How to Win at Blackjack – 6D Casino
Learning how to win at blackjack is different from learning how to play since blackjack players will need to learn basic strategies, different betting strategies, and other techniques to improve a player’s odds of winning. One must first fully understand the rules of blackjack and whatever rules are present in a particular blackjack game.
Once you learn the fundamental rules of blackjack, you’ll find that the game is simple enough to learn and that you can finally start practicing certain strategies.
Learn the Fundamental Rules
Blackjack is a game where the player competes against the dealer. The player’s main goal is to get a blackjack or get a hand that’s closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand. The players might “compete” against each other in a way, but the ultimate objective is to beat the dealer, no matter the blackjack game played.
When the player gets a 21, they win either 3:2 or 6:5 of their bet, depending on the game. When the player beats the dealer without getting a blackjack, the payout is 1:1. A player’s goal is to get a 21 or as close to 21 without going bust. Players lose when the dealer gets the better hand or when the player busts, but a draw will result in the bettor getting back their bet.
Players must also know the value of their cards after knowing the objective of the game:
The value of the cards is not affected by the suit of the cards, but there are some side bets that focus on them. Not all blackjack games will likely offer the same side bets, so it’s important to learn what side bets are available in a game.
Understand House Edge & Odds
Unlike the fundamental rules, the house edge and the odds will vary per game and can be affected by how a player plays. The common odds to win, before they’re altered, are the following:
| Payout | House Edge | Odds to Win |
|---|---|---|
| 3:2 | 0.5% | 31.25% |
| 6:5 | 2% | 15.38% |
The payouts, house edge, and odds above are the most common among all blackjack games. There will be differences though based on the different rules per game since players can be limited with how they play. In some games, players can double down while players can’t in others. Additionally, the house will have a bigger edge over the player the higher the number of decks at play.
Learn Basic Strategy
Blackjack’s basic strategy is the foundation of all effective blackjack strategies and is the first step to learning more advanced strategies. Learning blackjack strategy involves knowing what play to make based on their hand’s value, which means learning the following:
These are the basics and must be thoroughly learned before moving to advanced strategies since they are all based on basic strategy.
Learn Proper Card Counting
Card counting is an advanced blackjack strategy that can become the next step after mastering the basic strategy. Card counting requires mastery of basic strategy to know what plays to make and to just deviate from their standard bets to make advantageous plays.
Learning how to count cards in blackjack requires the player to know how to assign values to certain cards and count them to predict whether they’ll have a good hand or not in the next round and to raise or lower bets accordingly. Basically, when the casino has the edge, the player will bet less and bet more when the player has the edge.
Learning how to count cards will help you win in blackjack, but you must be careful with it. Traditional casinos reserve the right to refuse to play with you and they can ban you from playing blackjack. After learning blackjack deviations to make advantageous plays, you’ll also need to learn to deviate bets to not make it obvious that you’re counting cards.
Manage Your Bankroll
Bankroll management is vital to keep you from losing too much money while playing. Managing your bankroll is necessary to play for extended periods and have more chances of winning. Once you lose your entire bankroll, you won’t be able to play other games and you might be tempted to play beyond your set bankroll.
Choosing which blackjack game to play is important to manage your bankroll since different games can have different minimum stakes. Looking into them beforehand will help ensure you won’t be forced to stake high when you still don’t know how to play or are practicing basic strategy and card counting to try and master them.
Managing your bankroll is also necessary to be able to know how much you should lower or raise your bets when counting cards and practicing blackjack deviations.
Consider Your Options Based on the Dealer’s Hand
After dealing cards, both the player/s and the dealer can either have weak or strong cards. The basic strategy shows what to do whenever a player and a dealer have a certain hand and upcard, but counting cards can give more information on what possible cards the dealer might have and allow for educated guesses. However, practicing basic strategy should be enough.
Dealer is strong
A strong dealer upcard has a low probability of busting. The lower the probability of busting, the higher the chances that the dealer will win a round or even get a blackjack. The strongest dealer upcards are the following:
When the dealer has a strong hand with a minuscule chance of busting, it’s better to stand to limit losses. Sticking to your betting units is advisable to limit losses unless you’re extremely confident with your card-counting skills.
Dealer is weak
A weak dealer upcard has a high probability of busting. The higher the probability of busting, the lower the chances that the dealer will win a round or even get a blackjack. The weakest dealer upcards are the following:
When the dealer has a weak hand, it’s better to double down when possible or to hit if not.
Choose Online Casinos Over Land-Based Ones
Playing blackjack at traditional land-based casinos can be intimidating for beginners, especially when they see other players blame them for ruining their plays and getting a bad card. Playing live blackjack in an online casino like 6D Casino will allow players to take advantage of the following:
Trying to play correctly to win real money in a traditional casino can get a player in trouble when caught counting cards. The casino can ban an advantage player to limit their losses and force player to play other games like slots. In an online casino, however, players can theoretically stay safe because the dealer won’t see them count cards. Beginners also won’t have to worry about veteran players judging them.
Know When to Double Down / Split
Doubling down and splitting gives blackjack players to increase their potential profits should they win, especially when practicing perfect basic strategy. However, not all casino games allow players to double down and double down after a split, so it’s important to know when to double down or split and which game lets players do so.
You can only know when to double down and split by memorizing basic strategy and practicing on real money or free game where you can double down and split.
Practice with Free Blackjack
Online casinos offer plenty of casino games, including free video and live blackjack. Such games are perfect for practicing basic strategy, card counting, and even just getting in the mood before playing for real money.
If you want to win real money in the long run, you should consider playing free blackjack to practice blackjack basic strategy and advanced strategies and betting systems. Without doing so, experimenting with real money games will result in significant losses.
Avoid These Mistakes
Blackjack players, especially rookies, can easily make mistakes when playing blackjack. These mistakes can be costly so you must avoid committing any of these when playing for real money.
1. Not knowing the rules of the blackjack variant
When playing blackjack blind, it’s highly likely that you’ll lose a lot of money while being confused. You can also easily play a blackjack variant where you’re not allowed to double down while fully expecting to be able to do so. Playing the wrong game can confuse you, limit your wins, and increase your losses when playing high minimum stake 8-deck games where the house has a bigger edge.
2. Playing without having a strategy in place
Playing blackjack without a strategy is just asking to lose money since you won’t know when to hit, stand, double down, and split. The likelihood of you making the wrong plays like hitting when you’re more likely to bust or standing when the dealer has a weak card that ended up busting.
3. Not knowing when to quit
Losing is normal when gambling; players can even lose a lot of money when practicing perfect, no-mistake card counting and basic strategy just because they got unlucky. Because losing is always a possibility, you must know when you should quit. Quitting has the following benefits:
Since basic strategy and card counting can improve one’s winnings, one might think this is great to chase losses. If they continue to suffer a losing streak, it’s possible that they’ll continue losing more money. Even greedy players who want to win more can lose their winnings after an unlucky high-stake bet where the dealer suddenly gets a 21.
4. Side betting and taking insurance
Side bets have some pretty hefty payouts, but your chances of winning these are low. The insurance is one side bet without a hefty payout but allows you to limit your losses by ensuring that you don’t lose money if you lose your initial bet. Avoiding side bets of any kind and focusing on basic strategy is better than figuring side bets out unless you have extra money to test them.
Betting Patterns in Blackjack
When playing blackjack, you’ll be placing bets per round before the dealer deals the cards. You typically have the option to stick to a single betting unit or adjust your bets based on card counting or certain betting systems. These can be useful to increase your number of wins or profit a bit.
Cautious approach
The cautious approach is a betting pattern meant to boost the number of wins. In this approach, you increase your bet every time you win. This ensures that you never lose money that you can’t afford to lose.
Martingale system
The Martingale system is a progression system where you double your bet every time you lose and then go back to your initial bet when you win. This system is risky since you continuously increase your losses every time you lose a round.
Know When to Surrender in Blackjack
Surrendering is the option for the player to give up their hand to forfeit half of their bet. This occurs after the dealer checks if they have blackjack and is offered to players to limit their losses if the dealer has blackjack. Alternatively, players can sometimes opt for early surrender which allows players to give up their hand even before the dealer checks for blackjack, allowing the player to keep the house edge down.
The basic strategy says that players must surrender when the dealer has a 9, 10, or Ace when the player has a 16 and to surrender when the dealer has 10 and the player has 15.
| Dealer Up card | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard Hands | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Ace |
| 16 | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Surrender | Surrender | Surrender |
| 15 | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Surrender | Don’t |
| 14 | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t | Don’t |
Memorizing basic strategy, including when to surrender, should help keep losses to a minimum when playing American Blackjack.
Conclusion
Playing blackjack can be easy, but winning it is a different matter. Knowing how to win in blackjack is necessary to win real money and playing blind will only result in significant losses. Understanding the rules, house edge, and mastering basic strategy are the first steps to learning how to win and players can steadily progress afterward.
Once you have a strategy in mind after continuous practice, you must also remember to avoid doing certain things when playing for real money, like not knowing when to quit and frequenting side bets. You must also know where to play blackjack and a reputable online casino like 6D Game is the only way to go. Sign up today to start playing blackjack with us.
