Do and Don’ts of playing Blackjack online
The people who are playing online blackjack games usually have a few goals. They may hope to be entertained while they are playing. They may look forward to the interaction with other players if they are playing live blackjack at live casino. There can be many reasons for playing blackjack online, but one will trump all of the others. Most people are playing with the hope of winning. Here are the Do and Don’ts of Blackjack online and have fun.
If a player wants to win at blackjack, they need to learn some of the basics dos and don’ts of the Live game. While these will not guarantee a person will be able to win, but these simple rules will make it a lot easier to be successful when they head to an online casino and step up to the blackjack table.
1 – Do Learn the Rules before Playing
Blackjack is a simple game. You get 2 cards, the dealer gets 2 cards, and both decide to hit until you decide to stand. Then whoever has a total closer to 21 without going over wins the hand.
But in actual practice, blackjack is more complicated than this. You have more decisions at your disposal than just hitting and standing. Hitting is the most basic move. It means to grab another card from the dealer, which increases the total score for your hand.
Doubling down is about doubling the size of your bet while simultaneously taking one more card. You’re not allowed to hit again after this card if you doubled down.
Standing is combined with hitting for being the most basic move. It just means to decline the chance to take more cards. Once you’ve started, you wait for the dealer to play his hand and see if you won.
Splitting is only permitted when you have 2 cards of the same rank. When that happens, you’re allowed to post the 2nd bet and play 2 hands. The first card of each hand is one of the 2 cards you had in your initial hand. You play each of the split hands separately.
Understanding card values is also important. Most people get this aspect of the rules pretty fast. Here is how it all works:
All cards in this game have a point value equal to their rank, except for aces and face cards. Aces can count as 1 or 11, depending on which would be better for your hand. Face cards (the jack, queen, and king) are worth 10 points each.
Apart from this, most of the time, when you win, you get even money. Bet $100 and win, and you get a $100 payout.
But if you get a 2-card hand totaling 21, you win 3 to 2 on your money. Some casinos have lowered payouts for this hand as well.
2 – Don’t Guide Other Players How to Play Their Hands
Blackjack is fun. It’s a gambling game you play in a casino. One of the surest ways to spoil the fun for other players is to correct their play. And if you spoil someone else’s fun, your fun also lessens. This is one of the top Do and Don’ts of playing Blackjack online.
Some players operate under the mistaken impression that the other players’ actions can somehow affect the luck of the other players at the table. This isn’t true. Your odds will remain the same regardless of what the other players do.
3 – DO Play in Single Deck Games
Blackjack is a game with a low house edge! It has a mathematical advantage that the casino has over the player. Different blackjack games have different conditions. The number of decks is also one of those conditions.
In this game, everything else being equal, the more decks in play, the higher the house edge. Your goal is to face the lowest house edge possible. In an 8-deck game, your probability of being dealt a blackjack goes down, which increases the house’s mathematical edge over the player.
You should never give the casino any chance to get a higher edge over you if you can at all help it.
4 – DON’T Play in 6/5 Blackjack Games
One trick most casinos use to get a higher edge is to offer a single deck blackjack game, but that game might only pay off at 6 to 5 for a blackjack. It means if you bet $100 and win, you get a payoff of $150 for a blackjack. It is the ratio of 3 to 2 on your money.
The casinos try to present these games as superior to standard blackjack and some people are so mathematically illiterate that they fall for this trick. Better never say yes to 6/5 blackjack.
5 – Do Follow Basic Strategy on each Hand
You may not be aware to use the basic strategy in blackjack, if you’re a new reader. In blackjack, you’ll face a finite number of situations.
When you compare a total in your hand with the dealer’s up-card, you have a limited number of options. Each of these options offers an average result. You must also consider this Do and Don’ts of Blackjack online when playing this game.
This expected result is called “expected value,” or EV. The basic strategy is to use the highest expected value in every situation. Some situations in blackjack are crazy, and the expected value is negative, no matter how you play your hand. The correct move is the one that results in the lowest average loss.
Most people learn basic strategy using a table or chart. You cross-reference your total with the dealer’s face-up card on the chart, and it explains to you how to play the hand—hit, stand, double down, etc.
It may sound complicated, but it’s easier than you think because some totals play the same as some other totals. And how you play a specific hand against a dealer’s up-card doesn’t change much—a lot of times, the same decision applies to any dealer up-card of 6 or less or any dealer up-card of 7 or more.
Modern computers can handle more complicated algorithms, so they just calculate the expected value for each move. Either way, you get the same instructions for how to play your hands, although they might change slightly based on game conditions.
6 – Don’t Pay heed to your Hunches
Your hunches cannot affect the outcome of the game. You cannot predict the future, even when it comes to a deck of cards. Random chance will make it look like you’re right with your hunches once in a while. Don’t fall for it. Stick with the math and follow your strategies. You can’t do that by being superstitious and thinking you’re psychic. Stick with basic strategy regardless of your hunches and gut feelings.
7 – Do Learn How to Count Cards
Counting cards is a skill to learn. More than anything else, learning how to count cards will increase your understanding of and enjoyment of the game.
You might think it’s of no use to learn how to count cards in this modern casino era. After all, many casinos now use automatic shuffling machines and shuffle the cards before every hand, making it impossible to get an edge by counting cards.
You don’t have to make a living counting card but counting cards can just be a fun hobby. Who doesn’t want to get one over on the casino? Some of this might involve doing some legwork of your own. It’s also a good idea to spend some time getting to know other blackjack players and card counters on the internet.
8 – Don’t Expect to Get Rich Counting Cards
Counting cards only nets you a small edge over the casino. The bigger the stakes are where you’re playing, the less likely you are to get away with it. Also, the more time you spend at a casino, the more likely you are to get caught. There’s no way you can count cards for 40 hours a week consistently basis 50 weeks out of the year.
For one thing, the more time you spend at a specific casino or playing with a specific dealer, the more likely you are to get busted. The amount of time spent on counting cards is far more mentally grueling than you could probably imagine.
9 – Do get the benefit of the Casino’s Comps Program
As a table game player, you should take advantage of these comps, too. You simply have to present your player’s club card to the dealer when you sit down and start to play. This is one of the Do and Don’ts of Blackjack online.
The pit boss and the dealer get together and decide what your average bet size is and rate you. They know how many hands per hour you’re playing, and then it’s just a matter of multiplication.
The trick is to look like you’re betting more money per hour than you’re putting into action. You bet more per hand during your first 15 minutes or so at the table. You can scale back after that. Better, start by betting $50 or $100 per hand before scaling back to $20 or $30 per hand.
You can easily come out ahead against the casino by just using perfect basic strategy and getting the most out of your comps as possible.
10 – Don’t Cheat
There is a big difference between advantage play and cheating. Advantage play doesn’t involve changing the conditions of the game. You’re playing with the optimal strategy for those game conditions. Counting cards is an advantage play, not cheating.
When you change the conditions of the game, you’re cheating. If you’re changing the size of your bets after you’ve seen your cards, you’re cheating. This is also an important Do and Don’ts of Blackjack online.
Synopsis
You can have a good time at the blackjack table. It isn’t hard to do when you keep these things in mind. You can learn the rules in less than an hour. Mastering basic strategy is something you can do in an hour or 2 if you commit to focusing on it and studying. These are the top Do and Don’ts of playing Blackjack online. Try these out and fun.