Comparitive Betting

A key blackjack strategy is maximising your expected value by playing Doubles and Splits correctly. You should always be taking into account the upcard of the dealer. In other words you are making key betting decisions by comparing your hand to the dealers upcard.

You should always double when you are dealt an ace, due to the flexibility of the ace.

If the dealer is showing a card which could easily lead to them scoring below 17 (ie an upcard of a 4, 5, 6) then doubling is good on all hands from 12 upwards. The general aim is looking for the dealer to bust. The safest cards to adopt this strategy on are when the dealer is showing a 5 or a 6.

A similar comparative principle can be applied on the premium hands, for example 20 would be a great hand to double on when the dealer is showing a 9 (ie there is a good chance of them scoring 19). Similar with doubling on 19 if the dealer is showing an 8.

Comparitive betting is equally as important with Splits. You should never split if the dealer is showing an Ace, a Ten (including K,Q,J), or a 9. The reason being you are likely to be facing a strong hand in opposition.

Always split yourself with aces (due to chances of mulitple blackjacks and the flexibility of the aces). Avoid spliting on 10 or 20 (ie a pair of fives, or a pair of tens), the reason being you are either breaking a made 20, or breaking a draw to a 20.

Apart from those hands you should look to split on 9’s if the dealer is showing a 8 of less, split on 8’s if the dealer is showing a 7 or less, and split of 7’s if the dealer is showing a 6 or less. The general principle being that is everyone is dealt 10s then you win twice.

Additionally if the dealer is showing a 6 of less you should consider spliting of 2s and 3s. The general principle being to look for the dealer to bust by drawing high cards.

Card Counting

Perhaps one of the most well publicised blackjack strategies is card counting. Card counting in Blackjack is the art of tracking how many tens and Aces are left in the deck.

If we take a single deck game there are 20 “good cards” (Tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces) and 32 “bad cards” (Twos, Threes, etc through to Nines)

You stand a better chance of beating the dealer when there are more good cards in the pack than bad cards.

So the basic principle of card counting in blackjack is to bet small when you think there are a high proportion of bad cards left in the deck, and to bet big when there are a high proportion of good cards in the deck.

The general principle is you are looking to hit as many 20 and 21s as possible straight from the deal, therefore limiting the risk of busting as you dont need to take any additional cards. Therefore your larger bets are working more effectively for you by staying alive more regularly with a high points score. In particular it makes the benefits of doubling and splitting much more effective.

Blackjack Bankroll Management

Blackjack Bankroll Management is important to control some of the swings in the game. You’ll go through phases where you feel like you can never lose, other times you can feel like the luck is always running against you. To control those swings we recommended to never place more than 1/100th of your bankroll on any one bet. So say for example you deposited $100 then betting $1 each hand is a reasonable system.

Some people like an even greater feeling of control, so there is nothing wrong with setting your own personal bankroll management at 1/200th or even higher. It is a matter of personal choice, but we recommend never going lower that 1/100th in terms of the percentage you play per hand.

Be disciplined

In Blackjack it is important to be disciplined. Playing using your gut instincts is not the correct way to approach the game. You need to consistently stick to the situations where you are going to hit and where you are going to stick. Avoid taking cards because you “feel lucky”. Stick to your own standard rules. If you feel you are getting frustrated, take a break, and return when you think you’re calm and playing with a straight head.

Take Advantage of Bonuses

Many Casino sites will offer great bonuses for depositing players. They do this to try to encourage players to join their site rather than a competitors site. It would be silly as a player not to utilize these online Blackjack Bonuses. By getting some free cash from the sites, then your are maximising your Expecting value by playing. A good player who understands the game and strategy, and takes advantage of bonuses will inevitably be the most likely player to make a profit from blackjack.