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Blackjack Strategy
Blackjack is a game that can’t be beat over the long run. Over the course of our blackjack tutorial series I’ve been working to educate you in this fabulous game and I’ve been trying to make you a better blackjack player, so you can win more money. Whether you’re playing online or in the real world you can win and have fun with blackjack.
Over the course of this article I want to share with you some vital tips for becoming a blackjack master. Even if you don’t plan to play blackjack frequently, adhering to these tips will help you win more often. So let’s get started.
Blackjack is indeed a game of some luck and some skill. Anything in life has a degree of luck to it. But skill definitely factors into how often you win at blackjack. If you understand the game very well and implement proper playing strategy you can win a lot of money at blackjack. And if you don’t, you won’t.
Strategy is very important. Even blackjack players who don’t understand too much, but use proper basic strategy, can go toe to toe with any casino. Blackjack at a very low house advantage compared to other games.
In fact, if you do nothing else, learn basic blackjack strategy and use it. You’ll cut down the house edge, you win more money, and you’ll make fewer mistakes.
While playing blackjack variations can be fine, you want to limit your exposure to them. Usually these variations have higher house advantages and of course you need to play them very differently. Stick to basic blackjack basic strategy and you’ll be all right.
One thing you always want to look for a single deck blackjack and if that’s not available, double deck blackjack. Remember, the fewer the decks the better it is for you. One exception would be various online blackjack games, which use a single deck, but shuffle after every hand. Still, this is much better than playing in a shoe blackjack game.
If you’re playing in the real world, learning how to card count is to your advantage. Card counting and blackjack will help you tip the scales in your favor. However, if you’re playing blackjack online, card counting is of no value.
Perhaps one of the biggest tips I can give you is to keep your emotions in check. You’ll have winning hands and losing hands, winning days and losing days. Unless you can keep your emotions at bay, you’re prone to wild that swings, which is never good.
Of course the most important thing is that you have fun while playing blackjack. It’s a great game and I’ve enjoyed it for years. I hope you win many blackjack that in the future. Good luck at the tables.
Tags: Basic Blackjack, Blackjack Basic Strategy, Blackjack Game, Blackjack Master, Blackjack Player, Blackjack Players, Blackjack Strategy, Blackjack Tutorial, Card Counting, Casino Blackjack, Counting Blackjack, Deck Blackjack, Double Deck, Learn Blackjack, Online Blackjack Games, Play Blackjack, Playing Blackjack, Win At Blackjack
Categories: Blackjack, Card Games, Strategies, Systems
Last installment we started talking about blackjack action. We talked about placing a bet, how the cards are dealt, and some other action items. When we left off, we were talking about your different options during the hand you hand you have to decide what to do. We already talked about and standing. And it’s here where we’ll pick up the discussion.
So you’re sitting there looking at your two cards and deciding what to do. You already know that you can hit, which means take a card, or stand, which means to end your turn. But what if your two cards are the exact same? You could split them. Let’s imagine that you have two Queens. You could split them into two hands. This of course would mean that you would have to make an additional bet that’s equal to your original wager.
Let me just say right now that if you have two Queens do not split them. However, if you were to receive two 8s, for example, you may want to split them. But we’ll talk more about blackjack strategy in a little bit.
When you split a hand you need to make an additional bet, which is equal to your original wager. Splitting is not something that happens too often and some players never split their hands.
During your turn another move you may make is to double down. When you double down you are first making an additional wager that is equal to your original wager and then excepting one final card. A common hand to double down on is 11. You’ve probably heard the saying “always double down on 11″. You can also double down for less. Let’s imagine that you have a $100 bet out there and you want to double down. You could add just $50 more and double down for less. That’s your option.
Another option you have during your turn, which isn’t offered by every casino, is to surrender. A lot of people like surrender, but many casinos don’t offer it. This is why you should check the blackjack rules before playing again. Here’s how surrender works. You get your first two cards and you can surrender and lose half of your bet. An example when one might want to surrender would be when you receive a really bad hand, such as 16, and the dealer is showing a face card. Many blackjack players will surrender in this instance.
And that about does it for this installment of our blackjack series. In our next installment will be talking about card values, hand values, and how it all plays out. Also I’ll make sure to drop a couple more nuggets of wisdom for winning at blackjack. Keep reading and good luck at the blackjack tables.
Tags: Bet, Blackjack, Blackjack Action, Blackjack Rules, Blackjack Strategy, Cards, Casinos, Two Hands, Two Queens, Wager
Categories: Blackjack, Card Games, Strategies, Systems
Ever play in a Blackjack tournament? They are really fun. Over recent years, Blackjack tournaments have been offered at more and more gambling establishments-even online. While rare, some Blackjack tournaments have even been on TV. I like Blackjack tournaments, because they add a new dimension to the game-player verses player.
Money management becomes far more important (more so than it already is). As with anything in the world of Blackjack, there are loads of Blackjack tournament strategies. And once you’ve participated in a few, you’ll most likely develop your own Blackjack tournament strategies.
Blackjack strategies for tournament play are so diverse. I really don’t think there’s a right and wrong way to do things-as far as “all the time” strategy is concerned. Of course, if you win, it’s the “right” way and if you lose, it’s not.
For instance, let’s say you’re an all or nothing kind of player. The strategy you end up using for Blackjack tournaments will be large bets and highly aggressive play. This can work for or against you. On one hand, you can be out quickly. On the other, if you get a nice run of cards, you’ll be the chip king soon enough. It’s much better than being a player that always bets the minimum. Those players can hit huge runs of cards and still be just a little ahead.
In fact, if there’s one strategy I know doesn’t work too well, it’s the “hoarder.” This player will almost always bet the minimum and hope everyone else runs out of chips. This type of player rarely, very rarely wins anything. I’m not saying to be ultra loose, but if you play this tight, you’re just begging to lose. And who wants to do that? Plus, it’s not that much fun.
Overall, the best strategies for Blackjack tournaments have one thing in common. They all feature mixed play. You don’t want to be ultra conservative or mega loose all the time. Mix it up. For instance, you may play somewhat conservative until you feel a run of cards and then you’ll crank it up.
Whatever you do, don’t consistently bet more after a loss. We call this “chasing a win.” It usually leads to a quick exit. My personal favorite strategy is to bet just above the minimum initially and then increase my bet after each win. I don’t double up though. I always pull a little back into the bank. With this method, I’m setting myself up to win big if I get a good run of cards and I’m set up to last a bit if I don’t.
Tags: Bets, Blackjack, Blackjack Strategies, Blackjack Strategy, Blackjack Tournament, Blackjack Tournaments, Cards, Chips, Game Player, Money Management, Play Blackjack, Strategies For Blackjack, Tournament Strategies
Categories: Blackjack, Card Games, Strategies, Systems
Sure, you could sit down to play Blackjack and just throw your money around. But, did you know that you’re most likely to lose money even if you have more winning hands than losing ones? Before playing Blackjack, it’s best to come up with a battle plan. You’ve got to attack the game.
Today, I’ll show you one attack plan. It’s a progressive (or ladder) system that changes your wager just about every hand. This is not a plan that increases your wager when you lose, because that’s the wrong way to do things. Rather, we’ll increase the wager with each winning hand.
You need to decide on the numbers and how many progressions to use. I’ll give you a guide to start from. Let’s imagine that you have $100 to play with. You should play $2-$5 hands normally. So, we’ll base our start at $5.
The plan is simple. When you lose, your next hand is $5. You never increase your wager after a losing hand. Instead, you start over again. When you win, you’ll be increasing your hand as follows:
5 – 10 – 20 – 40 – 80
I’ve set up five levels. If you win five hands in a row, rather than having $25, you’ll end up with $160 or more-blackjacks. However, if you were to lose say five in a row, you’ve only lost $25.
If you’re a very conservative player, step it down to 3 or 4 levels. Even at 3 levels, you can still pocket $40 instead of $15.
As to double downs, that’s a call you’ll have to make based on your bankroll. Let’s imagine that you’ve won your first four hands. You have $80 on the table and receive an 11. If you double down, it’s a bad move. Why? Adding $80 would mean your entire bankroll is on this one hand. Lose it and you go home. Not smart.
However, let’s say it’s later in the game and your bankroll is now $500 or so. Adding the $80, which is profits at this point, might be a good gamble. It’s a moment-by-moment decision.
No matter how you play it, never risk most or all of your bankroll on any single hand. Also, should you get up by 2-3 times your original bankroll, put that original amount back in your pocket and make sure you leave the casino with it.
Blackjack, and gambling, can be fun, but strategy ensures that you maximize your chances to win and come home with cash.
Tags: Blackjack, Blackjack Strategy, Blackjacks, Four Hands, Game, Ladder System, Money, Play Blackjack, Playing Blackjack, Profits, Progressions, Progressive Strategy, Wager, Winning Hand
Categories: Blackjack, Card Games, Strategies, Systems
The basic strategy for Blackjack is to compare your hand to that of the dealer’s showing card. The basic card values are straightforward enough, but when you pull a soft-hand or can double down you are in a position to make a strong play if you know what you are doing.
A soft-hand is an ace and any other card below the value of ten. This hand gets its name because the ace can be either one or eleven as necessary. The big advantage to a soft hand is that you can take hits with less risk of busing. But that doesn’t mean you can be carefree about how you play your hand. Take a look at the dealers’ showing card and play your cards as follows:
If you have an ace with an 8 or higher then hold your hand and don’t take a hit. By playing the ace as 11 you have 19, which is a hand you should always stand on.
If you have an ace with 7 take a hit if the dealer’s showing card is 9 or better.
If you have an ace with six or less then you should always take a bit. Even though this means you are taking a risky hit on 17 you can always bail yourself out if you bust by using the ace as a 1.
Doubling down is another situation you need to master if you want to win at Blackjack. Doubling down allows you to double you initial bet in certain circumstances. If played correctly you can offset the house advantage and that is an opportunity not to be missed! Bear in mind though that casinos have different rules as to when you can double down.
You should double down according to following rules:
If your have card values of 9 to 11 then double down. Statistically you have great chance to win because there are so many cards with a value of 10 to draw.
However, if you have a 9 then only double down if the dealer is showing a weak card of 3 to 6. This is because the dealer as likely to bust if he/she is showing any other card.
When holding a soft hand you should double down only when you can exploit a weak dealer card. The way to play an soft hand for doubling down is as follows;
If you have an ace with 8-9, just stand. This is a strong hand so don’t double down.
If you have an ace with 6.-7 then double down and take a hit if the dealer is showing a weak 3-6, and especially 4.-6.
If you have an ace with 4.-5 only double down if the dealer is holding a weak 4.-6.
If you have an ace with 2-3 then only double down if the dealer is showing a 5-6.
By knowing how to play these strategies you can take advantage of favorable hands when they come you way.
Tags: Ace, Bet, Blackjack, Blackjack Strategy, Bust, Card Values, Cards, Casinos, Soft Hand, Win At Blackjack, Win Blackjack
Categories: Blackjack, Card Games, Strategies, Systems
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