In our previous articles devoted to blackjack online, we have already told you about the history of this exciting game and explained the main rules of blackjack. However, as far as you understand, it’s not enough to make a success in this card game. Blackjack is a game of skills and experience, therefore some effective winning strategies can be used to decrease the house edge as much as possible. This article is aimed at more or less advanced players in online casinos who know the rules and the main objective of this game already. So, let’s begin…
All existing blackjack strategies are based on the statistical analysis of a player’s hand and a hand of a dealer. As far as you know, rules of blackjack online state that a player has much more options to choose from than a dealer. For example, a player of online casino can double down or split his hand in some case, while a dealer can never do this. If a player has a blackjack he can get a 3 to 2 payout, while a dealer’s payout for blackjack is just 1 to 1. A player can press a HIT button and get the third card whatever total he has, while a dealer should stand if his total is 17 or more and has to ask for another card if his total is less than 17.
Keeping all this in mind you should base your decision whether to stand or to hit on a dealer’s card that is face up. If you see a dealer’s card that is 3,4,5 or 6, then a dealer will probably have to ask for the third card. And it’s a statistical chance of 35% of busting a hand. Therefore, the bestdecision for you is to stand hoping that a dealer will have his hand busted and you win automatically. On the other hand, if you see a dealer’s card that is 7,8,9,10 or Ace, the best option for you is to press a HIT button, because another dealer’s card can have a value of 10 and his hand will beat yours then.
Before applying a basic blackjack strategy described below you should read the rules of a game offered on a certain site carefully, and figure out some significant moments. You need to figure out how many decks are used in this game, how many times you can split your hand, when you can double down, is doubling down possible after you split your hand and is surrendering possible.
So below is a set of rules that can be applied regardless of a gambling site you are playing at. Using them wisely in appropriate situations, you can decrease the advantage of casino significantly and make some good money.
General rules of blackjack online:
- If your hand total is 17 or over, you’d better stand than hit as a risk of exceeding 21 is too high.
- If you see that a dealer’s faced-up card is 7 or higher, you should HIT for the third card ( but only if your hand total is less than 16)
- If your hand total is 8 or even less, you can HIT without any doubts.
When to double down playing blackjack:
- If your hand total is 11, you should double down ( not applied if a dealer’s faced-up card is an Ace)
- If a dealer’s faced-up card is 9 or less, and your total is 10, you should double down
- If a dealer’s faced-up card is 6 or less, and your total is 9, you should double down
Strategy of a soft hand:
- Never hit when you have a soft hand with a total of 19 or 20
- If a dealer’s faced-up card is 4,5 or 6, and you have a soft hand with total from 13 to 18, you should double down.
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Strategy of splitting hand with similar cards:
- If you have two Aces or two 8s, split your hand
- If you have two face cards or two 5s, never split your hand.
- If a dealer’s faced-up card is 4,5,6 or 7, and you have two 3s or two 2s in hand, you’d better split your hand
These are the the basic rules that you need to follow to make a success playing blackjack online.Follow them in appropriate situations to lessen the advantage of online casino.
