To use the basic strategy, look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. There are two charts depending on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. Other basic strategy rules. Side fun fact: I actually had a few psychology lectures on the optimal blackjack strategy, turns out people don't follow it because emotions/hope come(s) into play. Makes me wonder if anyone actually went through and what the outcome was. Quite simply, basic strategy is the optimal way to play blackjack. It has been devised using statistical probabilities to calculate the best possible move in any particular circumstance according to your cards and the dealer’s starting card. But before you test any of the blackjack systems out there, there’s a simple truth you must realise – every valid blackjack strategy is based on logic and maths. Therefore, the best strategy you can adopt right away would be to leave your superstitions behind, forget about your ‘winning rituals’ and trust only the numbers. Blackjack should need no introduction. It is the most popular table game in the United States, and is easily found in casinos throughout the world. The object of the game of Blackjack is simply to get more points than the dealer without going over 21. Rules Hand Signals Wizard’s Simple Strategy Basic Strategy Blackjack.

About Blackjack

Blackjack is the most well known and most popular casino game available. Even movies have been made around the game of blackjack. It has pretty simple objective and basic rules – player plays against banker and tries to get closer to a sum of 21 than banker but not exceed it. Banker has certain limitations which strategy it has to follow but player has to act before banker.

Blackjack Rules

Blackjack is a card game played with between 1 to 8 standard decks of playing cards. Cards are shuffled and placed to a so called “shoe”, where they are then dealt from for each deal. At online casinos, the shoe is shuffled after each hand at most cases. Cards of rank between 2 to 10 are valued at their face value and all the face cards are valued as 10. An ace is valued 1 or 11. The highest possible hand is an ace and any 10-point card. This is so called “blackjack”. A winning blackjack pays 3:2. The player wins if his hand has more points than the dealer, without going over 21 (busting). If both player and dealer have a blackjack or both have the same point value hand, the hand is a push. Aside from a blackjack, a winning hand pays 1:1. If player busts, dealer wins automatically that hand. If player has an ace in his hand, for example ace+6, he has so called “soft hand” (an ace is either a 1 or 11), meaning that he either has a sum of 7 (soft total) or 17 (hard total). If player draws a card which would make his hard total over 21, then the ace plays as a 1 the rest of the hand.

Gameplay

1) After player has decided and placed a bet, the both player and dealer are dealt two cards. Dealers other card is face down and player´s both cards are dealt face up. If the dealer has an ace or 10-point card showing, he will peek for a possible blackjack (under standard online rules). If the dealer has an ace as a showing upcard, the player has an opportunity to buy “insurance” against the blackjack. If player decides to buy insurance and the dealer’s remaining card is a 10-point card forming a blackjack, then insurance bet pays 2:1. Under standard online rules, taking insurance is not profitable. The only situation when taking insurance is profitable is when:

A) A shoe contains only 1 deck, player plays 3 hands at a time and there are no visible 10-point cards showing.

B) A shoe contains only 1 deck, player plays 5 hands at a time and there are 0 to 2 visible 10-point cards showing at the table.

C) A shoe contains 2 decks, player plays 5 hands at a time and there are 0 visible 10-point cards showing at the table.

Usually online blackjack is played with 4 to 8 decks, so taking insurance is not profitable if player likes to follow optimal strategy.

Some online casino also offer “even money” bet, if player has a dealt blackjack and dealer has an ace showing. This bet also pays 2:1, but is never profitable, if player likes to follow optimal strategy.

2) Now if the dealer does have a blackjack, the hand will end. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, then the player has a few options to choose from what to do with his hand:

Stand: The player can keep his current two cards, not taking more giving turn to the dealer.

Hit: The player can take one or more cards to his hand. The player can continue hitting until reaching 21 or busting.

Double: The player can double his bet and take one another card. The player is not allowed to hit after a double and can only double on a 2-card hand.

Split: If the player has two cards of equal rank, he can split the cards into two separate hands. The bet is also doubled to make one equal bet for each of the two one card hands. After the split, the player is automatically given second card in each hand to form two 2-card hands. If the player splits a pair of aces, only one more card is given to each hand (under standard rules). If the player splits any other pair, he can choose to hit, stand, or double on each of the hands. A second split may be allowed as well if again one or both of the new two card hands compose a pair (depending on the rule variations of each casino and blackjack game).

3) When player has decided actions to each of his hand to the end (finally standing or busting on each hand) the bankers face down card is turned face up and banker draws more cards until having a sum of 17 to 21 (under standard rules) of busting his hand.

Rule Variations

There are many possible rule variations to standard rules:

Number of decks: The number of decks used can vary from 1 to 8 depending on the form of blackjack played.

Hit or stand on soft 17: Usually rules require the dealer to stand on all 17s (hard or soft total). Some rule variations require the dealer to stand on a “hard” 17, but hit a “soft” 17.

Peek for blackjack: Under standard rules, the dealer peeks for blackjack when an ace or 10-point card is showing. Under some rules, dealer does not peek for blackjack.

Doubling: Typical online rules allow players to double on any two cards. Some variations limit doubling on hard sums of 9 to 11, and not on soft sums including an ace. Possibility to double on any two cards favors the player.

Surrendering: Some blackjack forms give player an option to surrender and lose half of the bet at the start of the hand (after 2-card hand is dealt). The surrender option is typically given after the dealer checks for blackjack, which is called a “late surrender.” A few game variations offer an “early surrender” before the dealer checks for blackjack.

Charlie: 7-card Charlie is a hand composed of 7 cards without busting. If this rule is in use, player´s hand is considered as an automatic winner. Other Charlie rules might also be rarely available.

Re-splits: After splitting your cards to form two separate hands, you may draw a matching card again and wish to split again. Some variations allow this, others do not. Some variations allow certain amount of resplits only. Usually re-splitting aces is not allowed, but rarely it is.

Hitting split aces: Under standard rules, player is only allowed to draw a single card to split aces. Some rare variations allow you to draw multiple cards to split aces.

Side bets: Some blackjack games offer an optional side bet, which pays if the player’s hand contains a certain combination of cards. For example, if players hand is 7-7-7. You might want to take a side bet for fun, but when played using optimal strategy, side bet is a –EV choice. Exceptionally high progressive jackpot might make a difference to this rule of thumb.

House Edge and Optimal Strategy

Blackjack usually has a house edge of ~0.5%. Optimal strategy for different online casino softwares and game variations are listed below in the table. House edge assumes using optimal strategy listed in the link for each variation. You can also use blackjack strategy tool yourself to get optimal strategy for different rule variations (rules are always listed somewhere on the casino homepage or software). Following house edges have been calculated using general guidelines available at Wizard of Odds and using Winner Gambling´s team´s unique programmed blackjack simulator, which simulates millions of hands of BJ using different rule variations.

Bet Sizing and Variance

Blackjack has pretty low variance. It has standard deviation of about ~1.15 per unit wagered. There are only a few casino games with this low variance, like roulette (1:1 bets), pai gow and baccarat. Still, with large bet sizes, variance is a huge factor when wagering for example toward bonus requirements. See casino software reviews for more info about the game speed with different softwares.

Casino games are known for being unfair for the player and odds are stacked in favour of the casinos. After all, if the house didn’t always win, why would they exist in the first place? In the majority of instances, this logic is completely sound, but blackjack happens to be one of the few exceptions to this rule. Unlike most other casino games, your strategy and skills can actually make a big impact on your game. Winning at live blackjack consistently is not easy, but with a little bit of learning and a lot of practice, it can definitely be done.

Before continuing, you need to make sure that you understand the rules of the game completely; hit vs. stand, what it means to double down, etc. You can only have a real chance at winning once you have a firm grasp on the basics of the game. Even then, live blackjack is still a game of chance and you cannot expect to win every hand. You have to play as well as you can and then hope for the best in the long run.

However, we will aim to make sure that you have the best head start you can have with our list of strategies that should bring the house edge down!

Blackjack Strategy : Try Online

When it comes to playing blackjack live, one of the first things you can do to ensure your winning streak is to pick a great online casino to play at. With so many options available on the market nowadays, this is no easy feat.

Luckily, you won’t have to spend hours trawling through Google to find the best live casino as we’ve done all the dirty work for you. Our trusty team of casino experts have put their investigative skills to work and successfully managed to draw up a list of the top online casinos where you can play live blackjack.

When compiling this list, we took into consideration factors like streaming quality, the dealers’ personality, the outcomes of the games as well as the number of live blackjack options available. This thorough approach should guarantee you the best pick of live casinos for your blackjack gameplay. What’s more, we make sure to update our list on a monthly basis so you’ll always be kept updated on new live casinos that may pop up.

Even after you have picked your live casino, which is an important decision, you still have to decide which blackjack table is right for you. The rules of your table will ultimately determine how you play. Pay attention to whether the dealer stands on all seventeen’s, or if they are supposed to hit on soft seventeen’s. Also, the limits of your live blackjack table are crucial. If you pick a table with limits that are too high, you may lose your bankroll too quickly. This is especially true if you are a new player. In fact, if you don’t have much experience at all, it would probably be smart to start by playing for free to get a feel for the rules of the game. Free blackjack can even be useful for veteran players who need a little warming up before putting their bankrolls on the line.

Top Tips for Playing Blackjack

• Always pick a live blackjack table that has suitable limits for your bankroll. When picking a variant of the game, consider the house edge. The lower this is, the better as this means that it is more likely to pay out. Go for variants with a house edge of lower than 1%.
• Play one hand at a time rather than multiple hands at once so you can concentrate all your efforts on that one hand, thereby increasing your chances of winning
• Refuse insurance if you have a 10
• Keep to your blackjack strategy and don’t get carried away and bet more if you find yourself on a winning streak. Sticking to the plan will always pay off.
• Late positions are better as you can check out the cards that have already been played.

Get an Online Casino Bonus

There’s no denying that a good ol’ casino bonus is instrumental in helping blackjack players to get more bang for their buck. Many online casinos, like Genting, now offer live casino bonuses to their members as an incentive to play on their site. When you come across such an offer, you should take advantage of it while you can!

Know the Game Like the Back of Your Hand

Knowing the game rules before you start playing for real money is essential. Since no two blackjack variations are the same, applying the same strategy to different games is counter-productive. Start off by learning the specific rules of the variation you’re about to play before settling on a strategy for that game.

How much does it pay out? How many decks does the shoe consist of? When and how many times can you split your hand? Is splitting aces allowed? Is there the option to surrender? This is the kind of information you should be seeking out in order to find the perfect blackjack strategy.

Watch how to avoid the most regularly misplayed hands here. Credit: 888casino.com

Optimal Blackjack Strategy

Most blackjack strategies are founded on logic and mathematics. This is one game that has more to do with skills and numbers rather than luck, superstitions or rituals. If your maths skills aren’t quite up to scratch, however, don’t fret. You can still make use of some tried and tested live blackjack strategies without having to rack your brains too much.

Using basic strategy cards, like the one provided here will help you to make the right decision whatever happens throughout gameplay. Strategy cards like these are super useful since they give players a visual representation of how to play against the dealer according to what hand you’re holding.

Card counting is another strategy to use in live dealer blackjack, This tactic helps players follow the amount of high and low cards in the shoe, thereby giving some indication as to what might follow.

There are a finite number of situations that can occur in live blackjack, and each one of them has an ideal response. Some of these situations are obvious, but unless you are uncommonly smart, you will want a reference for playing blackjack properly. Luckily, there are simple charts all over the Internet that tell you how to play based on your current hand and the dealer’s visible card. Since you are playing online, you can have one of these charts up on your screen at all times and feel totally comfortable referring to it.

Assuming that you follow the advice of your strategy card every time, the house edge will be reduced to only half of a percent, which is excellent. You just have to make sure the strategy chart you use corresponds to the number of decks in play and the dealer rules regarding soft seventeen’s. Not only will using a chart help you play live blackjack perfectly online but as you get used to making the right decisions, it will be easier to transition your game into a traditional casino setting. Note that the perfect blackjack strategy is automatically the default when playing in a live blackjack game with an early payout option.

Live Blackjack Card Counting

Card counting is a legitimate blackjack strategy, but forget what you have seen in the movies. You don’t have to be a genius to count cards. Basically, card counting involves counting how many high and low cards have been dealt from the deck. If you have seen either a lot of high or low cards, then there are fewer of those left in the deck. Knowing this can give you some insight into the ever-changing chances that your dealer will bust. Since you are basically looking for a stacked deck, card counting will not work in a standard online blackjack casino. You need to either play live blackjack online or take your game to a brick and mortar casino.

6 Deck Blackjack Practice

Card counting is doable but difficult because you cannot afford to make any mistakes. Your advantage over the house can only be maintained if you always make the right decision. Remember, practice makes perfect. There are many different card counting strategies, but once you pick one, stick with it and master the technique. Ultimately, no matter what strategy you use, nobody can guarantee that you will win every time. Even if you have a statistical advantage over the house, you will have to play a lot of hands and aim to win over the long run. It’s called The Law of Large Numbers for a reason!

Types of Blackjack Variation

As well as this, there are several other types of variation on traditional blackjack and side bets that you can get involved in which may also dramatically affect your advantage in live dealer blackjack. You can find guides about most of them on our site. Check them out below and follow the links to learn more:

Blackjack Strategy Trainer

Any of these variations and sidebets will either spice up your gameplay or give you the opportunity to win some more money as you play. So check them out and see if you can find the perfect blackjack gameplay for you!

Live Blackjack FAQs

Optimal Blackjack Play

What’s the difference between playing virtual blackjack and live blackjack?

Strategy-wise, not much. Both the live and virtual versions of this popular table game require the same skills. However, virtual blackjack is operated by random number generators to ensure all outcomes of the games are fair and random. With live blackjack on the other hand, players will play against real, professional dealers and not against computer programs. In this way, not only will you feel more like you’re in a physical land-based casino, but the outcomes of the game will depend on the skills of the dealer to a certain extent.

How do I interact with the dealer?

Most online casinos offer a live chat feature that allows players to communicate with both the dealer and the casino manager in real time. What’s more, while you will be able to see the dealer on your screen, they will not be able to see you. They will have access to basic information about the game and receive your chat messages which they may respond to orally.

Do I need to download any software in order to play live blackjack?

Generally, no. Many reputable online casinos offer the option of playing live games like blackjack, directly by streaming in your browser. That being said, you’d do well to make sure your browser is updated and you have all multimedia plugins installed to ensure streaming goes off without a hitch.

Can I play live blackjack on my mobile, smartphone or tablet device?

A lot of great online casinos games are conveniently accessible from all mobile devices so you can get those authentic casino thrills whether at home or on the go.

We hope you’ll take on our advice on board and implement the best game strategy for the blackjack variation you’ve set your sights on. Also, keep in mind that a good live casino bonus won’t hurt either so make sure to choose the best live casino that rewards you for your custom.This should help you achieve your desired results ie boost your winning streak and make some decent cash when playing live blackjack.

Printable Blackjack Basic Strategy Card

Finally, remember to enjoy yourself! The purpose of the game should be to have fun and let off a little steam, while perhaps making some nice wins in the process. However, don’t let yourself get carried away and spoil all the fun. If you believe that your live blackjack playing is becoming an addiction or taking a toll on other areas of your life, be sure to get in touch with an organization like GamCare to seek the support you need.