How To Beat Casinos At Blackjack

Blackjack has always been one of the most player-friendly games in the casino, but that hasn’t stopped punters all over the world from trying to flip the advantage in their favour. From card counting to betting strategies to outright cheating, there are hundreds of ways in which gamblers might seek to gain a mathematical leg-up when playing 21 – but do any of these methods actually work? We’ll cover some of the more popular theories on reversing the house edge in real money blackjack, and hopefully debunk a few myths in the process.

1. How To Beat Casinos At Blackjack Poker
2. Blackjack Casino Online

Both land-based casinos and online blackjack casinos that support live dealer blackjack require dealers to take at least one more card with the dealer has a soft 17 showing. The dealer will continue taking more cards—until the house’s hand either becomes a hard 17 or higher, or the hand goes over 21 and goes bust.

• Feel like you’ve mastered how to play standard blackjack? Then it’s time to experiment with some of the most popular blackjack variants offered at online casinos. While the goal remains to beat the dealer without busting, these exciting variations put a welcome twist on traditional blackjack dealer rules.
• How to Beat a Virtual Blackjack Dealer In most cases the online blackjack games that you play will involve a virtual environment. There will not be an actual dealer present. You will play at a graphical representation of a blackjack table that has he same layout that you will find in a live casino.

Best real money AU casinos

Card counting in blackjack

First, let’s get something straight: counting cards is not cheating. While it is true that all land-based casinos have a zero-tolerance policy for players who are caught counting cards, the strategy itself is perfectly legitimate. The reason it gets people into trouble is because it works – when the conditions of play allow for it, that is.

So, what exactly is card counting? In simple terms, the idea is to keep track of all the cards which have been dealt and/or discarded so you know which cards are left in the shoe. This method allows you to adjust your play so as to take of advantage of situations where the probability of a certain outcome is much greater than it would be with a newly shuffled deck.

For a very simple example, let’s say we are playing a single-deck blackjack game. There are a few other players at the table, and we are sitting last in the order of play. As we watch each punter play out their hand, we see all four picture cards and two face-value 10s.

Thus, we know there are only two 10-point cards left in the deck, which might influence the way we play our own hand (for instance, we might hit on 12 knowing the chances of busting out are greatly reduced).

There are many, many different ways to count cards, from the basic ‘Ace to Five count’ method to the much more complicated and precise strategies developed by blackjack gurus such as Stanford Wong. However, all such practices are heading towards extinction in many parts of the world, and all because of technology.

For starters, it is virtually impossible to count cards when playing blackjack online. Most Internet casino games use what is called a random number generator – RNG, for short – which ensures that each deal, spin, or roll is totally unpredictable. This type of system resets the deck(s) to neutral after each blackjack hand, meaning it is pointless trying to track discards over several rounds.

An even bigger killer for blackjack card counters is the continuous shuffling machine (or CSM), which is quickly becoming a standard feature in brick-and-mortar casinos all over the globe. This operates much like any RNG-powered casino game, meaning the shoe is always properly shuffled after each hand and all used cards are immediately returned to the deck for the next round.

If you do take the time to master a card counting technique and want to put it into action, your best bet is a hand-dealt blackjack table which uses six decks or fewer. These are becoming increasingly hard to find, however, especially on the main gaming floor – so unless you have the bankroll for high-stakes blackjack, you might be out of luck.

Basic Strategy for 21 Games

The most common and user-friendly way to limit the house edge in real money 21 is to implement basic blackjack strategy – a set of fixed instructions for each for possible hand you might be dealt. This system tells you what to do with every hard hand, soft hand and pair, depending on the dealer’s door card and the specific conditions of play.

The beauty of basic strategy is its simplicity. The idea is to make the same move every time for each situation, so there is no need to track cards or calculate probabilities and expected returns on the fly. You just have to learn the routine and stick to it, thus ensuring you always take the most statistically advantageous option.

Strategy charts are very easy to find, too. Just do an image search for ‘blackjack basic strategy’ in Google and you will see hundreds of colour-coded tables for the most popular game styles. It should only take a little bit of regular practice to learn these charts by heart, and you can even use them as cheat sheets when playing your favourite online blackjack games.

If you really want to get the house edge as low as possible without resorting to card counting or blatant cheating, basic strategy is a great launching pad for more complex techniques like ‘perfect strategy’ or ‘optimal strategy’. While these charts are more difficult to learn and do require a certain amount of gambler’s intuition, they will shave an extra few cents off the casino’s advantage when executed correctly.

How To Beat Casinos At Blackjack Poker

Blackjack Betting Strategies

In conjunction with basic strategy, countless players over the years have sought to overturn the house edge through the use of specialist betting techniques. The general idea with most of these wagering systems is to guarantee that, whether you win or lose a hand, you always come out on top in the long run.

The most common casino betting patterns are negative progressions, where the stake goes up after a loss and comes down after a win. Probably the best known example is the Martingale technique, which has been around since the 18th century and remains popular with roulette players in particular. It works like this:

– Start with the minimum bet
– If you lose the hand, double your wager on the next one
– If you win the hand, start again at the minimum stake

So, for example: at a $5/$100 blackjack table, we would open with a $5 initial wager. If we lost the hand, our next bet would be $10. If we then won the following hand, we would return to the start of the pattern and bet the minimum $5.

There are several factors which make betting strategies impractical for blackjack, such as the potential for additional wagers through splits and doubles, but the overriding issue is that these systems simply don’t work. There is no way to guarantee success through simply lowering and raising your bets after certain outcomes, and anyone who claims otherwise (and there are plenty who do) is talking out their arse.

Indeed, many such methods are more likely to empty your coffers than fill them. With the Martingale strategy, for instance, you risk hitting the maximum bet limit after only a few consecutive losses, meaning you can’t keep raising your wager to cover your deficits. This is not a lesson you want to learn first hand.

Can You Beat the Casino at Blackjack?

There is only one way to beat the house at any land-based or online casino game: quit while you’re ahead. As soon you are up, whatever the amount, just take your chips and head to the cashier straight away. The longer you play with the house’s money, the more likely you are to lose it – and your own, to boot.

However, that approach isn’t much fun for people like us who enjoy playing real money casino blackjack. Here, then, are a few pointers to help you maximise your earning potential at the tables while avoiding any traps that might bleed your bankroll dry.

– Learn basic strategy. This is essential info for anyone who aspires to become a good blackjack player. Check out our dedicated blackjack page for more details on strategy and where to find the best charts for your favourite games.

– Ignore betting strategies. As we explained above, relying on specific wagering systems will likely do more harm than good. Know your bankroll limitations and play within your means at all times.

– Never take side bets. Optional wagers like Perfect Pairs and Super Sevens will put you on a fast track to the poor house. Yes, the payouts look yummy, but the odds of success are firmly against you. This includes the insurance option, too.

– Play blackjack online. Internet 21 is better value on just about every front, with more game variety, no money wasted on travel, parking, or $12 beers, and lower house edges than you will find in any brick and mortar casino venue. This advice is for international readers only – Australians cannot legally play card games online for real money as of September 2017.

Table Of Contents

Are you looking for the best blackjack strategy to maximise your winning odds when you play online? You'll love these tips.

Finding a way to get higher chances to win at blackjack shouldn't be so hard.

The basic strategy is the best way to play blackjack — and when you combine it with some strategy tips on bankroll management and what to do after you win, you have really reached the maximum you can.

In other words, if you are looking for the best blackjack betting strategy to increase your chances to win, you'll love this guide.

In the parts that follow you will find:

• And lots more

We also put together a collection of the best bonuses to play online. This way, you can use those freebies to test the blackjack basic strategy and all the tips in this article.

Register a FREE account and claim your bonus to play online blackjack!

What this guide is NOT

• A collection of tips to win at blackjack
• A list of systems that promise to make blackjack profitable
• The illusion that you can beat the game

Blackjack is a gambling game where the casino has an advantage. It doesn't matter what approach you take or what blackjack strategy you follow. In the long run, the casino always wins.

Why Follow a Blackjack Betting Strategy?

Let's face it - we have all been there. We have all looked for the best and the most effective strategy to win at blackjack after we lost our first hands online.

With the right blackjack strategy it's possible to increase your winning chances, and that's because blackjack isn't a gambling game like roulette, video poker, or slots.

If you follow the basic betting strategy and you learn how to use the information you have at your disposal, you can reach optimal play giving yourself the best chances to win include in the game.

Professional players have worked hard to 'solve' the game of blackjack and find how to play each hand to get the best winning odds.

They analysed how the number of decks in play affects your chances to win and how you can make the best decision based on the cards you see on the table.

• That's what they call the 'blackjack basic strategy. A list of dos and don'ts where you find exactly how you are supposed to play each and every hand you are dealt.

This is the best strategy for blackjack.

The goal of the blackjack basic strategy isn't to help you win at blackjack every time you play. That's impossible. Instead, it is to help you maximize your winning chances and to minimize your losses.

That's also the goal of this guide. We don't list all the strategies for blackjack out there. Instead, we focus only on the best blackjack strategies that are known to work and should help you get better results when you play.

Starting from the tips and tricks included in our cheat-sheet.

READ ALSO: How to play online blackjack with friends.

What Is the Blackjack Basic Strategy?

Knowing how to manage your money is as important in blackjack as it is in all gambling games. A correct 'bankroll management' is essential when you play — regardless of the blackjack strategies you apply to your games.

Knowing how to bet (and how much) and how to select the right game when you play online blackjack for real money is extremely important.

Once you have those basics covered, you can move into the basic blackjack strategy and learn how you are supposed to invest your money once the dealer gives you the initial two cards.

As soon as the cards reach you and the dealer opens one of their cards, you have to make your first choice. In a game of blackjack, that means you need to pick one of these options:

• Stand
• Hit
• Double
• Split
• Surrender

Do you know why the basic blackjack strategy is also considered to be the best way to discover how to win at blackjack? Because it uses basic logic.

Would you hit if your first two cards gave you 20 points? Of course not.

Would you stand if your starting hand was worth five points? Not a chance.

While these choices are very simple on hands like the ones I use in my example, things get (a lot) more complicated with different cards on the table.

Let me give you a few examples.

• How do you play soft 17 in blackjack?
• When do you hit on a 16?
• What to do with 15 in blackjack?

This is where the basic blackjack strategy comes in to help you get the best chances to win.

This collection of tips shows you the optimal play for every blackjack hands, calculating your winning odds in combination with the dealer's open card.

The basic strategy to win at blackjack has nothing to do with concepts like card counting or any of those tricks some 'clever' players adopt to beat the house.

This is a simple-to-use guideline that shows you exactly how you are supposed to play every possible hand of blackjack. Use it to know when it is recommended to hit, to stand, or to do something else.

Key:
S = Stand
H = Hit
Dh = Double (if not allowed, then hit)
Ds = Double (if not allowed, then stand)
SP = Split
SU = Surrender (if not allowed, then hit)

A Blackjack Cheat Sheet

To make things even easier for you and help you follow the best betting strategy whenever you play blackjack, we created a quick cheat-sheet with the basic strategy explained in full.

Download the blackjack cheat-sheet (it's free) and print it or save it on your mobile phone to keep it always with you when you play.

The blackjack basic strategy cheat-sheet is 100% legal and you can use it both when you play online and at a brick-and-mortar casino.

A Conservative Blackjack Strategy

Don't play high-stakes games unless you feel ready for them and you have enough money to spend on online games.

If you are reading this blackjack strategy guide and you are a beginner, you should be afraid of high-stakes games.

When you spend too much money on your games, you risk getting the opposite of what you want. You play to have fun and to find out how to get more chances to win at blackjack - and you end broke and frustrated.

The best way to play blackjack is to start with what I call a conservative approach. Because finding the right way top handle betting in blackjack is key to long-term fun.

Like many blackjack strategies suggest, you should increase the stakes only when things go well and any potential losses are compensated by the money you have already won, not the one you might win if you get lucky.

In other words, raise your bet every time you win.

Many players believe wins and losses come in streaks. They think you might lose five or six times in a row — but when you win…you are not going to do it just once.

Obviously, that's not true.

Blackjack is a gambling game and there are no patterns for you to exploit or streaks that you can use to win more money every time you play.

There are, however, smart betting strategies like the basic blackjack strategy that can help you increase the chances of a victory.

With that in mind, a conservative blackjack strategy works like this:

• Start from the lowest bet (e.g. $1)
• Increase your bet by 1 unit only after you win
• Go back to the original bet after you lose

When you use this blackjack strategy, you need to go back to the original bet as soon as you lose one hand. This is the best way to be in control of your money and end a gaming session in the black.

All you need to do is to make the right choices (use the basic strategy) and raise your stakes little by little - but only when you win.

READ ALSO: Bets sites to play live dealer blackjack online.

An Aggressive Approach to Blackjack: the Martingale Strategy

The Martingale betting strategy sits at the opposite side of the spectrum. This is the perfect blackjack strategy for those players who:

• Play blackjack to win a lot of money
• Can afford to lose a lot of money
• Don't fear the swing of big losses

In other words, this is the perfect blackjack strategy for big spenders but isn't one that you should try if you are still a beginner who is looking for ways to learn how to play blackjack.

The Martingale blackjack strategy is expensive. This is a blackjack system that will help you win often - but only when I have a lot of money to invest on your games.

If you can't spend at least $500 on your games - the Martingale is not the best blackjack strategy for you.

But if you do — continue reading to discover how to use this betting strategy to increase your chances to win.

In short:

The Martingale strategy is the exact opposite of the conservative approach to betting in blackjack we have just seen.

When you follow this strategy, you need to double your bet every time you lose. Which, in case of a losing streak, can become very expensive very quickly.

The rationale of this audacious blackjack betting strategy is that you will need only one win to go back to square one and recoup all your losses in one hand.

The caveat is: your bankroll needs to be deep enough for you to play and play until that one win comes.

Again, this isn't a betting strategy for beginners. If you decide to try it, make sure your bankroll covers at least 10 consecutive losses from the hand #1.

1-3-2-6 Blackjack Betting System

The 1-3-2-6 blackjack betting strategy is not as exciting as the Martingale strategy, and that's a good thing. This betting strategy doesn't require a huge bankroll and is a lot more suitable for players looking for a way to have better chances to win at blackjack without investing a fortune in the game.

The numbers in the strategy's name indicate the way you should bet after you win a hand of blackjack.

You first winning is the trigger that starts the sequence while your first losing hand is the one that ends everything.

This blackjack betting strategy is built to get the most value out of winning streaks. If you are lucky enough to use it at the beginning of a four-hand winning streak, you are in for a treat.

READ ALSO: How to play blackjack for beginners.

How to Win More Often at Blackjack: A Few Important Tips

We all want to win at blackjack every time we play, but we also know that's impossible.

What is possible, however, is to maximise your chances to win and get better winning odds when you play blackjack online. All it takes a few simple tips.

Follow them carefully, as these blackjack tips are as important as the best blackjack betting strategy.

• Don't spend money on the 'insurance'. The insurance bet is a money-draining option created to confuse beginners. All the best blackjack strategies fail to mention is for one simple reason: no real blackjack player will ever spend their money on it.

• Think about the house edge. Like we said when we went through some of the game's best betting strategies, you can't expect to win at blackjack every time you play.

  Like all other casino games, the house edge is what makes sure that the casino has an advantage over the players in the long run. With that in mind, the next of our blackjack tips is one that can make a great difference for you.

• Set a budget and abide to that. Experienced blackjack players know that you need to set a losing and a winning limit before the first hand is dealt.

  Stop playing as soon as you hit one of them. If you lose and hit your lower limit, take a break and end your session.

  If you win and you hit your highest limit, collects your winnings and leave the table. You can continue to play if you want, but you'll need to set a new bankroll and establish new limits first.

• Don't miss the rules sheet. Trust me, there are more blackjack variations that you will ever play. All of them are based on the same core gameplay — but adopt rules that could break you if you aren't ready for them

  One of the best parts of playing online is that the rules are always available at the table. If you are not sure you know everything about the game you want to play, click on the 'info' icon and read the rules.

• Choose 3:2 over 6:5 payout. Different casinos have different payout policies - and not all of them are great for you.

  Make sure you read the payout table before you begin to play a hand of real money blackjack and always choose the games with the 'regular' 3:2 payout. These are a much smarter choice compared to the 6:5 payout blackjack games you find at some online casino sites.

Blackjack Casino Online

Use Bonuses to Find Your Favourite Blackjack Strategy

Now that you know what are the best blackjack strategies, there is only one thing left: play a few games online to find out which one works best for you.

Here's what you should fo to get the best results:

1. Base all your decisions on the basic blackjack strategy
2. Pick the betting strategy that suits your bankroll
3. Follow all the blackjack strategy tips above to maximise your chances to win

To help you find the right games and the right betting strategy, we created a list of the best blackjack bonuses on the market.

All the sites you find in the list are licensed, pay winnings fast, and offer lots of blackjack games. Pick the ones with the best offers, register an account (it's always free), and sit at the blackjack table to start an epic battle with the dealer!