The Basics of Blackjack StrategyThe Basics of Blackjack Strategy
Blackjack is a card game where the player and dealer compete for a winning hand of cards. The game is played in a special area of the casino called the pit and overseen by a stern-looking person known as the pit boss. The basic rules of the game are simple: You win if you beat the dealer, and you lose if you bust or go over 21. While there are many variations on the game, most blackjack games will use between six and eight decks of cards.
A good blackjack strategy is based on probability and expectation calculations, rather than pattern recognition or streaks of wins and losses. These calculations are based on the knowledge that blackjack is a game of dependent trials where the results of previous trials influence the probabilities of future trials. While the blackjack probability charts provided on this site will not give you a perfect strategy, following them closely will reduce your house edge significantly and make your bankroll last longer.
There are a few other blackjack strategies that are popular, but they tend to be very complex and require large bankrolls. One example is the Martingale betting strategy, which involves increasing your bet after every loss until you win. This is not a blackjack betting strategy for beginners, as it can quickly burn through your bankroll and leave you broke and frustrated.
Another blackjack strategy is back counting, a method of reducing the bet spread by only playing when there is a favorable count. The problem is that casinos are well aware of this technique and will often watch players who only sit down to play when there is a positive count, to see if they are trying to rig the game.
When it comes to hitting, the basic strategy says that you should hit if your cards total 11 or less and the dealer has a 7 or higher. However, it is also a good idea to hit if your cards total 12 and the dealer has a 3, as this will increase your chances of beating the dealer’s hand by more than 50%.
The decision to split your cards is a little more complicated. You should always split aces and 8s, but you should also consider splitting 10s if the dealer has a 2 or 3. This will give you more opportunities to hit, and it will also decrease your chance of busting by more than half.
While the rules of blackjack vary from one casino to the next, most will pay 3:2 for a blackjack. This is a much better payout than the 1:6 odds that most other table games offer. However, some casinos will reduce the payout to 6:5, which increases the house edge and takes more money out of your pockets. Fortunately, this isn’t a widespread practice, so you should still be able to find blackjack tables with the standard payout. Just be sure to read the rules of each casino before you play.