Blackjack Strategy

The most frequent decision that you will have to make when you play blackjack in either a land-based or online casino is whether to hit or stand. That’s why it’s important that you know the correct basic strategy rules for this decision.

Why is it that most blackjack players lose at a casino game that is beatable? It’s because they often make some or all of the following common mistakes.

 MISTAKE 1: NOT CHECKING THE PLAYING RULES

Understanding the number of decks used and the rules being applied are a vital part of advantage player’s strategy when attacking blackjack games for profit.

Card counting has been around since the days of the dinosaurs (in casino years). Edward Thorp published his infamous book on card counting, "Beat the Dealer," in 1962. Since that time, hundreds of books on card counting have been written. Movies such as Rainman, "21" and The Hangover have featured card counting.

In blackjack, Basic Strategy represents the mathematically optimal series of decisions that minimizes your losses over time. It tells you when to stand, hit, double down, split, and surrender (where you forfeit half of your initial bet to the casino).

So, you’ve decided to give this blackjack game a try. It looks so easy, and so profitable, in “Rainman,” “21,” and “The Hangover.”

But before you imitate Alan from “The Hangover” and plop down a $10,000 buy-in, have an idea of what you’ll do at the table. If you avoid these seven common beginner mistakes, you’ll get the most from the game.

When a person walks out of a casino the question that inevitably arises in their mind is “Why did I lose?” Most people that play casino games are losing players.

A blackjack player once asked me this question: “Every time I play blackjack against the dealer, he always seems to beat me.

When you are playing blackjack and dealt a pair of 2s (also known as “deuces”), you have two viable playing options: