Basic Blackjack Strategy and Tips

Cards Blackjack needs no introduction. It’s the greatest casino game, both off- and online. However, I guess you are most probably a beginner to be reading this, so I will leave the sugar aside and hope you’ll discover its glory all by yourself. To ease the falling-in-love process, here are my top online blackjack tips and the simple, yet brilliant, basic strategy.

What is Basic Blackjack Strategy

As a skill-based game, blackjack requires a lot of decisions from the player. The basic strategy is nothing but a cheat sheet giving all these best decisions away. The optimal move in any given blackjack situation is a result of statistical probabilities and a lot of math calculations. It’s not just any random strategy that some guy invented by chance. Depending on the dealer’s first card and your opening hand, there is always an ideal action a player can take: hit, stand or double down. Going for it, means you are minimizing the chances of busting (losing) and respectively increasing the chances of winning. For example, if your opening hand equals 14 and the dealer shows a 7, the best decision would be to Hit. Memorizing the chart is super easy. You just have to play with it for a while and then it will find its place in your head forever. The only thing to consider is that no type of blackjack strategy will ever eliminate the house edge completely. It only lowers it. And even if you’re caught in a long losing streak, don’t give the strategy up. Statistics never lie, and things will even up in the long run.

Blackjack Do’s and Don’ts

Number one is to always choose a blackjack variation played with a lower number of card decks. Each additional deck increases the house advantage, so single-deck variations are the best recommendation. Just to compare, an eight-decks blackjack comes with 0.65% house edge while a single-deck variation lowers it to 0.17%. It’s not a huge difference but why not use it!
The second tip is to avoid side bets. They are never a good idea as they tend to increase significantly the house advantage. Even though their huge payout sounds tempting, my advice is to use them in moderation or not at all. Adding a small side bet along with your regular one equals a long-term disaster for your cash balance.
Third, skip insurance! It is always more reasonable to risk losing your initial bet than to get a protection in case the dealer ends up with blackjack.
Lastly, here are a few extra tips from my own experience. I always split Aces despite the only-one-more-card rule that follows. If there’s a surrender option, I only use it in case of hard 15 and a 10 from the dealer. I also prefer live blackjack over the RNG online variations because of its authentic casino atmosphere.

If after all this blackjack talk, you feel the urge to finally get some practice, scroll through the best online blackjack sites at www.blackjacksites.info for detailed game reviews as well as free demo modes for risk-free first steps.

I hope my tips and tricks will turn your first encounter with blackjack into a huge success! See you next time!