play this way, it raises the platforms’ advantage to 1.5%, and you’ll end up like me during my early years as a player, picking up too many losses.
Anyway, blackjack has a massively lower house edge compared to other table machines, like poker and craps, which is why it’s a favourite among many people, including me.
How do the House Edge and Blackjack Rules Work Together?
The standard house edge is 0.5% for blackjack, but I’ve discovered that some things can change this figure, like the rules at a casino. Another thing might be the blackjack machines where the dealer uses multiple card decks that might have a higher house edge.
On the other hand, you can squash the house edge by around 0.2% if you can double down on any card and 0.17% if you can double down after splitting. I’ve also found that casinos that pay 3:2 on blackjack have a lower house advantage.
If you’re going to have better chances at a blackjack table, I think you should choose demos with rules that give the casino a reduced edge.
Blackjack Strategy – Some Basic Tips
So you think winning at blackjack is based on luck? Well, you’re not alone. Around 44% of players in the US feel the same. Now, I don’t doubt that luck plays a role in blackjack, but I also don’t believe it is the most important thing when it comes to winning.
I’ve played blackjack for a while, and I can tell you that working on your strategy can improve your chances at a casino. I mean, I had better results when I worked on my betting techniques compared to the days I sat at a table and placed bets randomly.
Like I mentioned earlier, basic blackjack strategy refers to specific actions to make against the dealer’s face-up card, depending on the strength of your hand.
Of course, making these moves doesn’t mean you’ll win all the time. However, you’ll have better results than playing with no technique. Here are some tips I’ll recommend based on this basic strategy for playing blackjack:
- Always Stand on Hard 17 – This rule is a no-brainer: Always stand on hard 17 when playing blackjack, whether in person or in-app, because there’s a higher chance of you getting a card that pushes your hand over 21, leading to a bust.
- Split Your 8s and Aces – I like to split my 8s and aces into two separate hands no matter what the dealer’s upcard is. Having one hand of 16 or 20 (two aces) can be risky, so it’s best to separate them and lower my chances of going over 21. Plus, I’m putting myself in a good position to win more money with two hands.
- Stand on 12-16 If the Dealer Has 2-6 – Whenever I notice the dealer has an upcard between 2 and 6, I always opt to stand. I know the rules say the dealer must hit on cards 16 or lower. So, when they have a face-up card valued between 2 and 6, it’s possible they’ll draw more than one card, increasing the chance of a bust.
Conclusion
As a novice blackjack lover, I’ll advise you not to bank on luck. Instead, work on learning basic blackjack strategy. You’ll increase your odds at the table this way. Of course, it might take a while to master the techniques, so you might want to practice with online blackjack demo games to get good before you place any real bets in real gambling houses.
