Blackjack: Your Best Chance to Win

Blackjack is the most popular table game in casinos. One reason blackjack is so popular is because it gives the player a other better chance at winning over the long haul than all the casino games.

The house advantage in blackjack is only 0.5 percent. That means if you play basic blackjack strategy, the casino will only win 0.5 percent of your money over time. This is an average, so there are times when you can actually make money.

If you were to gamble $100, the casino is going to pay you back $99.50 on average over time. So it’s going to cost you about fifty cents per hundred dollars to play blackjack in a casino, on average, if you play intelligently.

You may remember from this post that the actual house win percentage is 2.74 percent. That percentage is significantly higher than 0.5 percent. Why? Because many players don’t know how to make the most of the odds.

This article is going to teach you how to play intelligently and maybe even improve on that percentage.

Key Blackjack Rules and Gameplay Basics

Blackjack is a simple game to learn. Many people have played blackjack or twenty-one growing up as kids. The rules in casino blackjack are the same, for the most part.

Blackjack is played with a standard fifty-two-card deck. A casino game of blackjack can be played with one, two, four, six, or eight decks. The casino determines the number of decks it uses for its blackjack games.

As a player, the fewer decks the better. Why? It’s easier for players to count cards (that is, keep track of the cards that have been played) when there are fewer decks in use. Also, the fewer the decks, the fewer hands per hour you play because the dealers need to shuffle the cards more often.

So the more time they spend shuffling, the less time they have to deal and play. The house also has an advantage in the way the cards are dealt when more than two decks are used. Figure 3-1 shows a typical blackjack table at a casino.

Each card has a numerical value. A five is worth five, a seven is worth seven, and so forth. All face cards are worth ten, as are all tens. Aces are worth either eleven or one. If you’re dealt an ace, it’s up to you to decide which value you want it to have.

For example, if you have an ace and seven in your hand, it can be counted as eight or eighteen: it’s your choice. You can also switch the value of that ace in the middle of a hand, if it’s to your advantage.

Because you have the option of playing the ace either way, a hand containing an ace is called a soft hand. A hand with no aces is called a hard hand. A hard hand can only be counted one way, since all cards other than aces have a set value.

At the beginning of the game, each player lays down a bet. The dealer then gives each player two cards, dealing them one at a time starting with the player at his left and continuing clockwise.

In single- and double-deck blackjack games, the cards are dealt face down. In blackjack games that use a shoe (four or more decks), the cards are dealt face up. (A shoe is a container that holds the cards for the dealer. It got this name because it looks similar to a shoe.)

The dealer also deals himself two cards, one face up and one face down, no matter what the number of decks are being used. (The face-down card is also called the hole card.)

Each player must add the value of his or her cards to determine what the hand is worth. For example, if you have a five and a seven, your hand is worth twelve. If you have a nine and a jack, your hand is worth nineteen. (Remember: all face cards are worth ten.)

If you have an ace and six, you have a total of seventeen or seven. (Remember: aces may be used as one or eleven.) If you have a queen and an ace, you have twenty-one. That total is called a blackjack. Getting a blackjack on the deal is called a natural.

Beating the Dealer: How to Win

The object of blackjack is to beat the dealer. You compare the total of your hand with the dealer’s total. Each player plays against the dealer and not each other. No matter how many players are sitting at your blackjack table, your object is to beat the dealer, so don’t worry about the other players’ hands.

You can beat the dealer in two ways. If your cards total twenty-one or lower and that total is higher than the total of the dealer’s hand, you win. If the dealer goes over twenty-one, then you win. Any value over twenty-one is called a busted hand. Of course, the same applies to you: if your hand total is over twenty-one, then you’ve busted and automatically lose.

Table Layout and Betting Limits

That’s fairly simple so far. There’s a little more to the game than that round of two cards. But first, we’ll explain the layout so you can more easily follow what happens next.

A blackjack table consists of six or seven spots for players and one dealer. In front of each player there’s a betting circle where you place the chips you want to wager. Each table will have a sign indicating the minimum and maximum betting limits.

Those limits are usually $5 minimum and $2,000 maximum. The casinos change the minimum/maximum sign according to how busy they might be. If they get really busy, then they might raise the limits, to restrict the game to the higher rollers and allow them to bet more money.

If things are slow, they might lower the limits to attract more players to the table. It’s the basic economic principle of supply and demand.

The dealer always plays his hand last. That means his face-down card remains unknown to the players until he turns it over to play his hand. It would be no challenge to the players if both the dealer’s cards were turned face up at the beginning.

In turn, it would also be unfair to the players if both the dealer’s cards were face down. The players need to judge how to play their hands based on the dealer’s face-up card and the total of their hand.

The reason the dealer deals the cards to the players face down when using one or two decks is that the use of only 52 or 104 cards makes it easier for the players to keep track of the cards that have been played.

By dealing the cards face down, the dealer makes it tougher for players to count cards. By using three or more decks, which makes it more difficult to count cards, the house increases its advantage, so it allows the players to see each other’s hand to compensate for the greater house advantage.

The house only gains anywhere from .30 percent to 60 percent, depending on the number of decks being used.

Mastering Hand Signals

The game begins when the dealer deals every player and himself two cards each. When the cards are dealt face down, you may only use one hand to pick up your cards; this rule is to prevent cheating.

When the cards are dealt face up, you’re not allowed to touch the cards at all. Play begins with the first player to the dealer’s left (called first base). Each player in turn decides whether to take a hit (get another card) or to stand (stick with his or her two cards).

You’re allowed to hit your hand as many times as you like, until you decide to stand or you bust. The dealer will ask each player, usually with a hand signal, if he or she wants another card. As a player, you must respond with a hand signal.

The signals differ according to the number of decks in use, that is, depending on whether the players are holding their cards (in one hand only) or the cards are lying on the table. In single- or double- deck games, if you want to take a hit, you scrape your cards toward you on the table, as if flicking crumbs.

If you want to stand, then you tuck the cards under your chips, using just the one hand. In games using more than two decks, since you can’t touch the cards, you use your fingers to signal. To signal a hit, you scrape the table in a pulling motion towards you. To stand, you wave your hand over your cards.

These hand signals are very important and must be used when playing blackjack. The reason for the hand signals is to prevent cheating by the dealer and/or the players. The casino security personnel use cameras in the ceiling for surveillance of the games.

Since the security cameras used in casinos don’t have sound, personnel would be unable to monitor spoken questions and answers. By making the players use hand signals, the security personnel can make sure dealers and players aren’t cheating.