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Thursday, January 6, 2011

21 Things to Learn About Blackjack: Best Strategy


Secrets of Playing Blackjack
21 Things to Know - Secrets of Playing Blackjack      
Whether you’re a beginner at Blackjack 21, or if you’re attempting to teach the game to a friend, we thought it would be practical and useful to share with you a complete list of tips and secrets when playing Blackjack. Included in this blog, you will find several sections on Blackjack terminology, betting and strategy, as well as all you will need to know to excel at this game regardless of your current playing level

by Melissa S. at Gambling Guru


Shortcuts to Various Sections Covered:

 



Get to Know the Game – Strategies to Use to Make You a Better Blackjack Player

  1. The Objective of Blackjack - Blackjack is a pretty straight forward card game. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer with a hand totalling 21, or having the hand amounting the closest to 21 it without “busting”.
  2. The Meaning of Bust/Busting - Busting refers to when either the dealer or the players’ cards have gone over the amount of 21. If the Dealer hits a Bust, players will default to a win unless a participating player also has busted, which results in an automatic loss.
  3. The Meaning of Deal ­- When the player has placed their wager/bet into the betting circle, it signals to the dealer the exchange of chips for a hand at blackjack. The cards are then distributed to the player(s). This distribution process is called “Deal”.
  4. The Meaning of Hit/ Draw - Once a player has been given two cards, the player is given the option to hit. Hit refers to the second dealing of cards. Players have the option of receiving as many hits as they may choose. The ending of hitting occurs when the player is satisfied with the outcome of their cards or has busted from going over the amount of 21.
  5. The Meaning of Stay/Stand - When the player has been dealt all their cards and wishes to stop the engagement of receiving any more cards, the player must signal to the dealer with either a wave of the hand over the top of their cards or select stay/stand in an online version of the game.
  6. What is Push - Push happens when both the player and the dealer have the same outcome/card value in the game. This outcome results in a tie, and the players’ chips are then returned.
  7. Why is Blackjack So Special - Blackjack consists of an Ace Card and a face card. This combination of those two cards adds up to the winning amount of 21.
  8. How the Ace Card is Different from Every Other Card Within the Deck - The Ace Card can have two outcomes when being played:  either 11 or 1. Listed below you will see different scenarios to demonstrate how the Ace Card can be played.

    a. If a player receives an Ace Card as one of the two cards dealt, the Ace value is 11.

    b. If the player decides to hit on top of the Ace card, the card value will default to 1.

    c. If the Ace card is the last card after requesting a hit, the player can decide whether that cards denomination is 11 or 1.

    d. If the player receives 2 Ace cards as the first hand, the player has the option of splitting the hand into two hands to increase the chances of winning, or continue to bet as the value will total 2.
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  9. Face Cards in Blackjack and What They Represent - The deck consists of cards ranging from 2 to 10, with the Ace being 1 or 11. Face cards are the Royal Cards in the deck and consist of Jack, Queen, and King.
  10. Making a Wager/Bet - Wagers/Bets must be placed on the betting circle before any games of Blackjack has begun. To play multiple hands, simple place wagers/bets in the beginning of the game onto an open betting circle to receive cards for that additional hand. Additional bets can be made in the game if you decide to Double Down or Split your hand.

    Watch the video tutorial "When to Wager in Blackjack".
  11. Can I Remove My Bet or Add to It during the Game - The only times you can remove your bet from the table is when the game has not begun, or if you have won that specific game. Once cards are dealt, no player is allowed to touch bets in the betting circle. Bets can only be added when a player Double Downs or Splits their hand.
  12. What is the Definition of Double Down - Double Down is when you place the same amount of wager as your initial wager to then receive only ONE additional card for a chance at winning the Game.
  13. When is the Best Time to Double Down - The dealer must take a HIT when the card up is either4, 5 or 6. When your hand is totalling 10 or 11, the odds are in your favour that you will most likely get dealt a face card or a 10, with the dealer in this case more likely to bust.
  14. What is the Definition of Split/Splitting - Split/Splitting is when a player decides to divide their first two cards of either the same identical value ie.  6-6, or two Aces into two hands.  When splitting the hand, the player must put the same amount they had wagered on the newly made hand to make it playable. The Dealer will then deal out an additional card for each card split. These hands will then be played independently from each other by the player. A tip to remember is to never split a 5-5 as getting another face card or ace puts you closer to 21, and only split identical face cards at your own risk if you feel that you have advantage over the dealer. Any split hands containing an Ace card along with a face card/10 are counted only as the value of 21 instead of Blackjack. Be sure to check the casino you are playing at for restrictions that may apply to further splitting, doubling down after a split, and splitting of Aces with only one card to each Ace. 
  15. When to take Insurance and When Not To - Whether you are a player or dealer, here is a tip to remember, there is about a 15% chance of someone hitting blackjack. So ask yourself, does the dealer have the opportunity at blackjack or would you with all previous cards being dealt.
  16. Rules of the House:  How the Dealer is Required to Play Their Hand - A key rule when playing Blackjack is that Dealers must stand on all hard 17s and above. Each casino may vary when it comes to Soft 17s but all share the common rule of Stand on 17. Some casinos rule out the dealer drawing any cards on a soft 17 and require them to stand. It is a good idea to find out these rules and which games of blackjack it would affect.

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    Dealer Must Stand on 17s
    Stand on 17s is when a dealer is required to stand on any hard 17s and draw on anything below a 17. For example, if you took a stand on a 13 while the dealer had a 15, the dealer must draw another card until hitting 17 or above regardless if their hand had been better. This gives players a higher probability of winning.

    Dealer Must Hit on Soft 17s

    Soft 17s is a hand containing an Ace Card with a 6 or 2 and 4 to make 17. With this rule a dealer is required to draw another card whenever receiving a soft 17.

  17. How to Play Against the Dealer
    Get to know the Dealer’s Cards: The Strategy

    Ace:
     The dealer has about a 4/13 chance of a Blackjack in a given deck and has a chance of accumulating a higher number of  draws without getting a bust. The bust percentage of the Ace is about 17%. The best approach to the dealer’s Ace is to achieve a hand containing 17 or higher.  Another choice if the casino does offer this option is to surrender if you’re unable to obtain a hand 17 or higher.

    10, J, Q K: The dealer has about a 1/13 chance of a Blackjack and 4/13 chance of getting 20. If you’re faced with the dealer having one of these cards, the best approach is to achieve 11 with a possible chance at 21. If wanting to decrease your risk of busting, hit on 10 or less, hit on 12-16 if you feel you have the upper hand and stand on 17.

    7, 8 or 9: When you are faced with the dealer having 7, 8 or 9, your possibilities of winning are greater as the dealer cannot make a blackjack.  The bust percentage of 7 is 26%, 8 is 24% and 10 is 23%. Do not eliminate the fact that the dealer can possibly achieve a 17 or above for their hand. Your odds increase for 20 or 21 when the hand dealt to you has 10 or 11. Hit on anything 9 or less; take a risk when necessary on 12-16 and stand on 17.

    4, 5 or 6: The dealer is more likely to bust with these cards. The rational of 4 busting is 40% and 5 or 6 busting is a 42%. With this being said, the player has the opportunity to double down if the hand amounts to 9, 10, or 11. Hit on anything 8 or less and even stand as low as a 12 hand to anything above.

    3:
    The dealer still has a possibility of busting with the 3 card. Whenever the player is dealt a 12, there is the still the slight chance of not going over 21 when taking into consideration the busting ratio of 4 out of 13, which is around a 37% bust chance. Possible plays would be doubling down when given a 9, 10 or 11; hitting on 8 or less and even stand as low as 12 to anything above.

    2:
    The percentage of a bust with the dealer having 2 is about 35% with the possibility of achieving a hand totalling 20 is about 10%. Players should avoid doubling down if their hand is 9. A players’ best chance at beating the dealer is to hit on 9 or less, hit on 12 and stand on any hand 13 and above.
  18. Surrendering Your Hand - Not every casino may have this option of surrendering. Surrendering happens when the player decides to give up their hand and only loses half of their wager. Whenever you are given the option of surrendering, a good tip to remember is if the dealer has an Ace, surrendering would be an option with 12 to 17 hands. If the dealers’ face card is 10, surrendering would be an option with 14, 15, or 16. If the dealers’ card shows a 9, surrendering would be an option with your 16 hand. There are also two types of surrendering offered by some casinos: Early Surrender and Late Surrender.

    Early Surrender:Whenever an early surrender is offered, the player has the option of surrendering before the dealer checks their own cards to see if they have Blackjack.

    Late Surrender: Whenever a late surrender is offered, the dealer first checks his own cards for Blackjack before giving the option of surrendering. If the dealer has a Blackjack and you decide to continue, your bet is lost with your hand totalling 21, but would push if you were to have a Blackjack. Late Surrender is in the player’s favour vs. the house.
  19. When to Stop Hitting and Stand - A common practice followed by many professionals is to stand on 17. After 17 a player must be cautious about what card may be dealt. If the dealer’s card shows 4, 5 or 6, the player should stop hitting once reaching 12 and up. The odds of the dealer busting is about 40% for 4 and 42% with 5 and 6. If a dealer is showing 2 or 3, the player should generally stop at 13 and up.

    Watch the video tutorial on "When to Stop Hitting in Blackjack".
  20. Card Counting - Card counting isn’t the easiest strategy to master and many casinos frown upon this technique. Be aware of the casino’s rules before engaging in such activity as the player can be banned from the casino. It is not illegal to card count using your own brain however; it is illegal in most casinos to be using any card counting devices such as any electronic devices or small computers.  Any player caught with any devices will be arrested for cheating and put into jail.

    That being said, card counting is a strategy used to keep track of the cards that have been already played to give a player a more probable advantage over the house. The Player then assigns a point value to each card to track a card’s effect of removal in the ratio of high cards to low cards. The most common system used in card counting is the Hi-Lo count.  With a new full shoe (new deck of cards), start the count at 0 and placing only low bet amounts. Give the value of + 1 with cards 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and -1 to any 10s, J, Q K and Aces. Cards 7, 8 and 9, count as neutral or zero. The strategy behind the Hi-Lo system is when adding and subtracting the whole deck of 52 cards you will end up with balanced number of high and low cards resulting in the count of 0. When counting the value to the cards, if the total adds up with a higher equation, the richer the deck is in 10, J, Q, K and Ace. With a higher number of 10, J, Q, K and Aces in the deck, the more this favours the player. If your results end up with a lower equation of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, the more
    This favours the dealer. You must figure out the True Count of the cards by taking the running count of the cards and dividing that by the number of decks still left in the shoe. This will help you determine a more accurate count on when to start increasing your bet. Keep your bets at the minimum if the true count is less that 0.8 and slowly increase when going above that mark.
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  21. How Do I Cash Out of a Game - If you are playing in a live casino, the player can push their chips in front of themselves between the betting boxes and then inform the dealer of their cash out. The reason for the chips being pushed between the betting boxes is to avoid any mistakes of placing an unwanted bet.If playing online, look for the option cash-out button or a cashier option in either the game or menu features in the toolbar. Some online games allow players’ to go into another game in their software without having to cash-out. Other features players can feel safe about is most online casinos keep your balance active for you to login and logout of, so that you may play at any time without having to cash out every single game.

Related Video Tutorials


When to Stop Hitting In Blackjack



When to Wager in Blackjack

Overall Most Important Things
to Know About Blackjack:

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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hеllo! This рost cоuldn't be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this write-up to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!

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