Strategies To Assist With Online Blackjack

by Simon M Skinner

Blackjack lends itself easily to certain rules and principles which can help increase the odds in your favor if you follow them. Use these tips and best practices to improve the way you play Blackjack, whether at a casino or online.

Every gambling game comes with a house advantage, which is how much the odds are stacked in their favor. If you pay attention to certain factors however you can systematically reduce that edge, allowing you more opportunity to win.

The first rule is of course it hit with nine or less. Following that, you should always double down with a 10 or an 11, unless the dealer is also showing a ten or an Ace.

If you're holding between 12 and 16 it's a little trickier, but you'll want to hit if the dealer has a seven or higher. If you have 17 or more, you should stand regardless of what the dealer has.

If you're playing with soft hands, things get a little different. What's a soft hand? When you can use an ace as an eleven instead of a one, that's what's going on. A soft sixteen, for instance, would be an ace and a six.

If you have an Ace and your high value is between 13 and 18, double down if the dealer has a five or a six. If you have seventeen or less you should always hit with an Ace, and eighteen can be hit if the dealer has six or more.

You should stand when you have more than seventeen as long as the dealer doesn't have a high card. In addition to these rules for playing soft hands, pairs need special attention as well.

Some pairs you always want to split, such as Aces and eights, while some pairs you never want to split, such as tens, fours and fives.

These are some basic guidelines that can help increase your odds of winning every hand. You should also keep in mind that to improve your experience you should be looking for a game where you can play without interruption and the game is moving quickly and easily.

Never play when there's an obvious drunk person at the table, since it can throw you off your game and you may also want to avoid slow players who hinder the action.

You should not accept the dealer's offer for insurance unless you have been counting cards and know the exact odds of a situation.

Always keep track of your bankroll and don't sit a table with a minimum bet higher than 1/20th of your available chips. Higher than that and you can quickly run through your chips on a losing streak. Of course remember to enjoy yourself and respect everyone else at the table.