How to Win at Blackjack

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There are usually six card decks used in BlackJack which are shuffled after each round. Standard Las Vegas rules are applied with the following exceptions:

  • Online casino player can’t split already split cards
  • Casino player can double after splitting
  • Additional cards can be requested by pressing “Hit” button. To stop getting cards, push “Stand” button.

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BlackJack Card Values

  • Ace (A) – 1 or 11 points
  • Face cards (J, Q, K) – 10 points
  • The rest of the cards – according to their face value

Online Casino Player Wins

If the sum of points blackjack player has is closer to 21 than dealer’s total amount of points, casino player receives 1 to 1 payout. If you have BlackJack and online casino dealer doesn’t have it, your bet is paid 3 to 2.

Black Jack Rules At Online Casinos

Push

If the sum of your card values is equal to the sum of dealer’s card values, then “Push” is announced and you get your blackjack bet back. Remember that BlackJack combination is always stronger than 21 points collected with three or more cards.

Bust

If the sum of online casino players’ cards exceeds 21 then players bust and lose.

Split

If first two cards casino player receives are of the same value, player can split them and have two hands. To do so, player should push “Split” button and make additional bet that is equal to the already placed bet (the bet is made automatically). After that you can play as usual. But if you split two Aces, then you’ll get just by one more card for each hand. If after splitting Aces you receive Ten on one of your Aces, this combination wouldn’t be called Black Jack. You are considered to have 21 points. Remember that you can’t split after you already used splitting.

Double

When online casino player receives first two cards and thinks that third one can bring winnings, he/she can double the bet by pushing “Double” button. In this case casino online player’s bet will be doubled and he/she will receive one additional card. The same opportunity blackjack players have after splitting cards.

Insurance

Insurance is the kind of a separate game in BlackJack. It gives you the chance to insure your blackjack game bet against losing in case casino dealer has BlackJack combination. If dealer’s face up card is an Ace, you are offered to buy BlackJack insurance. Insurance will cost you half of your initial bet. If dealer actually has BlackJack, your insurance will pay you 2 to 1. If after you bought insurance, it turns out online casino dealer doesn’t have BlackJack, you lose your insurance, but can continue playing as usual, and get more cards if you wish. If both you and casino dealer have BlackJack then it’s a Push.

Rules For Dealer

Casino dealer has to get additional cards until he/she gets 17 point or more. After that he/she can stop. Online casino dealer can’t decide whether to take another card or not based on what cards he/she has. Casino dealer has to follow existing blackjack rules.

BlackJack Recommendations For Novice Online Casino Players

There is no other card game which is as popular as BlackJack at online casinos. The beauty of this online casino game is that it requires a combination of player’s skills and good luck. You’ll have a great time playing blackjack online, which is loved all around the world at online casinos as well as offline casinos. Novice blackjack players usually tend to start playing right away, but they should first learn about online blackjack as much as possible. Here are three simple, but powerful recommendations for online blackjack fans.

Always Play BlackJack Game Following Basic Strategy

Since the results of BlackJack depend on how well online casino player knows the game, there are certain aspects gamers need to know to have a chance of winning bigger amounts or at least play longer with money he/she has. One of these aspects is learning BlackJack Game basic strategy, which was developed more than 30 years ago. Basic blackjack strategy is the reliable source of information for online casino players. Whatever cards you have, basic strategy tells you what decisions are the best. Ideally, online casino players should remember basic BlackJack game strategy. But at first they can use some tips, for instance small cards to use before they can keep everything in mind.

Black Jack Recommendations For Novice Online Casino Players

Develop Your Own Money Management System

Nothing can help to reduce your losses as the ability to manage your finances. This what makes difference between good online blackjack players and mediocre online casino players. Money management has nothing common with blackjack skills and good luck. A good blackjack online player knows how much money he or she can really spend on playing, and if necessary, will limit the number of rounds played or amount spent. A good online casino player doesn’t try to chase losses and never plays when drunk.

Practice Playing BlackJack Game at Online Casinos

The world of online casino games is full of websites which would be happy to attract new blackjack players offering free game. Downloading free online BlackJack software is the great way for novice online casino players to practice. It gives the chance of implementing basic blackjack strategy to gradually become more and more confident online blackjack player and finally start playing for real. Free online blackjack game is the great way to protect inexperienced online casino players from losing too fast.

BlackJack Bets at Casinos Online

Blackjack is played by casino customer and online casino dealer. The goal of the player is to get 21 points or close to this amount. If the total sum of points player gets for his/her cards is bigger than the sum of casino dealer’s points and at the same time doesn’t exceed 21, player wins getting 1 to 1 payout. If online casino dealer has more points or player goes over 21, player loses and dealer takes player’s bet. If online casino player and dealer have equal amount of points, this is a tie and blackjack player gets his/her bet back.

According to rules of any casino online, BlackJack combination is possible to form only out of first two cards in any open box. Blackjack combination is paid 3 to 2. That means your $100 bet wins additional $150. Any other winning bets are paid 1 to 1 except for some bonus rules that certain variations of BlackJack game have.

Doubling Down the Bet

When online casino player holds just first two cards on hands and their sum doesn’t exceed 21, player can double the bet (some casinos online allow doubling down only when players have 9 or 11 points in total). To double, online casino player has to place another bet equal to initial bet on this box. After that blackjack online player will receive just one more card regardless of its value.

Black Jack Bets at Casinos Online

Splitting Cards

If first two player’s cards have the same value, for example two deuces, two tens (queen, jack, etc.), these pairs can be split into two new hands. By doing this, online blackjack player must double his/her initial bet. After splitting cards, online casino dealer will deal player additional cards on one hand and after player chooses to stand, will move to another hand.

If after splitting player gets a card to his/her ace which gives 10 points, that won’t be considered a Blackjack combination. It’s just the sum of points equal to 21. When splitting aces most online casinos allow only one card to each ace. If after splitting blackjack game player has another pair on hands, he/she can split one more time or even several more times. Each particular online casino sets its own splitting rules.

Insurance

If first dealer’s card is an ace, online casino player can place insurance bet against dealer’s Black Jack. This bet will be equal to half of the initial player bet. Insurance wins and pays out 2 to 1 if blackjack dealer has Black Jack combination, and the bet is lost in any other cases. Don’t use insurance too often since this online blackjack bet is the most unprofitable for casino player. Casino edge is several percentages when this bet is placed.

Surrender

If casino online has this rule, blackjack player gets the right to refuse further playing after receiving first two cards. In this case online casino player loses half of his/her initial bet.

Note that even though general blackjack rules are the same, every online casino has its own small differences in black jack. Many casinos online do not allow surrender, sometimes after splitting players can’t split again or double, etc. To know exactly what rules apply to blackjack game, you need to read rules at online casino of your choice.

Casino BlackJack Surrender Rule At Online Casinos or Folding In BlackJack Game

Surrender rule is available at around 35% of all online casinos (usually they are Playtech casinos online). The goal of this rule is to let online black jack players surrender after getting first two cards if they don’t like their cards, considering online casino dealer doesn’t have a black jack combination. In this case blackjack dealer takes players’ cards together with half of their bets and online casino players don’t play this round.

Surrender rule is quite simple, but even at online casinos, which offer this rule, majority of online blackjack players never use it or use it in absolutely wrong way.

Why Surrender Rule Is Profitable For Online Casino Players?

The truth is, Surrender is just the great opportunity for online casino players if they use it correctly. Here is a standard situation. Suppose you are dealt two cards giving you 16 points, blackjack game dealer has 10 points. This happens on average once in 30 minutes. You think that you can win this round in 1/4 of the cases? No, that’s a wrong assumption.

Surrender Rule At Online Casinos, or Folding In Black Jack Game

Basically, every time you have less than 1/4 chance of winning a round, you should use Surrender. And here’s why. Let’s say you are playing for several hours today and you had these damned 16 points against dealer’s 10. If you would use Surrender and forfeit half your bet, then after four rounds you would lose 2 bets with a 100% probability. Right? But if you would choose to play out every online black jack round, you would need to win one and lose three rounds to have the same 2 bets lost. Usually that’s not the case.

How to Use Surrender Rule In BlackJack Game

There are several more cases in BlackJack online when you have even lower chance of winning than 1 out of four, but 16 against online casino dealer’s 10 is a classic example. This is the main scenario when you need to remember about Surrender. It will save your money in most of the cases. What are other situations online casino players better surrender? In multi-deck black jack if online casino dealer stands on any 17, players should choose to surrender in cases:

  • 15 against 10
  • 16 against 9
  • 16 against 10
  • 16 against Ace

When casino online dealer hits on soft 17, you should remember that besides above mentioned situations, you need to surrender in cases:

  • 15 against Ace
  • 17 against Ace
  • 8/8 against Ace

Remember that Surrender should be used before online casino dealer checks cards for black jack. You won’t have this opportunity if dealer has a blackjack.

So what’s the value of Surrender for a prudent player if he/she plays following all the rules and canons of black jack game? That’s not enough to turn a good online casino player who follows basic strategy, into an absolute winner. But this online blackjack rule can reduce losses by 15%! Let’s say, if last year you lost $1,000 playing online blackjack, using surrender your losses would be $850.

Casino BlackJack – How Rules Affect BlackJack Game Results

There are tons of small aspects in blackjack. Those aspects aren’t significant but nevertheless affect player chances to win. The table below shows non standard blackjack game rules which change your chances of winning:

RuleRuleRules Affecting Online Casino Edge
Five card CharlieOnline casino player wins if he/she gets 5 cards without going bust+1.49%
Early surrender against aceEarly surrender when dealer is showing an ace+.39%
Early surrender against tenEarly surrender when casino dealer has ten+.24%
Player may draw to split acesOnline casino player can get more cards after splitting aces+.19%
Six card CharlieOnline casino player wins if he/she gets 6 cards without going bust+.15%
Player may resplit acesPlayer can split aces twice+.08%
Late surrender against tenLate surrender against online casino dealer’s ten+.07%
Seven card CharlieCasino gamer wins if gets 7 cards without going bust+.01%
Late surrender against aceLate surrender against online casino dealer’s ace+.00%
Resplit to only 2 handsAfter splitting casino online customer can split just one more time-.01%
No-peek: ace showingDealer doesn’t check his/her cards for Black Jack when having ace-.01%
Player may double on 9-11 onlyOnline casino player can double only when having 9-11 points-.09%
No-peek: ten showingDealer doesn’t check cards for Black Jack when having ten points-.10%
Player may not resplitPlayer can’t split twice-.10%
Player may not double after splittingPlayer can’t double after splitting-.14%
Player may double on 10,11 onlyPlayer can double only when having 10 or 11-.18%
Dealer hits on soft 17Dealer hits on soft 17-.22%
Blackjack pays 6-5Black Jack is paid 6:5-1.39%
Player loses 17 tiesOnline casino player loses 17 ties-1.87%
Player loses 17,18 tiesOnline casino player loses 17, 18 ties-3.58%
Player loses 17-19 tiesPlayer loses 17-19 ties-5.30%
Player loses 17-20 tiesPlayer loses 17-20 ties-8.38%
Player loses 17-21 tiesPlayer loses 17-21 ties-8.86%

In blackjack, many players follow the simplest of rules to reduce the likelihood of losing (overcards). For example, if a player already has 12 points in his hand, it is better not to take a risk, since it is likely to fall out with 10 points as the most encountered card value. Such a strategy is not profitable over the long haul.