Blackjack is one of the most popular games at both land based and online casinos. The reasons for its popularity are that it is both easy to play and requires skill. By using the basic blackjack strategy card you can lower to the house advantage to less than 1%. This is one of the highest payouts in the casino. In order to give yourself the best odds you need to follow a few simple guidelines.
You need to learn and understand the rules of blackjack. Do your homework; there are thousands of websites dedicated to blackjack. You need to learn not only the basic rules, but the variations and how they affect the play of the game. If you start reading you will learn about variations such as blackjack switch, Spanish blackjack and European blackjack. Each of these games presents a slight twist and changes the player’s strategy. Do not assume that you will play a variation the same as you would the basic game; this is what the casino wants you to do.
Learn the basic blackjack strategy card. Learn the card, do not just memorize it. There are times when you will want to deviate from it, but only if you understand it. The blackjack strategy card is based on statistics. Playing by the basic strategy card will increase your chances of winning. Playing by gut feel is your worst enemy. This can increase the house edge by as much as 5%. The only times that you should be deviating are when you know that there are an inordinate amount of low cards left in the deck. Use this to your advantage and hit with low cards against low to mid cards. Your goal is to beat the dealer, so remember that when the count is against you hit more often. Both you and the dealer will pull more low cards in this situation.
There are two main differences between playing online and playing blackjack in a casino. Traditional casinos intentionally over stimulate you. The loud noise, crowds, use of chips, lack of windows and clocks are used to confuse and distract you. The land based casino also uses either a six or eight shoe deck. They do not reshuffle every hand because this would take too long. Online casinos reshuffle after every hand. If you are trying to keep track of the count you will need to play at a traditional casino. If you are not keeping track of the count the online casino is usually a much better bet. Online casinos allow you to play from your own home. You can prepare yourself to play and make sure that you will not be distracted. You can use your strategy card and shop for your best online opportunities. Online casinos offer many different bonus opportunities than traditional casinos. They offer match bonuses on your deposits. When you make your initial deposit at an online casino they will usually match it to entice you to try out their casino. There are other weekly and monthly match bonuses available through most online casinos.
By Dave Daniels
Dave “Tex” Daniels is the Online Casino Gambling Editor for LayingOdds.com. For more information on Online Slots and Online Gambling