Blackjack is a game of probabilities and statistics. Even when the dealer has an unfair advantage, players can significantly increase their chances of winning by employing a strategy. There are several blackjack strategies, but they all have the same end goal: to beat the house by reducing the risk of losing as much money as possible while increasing your chance of hitting 21 or getting as close to it as possible.
The most common blackjack strategy is known as the hit-stand-split strategy. This means you hit if you can stand if you can’t hit anymore, and split if you have two cards of equal value.
Blackjack has variants like Double Exposure Blackjack that make it especially challenging for new players because there are no single card values in sight; everything operates under double exposure rules.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best blackjack strategies to help you win more often when playing real money games with this variant.
Basic Strategy
The most basic blackjack strategy is also the most reliable. This blackjack strategy is known as Basic Strategy because it describes the absolute best moves to make at any point during the game. This strategy is the foundation of all blackjack strategy and you must learn it before moving on to other strategies.
This strategy is the result of intense research into the statistics of the game. With this strategy, you will always play the best move for your situation. While this might not always be the best move in terms of increasing your chances of winning, it will always be the best move in terms of decreasing your chances of losing. This is not a perfect system, and it is certainly not foolproof. The dealer might bust (go over 21) and win regardless of the play, or you might have a run of very bad luck that causes you to lose money despite playing the best strategy. But on average, this technique will give you the best chance of winning, and it will do so by minimizing the times you lose.
Don’t Be Impatient: Hit and Run
While the best move during a blackjack game is to follow the basic strategy and hit, stand, and split on certain hands, the second best move is to abandon the basic strategy in favor of a better approach. The most common example of this is when you have 12 against a dealer’s 4.
People who play online blackjack by the numbers will hit and go for the number 21, while people who are impatient will stand and attempt to get a blackjack, which pays out 2:1. The 12/4 combination has a roughly 36% chance of winning, while the 12/4/9 combination has a 51.37% chance of winning. The difference in winnings may not seem like much, but it adds up over the course of a game.
Don’t Be Too Picky: Three-Card Strategies
The next best strategy is to follow the basic strategy on all hands except for three-card hands. Three-card hands are hands where you have fewer than three cards. As silly as it may sound, there’s actually a strategy for these hands. Most of the time, you’ll have a hand like 7, 8, 9 against a dealer’s 4.
The basic strategy says to hit, but the three-card strategy says to stand. Another example of a three-card strategy is when you have a 16 against a dealer’s 2. The basic strategy says to hit, but the three-card strategy says to stand. The three-card strategy is the most aggressive blackjack strategy and should only be used by experienced players.
Card Counting Strategies
Card counting is a strategy that involves keeping track of the cards that have been dealt and trying to predict the next cards based on statistical analysis. It’s a bit like playing the game with a heads-up display that displays the next cards that will be dealt. This strategy is illegal in most casinos and only works in the short term. But in the short term, it works very well.
According to the basic strategy, you must hit on 17 against a dealer’s 3. The card counting strategy says to stand on 17 against a dealer’s 3. The basic strategy says to hit on 12 against a dealer’s 4. The card counting strategy says to stand on 12 against a dealer’s 4.
The Bottom Line
Blackjack is a game of numbers, but it’s also a game of psychology. If you’re the type of player that rattles the table and makes enemies of the dealer, you will lose a lot of money.
If you play the game patiently and with a cool head, you can take advantage of the house’s edge and slowly chip away at their bankroll. As long as you know when to be eager and when to be patient and follow the best strategies, you’ll be playing the game with a significant advantage.
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