Basic Strategy
Blackjack, the card game that adds a dash of European style to American casinos is simple enough: At the start of each round you get two cards and so does the dealer, one of which is shown. Keep drawing cards until you hit a total value of 21 or quit just before you go over the limit and bust. It's you against the dealer and whoever comes out on top gets the winnings. At first glance the game seems one of chance an intuition. After all, you can't know what card is coming up next. However one of the reasons that Blackjack is so popular is that there is a strong element of skill involved. Rather than just trusting to blind luck you can play your cards wisely and hopeful leave the table with a fist full of dollars.
Perhaps the most important thing to bear in mind is that what matters is not just your card value but also the dealer's shown card. Winning is all about assessing your hand against the dealer's potential hand. Because the dealer has to hit on sixteen or stand on seventeen you can use this to plan out your strategy. The higher the dealer's shown card the stronger his hand is and the more trouble your are in.
Here is a quick list of possible cards showing in the dealer's hand and what they mean for you:
Ace: Big trouble. This round is going to be the dealer's unless you have spectacular luck.
10 or face card: Bad news for you. The dealer is in a strong position.
9 : Things aren't looking good. The dealer has got the upper hand here.
7 or 8: Loosen up a bit, you can beat the dealer on this round if you play things right.
4 to 6: The dealer has got that sinking feeling. This hand looks like it will be yours.
2 to 3: Be careful. It could go either way, so play cautious.
Always draw a card if your total is less than 11 because there is no danger of you busting. As a general rule you should always stand if your hand is 17 or higher. If you are on 13 to 16 only draw a card if the dealer is showing 7 or better.
If you hand totals 12 you should take a hit unless the dealer is showing 4 to 6. In this case the dealer may very well bust so you should sit tight and wait for that to happen.
If you play your Blackjack right you can narrow the house odds down to almost even and with just a little luck, you can come out ahead.
Advanced Strategy
Blackjack card counting is an advanced technique to win on blackjack. A player must first learn the basic strategies of blackjack before learning “counting”. By learning the technique of counting you will have the odds with you.
The basic concept of blackjack counting is that a deck filled with 10's and aces will be to your advantage. While the deck of the dealer is filled with smaller cards but is to the dealer’s advantage. Simply put, when the deck is in your favor bet to the maximum, when it’s with the dealer’s bet minimum.
This is because a deck filled with 10 increases the chance of the dealer getting bust. You on the other hand can just opt to stand. In an opposite manner, a deck filled with smaller cards makes the dealers chance to bust less. If you know the deck is filled with 10s or smaller cards, this can give you the advantage of knowing what strategy to use.
The dealer must then always hit until having a soft 17. To hit with a hand of 10 & 6 and knowing the deck is filled with 10's is a bad idea.
If the deck is filled with aces, there is high chance that you’ll hit blackjack. When the player has blackjack, the pay off odds are 3:2. The dealer will only win on the other hand if he also gets a blackjack. That’s why a deck filled with aces is always to the player’s advantage.
Blackjack counting is not done by memorizing each card that has come out of a 6 deck shoe of cards. If you are able to do that, I'd be in awe: you should be in the world records book or maybe even the loony bin.
Blackjack card counting is done by assigning the different card numbers with different point values. Always remember to pick a system that is easy to remember. This will cause fewer mistakes and you will lose less money.
As stated above, you will assign a point value for each card and you will have to add the value of the cards that have come out. This is called the running count. Based on the plus/minus strategy, here are the values assigned.
2, 3,4,5,6 = +1;
7, 8, 9 = 0;
10, J, Q, K, Ace = -1
To illustrate this more clearly:
The first card dealt is an ace, so we start by having -1. Then 6 is the next card dealt so we add 1. This makes the run count back to zero. Then a 3 and 4 follows, making the run count now 2.
After figuring the run count, you can try to figure the true count. You take the running count you have and divide it with the number of decks remaining from the shoe.
The true counts tell you the appropriate bet size and you can base your strategy from there. Good luck!
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