Posts Tagged ‘Blackjack strategy’

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Bad Blackjack Strategies: Dealer Has a 10 Hole Card

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

There are some so-called blackjack strategies out there that players no in the know will swear by. Assuming that the dealer has a card worth 10 for a hole card is one such strategy.

Sure on the surface it might sound like an okay strategy to use in blackjack, almost like it is a safety net based on the player assuming the worse. But the statistics do not add up on this one. And it is those statistics that show it as the bad blackjack strategy that it is.

To begin with, and to make the math simple at first, we are going to look at a single deck. In a single suit there are thirteen cards. All of those cards have their face value applied in blackjack except for the three face cards and the Ace which has the ability to be played as a 1 or an 11; the three face cards (Jack, Queen and King) are each worth 10. So out of thirteen cards in a single suit, only four (10, Jack, Queen and King) are worth 10; obviously the other nine cards are not worth 10.

So let’s break that down into percentages. Because there are only four cards in a suit worth 10, it means there is only a 30% chance of one being the hole card, and a 70% chance that the hole card will be a card that does not have a value of 10.

Even when you add more suits and in turn add more decks, the percentage of the hole card being worth 10 is still going to stick pretty close to 30%. So if the odds are in favor of the hole card being something other than a 10, why use a blackjack strategy that is based on poor odds? Because to me a 30% chance on the hole card being worth 10 is a pretty poor odds.

Considering that the odds are against the hole card being worth 10, it gives blackjack a house edge of 10.03 to assume the dealer’s hole card is worth 10. And that is an extremely bad house edge for blackjack. Never assume the dealer’s hole card is worth 10.

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Card Counting and Insurance Together

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

If you recall my last post I discussed what exactly insurance is in blackjack. This was my opener to my overall explanation that insurance can in fact be used in the grand scheme to make money from blackjack. But such a trick is not for the newly green players of blackjack. And it is not for online blackjack play, but that is because card counting is necessary to turn insurance to your advantage.

Blackjack is one of those casino games that players can use strategy to turn the odds in towards them. Card counting is a blackjack strategy of skill that can actually allow the player to turn the game’s overall odds in their favor and beat the house. This is because card counting allows the player to have a good idea of whether the remaining deck is rich in high or low cards. It is that same principle that allows card counting blackjack players to actually take advantage of insurance.

Remember from my last post that I said that all insurance is, is a side bet on whether or not the dealer’s hole card will turn out to be a 10 value card.

This translates over to card counting like so: 10 value cards are considering high cards. If, through counting cards, a blackjack player knows that the remaining cards are rich in high cards—meaning rich in Aces and 10 value cards—it means that the chances of the dealer’s hole card being worth 10 are increased. This is similar to how the chances of a player being dealt a natural blackjack are increased when the remaining cards are rich in high cards.

So the beginning of our blackjack strategy for taking advantage of insurance is to use card counting. And that means developing your skills in counting cards. But do not run off to the casino, counting cards and taking insurance if the deck is rich in high cards—there is one more piece that goes along with this blackjack strategy…

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When to Use Insurance in Blackjack

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

I know I have always said to never take insurance when playing blackjack. And for the most part this is true. But there are a tiny number of times in which you do want to use insurance because you can turn it to your advantage.

Now the reason I normally do not say this is because the majority of blackjack players fall into one of two categories: always taking insurance and never taking insurance. And of the two, never taking insurance is safer for your bankroll and better for your odds.

But typically the majority of players do not find, remember and exploit the small times in which it can pay to take insurance.

But to begin to understand the finer points of exploiting insurance, we need to define exactly what insurance is and how it works.

Insurance is offered in blackjack when the dealer has an Ace showing. This is because he is definitely holding one of the two cards need for a natural blackjack. The two cards needed are an Ace and a 10 value card; of the two, the Ace is less populated in the deck, hence why insurance is offered when the dealer shows an Ace rather than a 10 value card.

Most blackjack players think that insurance is offered because the dealer stands a shot of having blackjack and that the player needs to protect—or insure—their wager so as not to lose it. Casinos want players to feel threatened and to take insurance.

But think for a moment what insurance is. Insurance is offered when the dealer has an Ace, meaning he has a shot at blackjack. That means that insurance is really a side bet on whether or not that hole card is worth 10 or not. If it does turn out to be a 10 the player collects on the insurance wager. But if it is not a 10 the player loses the insurance wager.

So keep in mind that insurance in blackjack is only a side bet on whether the dealer has 10 value card for a hole card or not. Now that we have that straight about insurance, next time we will discuss when those small number of times to take insurance are, and why you can.

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Card Counting Not as Hard as it Seems

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

I am not joking. Card counting really is not a hard blackjack strategy skill to learn. It takes time, practice and patience to master, but the basic skill is not hard.

If you can add and subtract 1 then you can count cards. Many novice card counters will start out with the Hi Lo counting system. It is the most basic and teaches novice counters the basics that will allow them to move up to more advanced counting systems in the future.

The Hi Lo system starts out by assigning counting values to the cards, either a +1, a 0 or a -1 like so:

Cards 2 through 6 are assigned and counted as +1
Cards 7 through 9 are assigned and counted as 0
Cards 10 through Ace are assigned and counted as -1

Players then count the cards on the table with their appropriate counting values, adding 1 and subtracting 1 where necessary. It is as simple as gong around the table adding and subtracting what counting values the other players, you and the dealer have.

So what do you do with this running total that you have?

Well it depends on what the cards you have counted add up to. If the running total in your head is in the positive by +3 or more it is a good indicator that a good many low cards have been played, hence the higher positive count. A positive count means that the remaining deck is rich in high cards—the cards that favor the player and increase your chances of being dealt a natural blackjack.

Now if the opposite is going on and you have a running count of -3 or more it indicates that more high cards have been played and passed out of the game. At this point the remaining deck is rich in low cards which favor the dealer, and it is time to reduce your wager.

This afternoon I will go over some card counting tips to help you make even more of a success out of card counting in your blackjack strategy arsenal.

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Jump Starting Your Blackjack Strategy

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Strategy often brings to mind super hard formulas and tricks and things that will make your brain hurt. Strategy, especially for casino games where money is involved, seems particularly hard. Perhaps this is because money is on the line—money always complicates things.

But blackjack strategy does not have to be all that hard. In fact, blackjack strategy is remarkably easy. Yes, there are strategies for blackjack, such as card counting, that can take a little more mental application to learn, bring together and execute. But there is strategy for blackjack that anyone can use.

And I do mean everyone, even someone who has never played blackjack, is just in Vegas for a vacation and actually may not ever gamble again—even they can use blackjack strategy.

The key to this kind of strategy is the basic strategy chart.

All basic strategy is made up of are rows for each hand that a player could be dealt, and columns for each of the dealer up cards. Where each row and column intersects there can be found the best statistical play for that player hand and dealer up card combination. Here is the step by step for using basic strategy:

First determine what your starting hand is—do you have an Ace or is your hand a pair? If so make sure to look in the section of the chart with starting hands that have Aces (soft hands) or that show the pairs.

Next check to see what the dealer’s up card.

After you have found the row with your starting hand and the column with the dealer’s up card look to see where the row and column intersect. The play that is featured where the two meet is the best play for you to make.

Basic strategy does not mean that you will win every single hand, but because you are playing the best statistical play that you can make, you will increase your chances of winning.

And that is the easiest way to make the most of blackjack strategy—using basic strategy. All of the math and formulas and calculating has been done for you. All you need to do is make the play that is recommended.

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Card Counting Basics for Blackjack—Part I

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Card counting is one of the most coveted blackjack strategy skills in the game. It is easy to play according to basic strategy—all you do is look off of the chart and make the recommended play. I am not saying that basic strategy should be dispensed with in favor of card counting. Actually both are necessary.

Basic strategy can get you within 0.5% of the house’s edge over you. But card counting can make up that half of a percent and even tilt the edge in your favor.

But such a skill as card counting does not come as easily as basic strategy. It requires practice and patience to learn. That practice can make the difference between gaining that slight edge over the house and being caught and subsequently kicked out of the casino.

Because of its known potential to beat the house edge, card counting has built up a reputation, some of which is true and some of which is not. Part of using such a strategy skill in blackjack is to know what is true and what is rumor.

One of the biggest is that card counting is illegal. This is not true exactly.

There is now law that says that card counting is against the law. However, casinos are private businesses. This means that they can choose who they want to do business with, and by that I mean they can refuse to allow players to play as playing is considered a business transaction between a player and the casino. It is on these grounds that casinos can have a card counting player banned from the blackjack tables or removed from the casino.

This is why you want to practice your card counting skill regularly—you do not want to get caught counting. You must be able to count quickly and quietly in your head without any outward signs that you are doing so, and all in the midst of the lights and sounds that make a casino what it is.

That is the first most basic thing you need to know about card counting—the actual legal stand point on the highly acclaimed blackjack strategy skill. You need to know that it is not illegal but that there is the risk of being removed from the casino if you are caught counting. Knowing this helps enforce the need for practice and it also imparts the seriousness with which casinos regard card counting blackjack players.

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Betting Progressions and Blackjack

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

When playing blackjack you always want to go into playing with a playing strategy and a betting strategy. And while basic strategy is an easy to use playing strategy, not all pieces and parts of blackjack strategy are that simple. But some players think all parts of blackjack strategy should be easy. These would be the players who fall into using betting progressions, calling it a betting strategy.

Let’s get one thing straight from the start: betting progressions are not betting strategies for blackjack.

Think of this phrase: “Progression to depression.”

That phrase is exactly where a betting progression will leave you, not only in blackjack but in any casino game.

An example of a commonly used betting progression is a positive betting progression. In this progression the player doubles the amount of their wager each time they win, only returning their starting amount when they lose. Let’s say that you start out with a $10 wager. Here is what it would look like:

Round 1: $10, win, Round 2: $20, win, Round 3: $40 win, Round 4: $80, lose, Round 5: $10

The problem and the reason why players should stay away from any betting progression, positive or otherwise, is because you stand to lose in the long run. This is because the house has the edge. In the above example, the player won three times in a row. This is not a likely scenario. Yes, it can happen, but you are then betting on chance rather than the statistics of the game. Betting on chance is how you lose money.

In blackjack, your odds of winning are only 48% each round. This means that the likelihood of getting on a winning streak that is long enough to make a profit off of any progression is slim. A more realistic example looks like this:

Round 1: $10, win, Round 2: $20, lose, Round 3: $10

You would have won $20 in Round 1 and then lost that $20 in Round 2. Over time you will lose more hands than you win. Yes, basic strategy will help you to win more hands than you would if you played without it, but the house edge is still against you.

The real trick to winning in blackjack is taking advantage of money making opportunities, such as double downs. Betting progressions in blackjack are the sure way to lose money over time.

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Blackjack Makes Brushing Up on Your Math Skills Fun

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

For most people math ends when we get out of school, be it high school or college. Other than basic adding, subtracting and multiplying we do not really use much math. And with all these nifty apps for mobile devices we almost never do basic math anymore. But blackjack can help you brush up on your math and make it fun at the same time in two ways.

First there is the basic math that is inherent with blackjack—you have to add up your cards for your hand total. Now I do not know about you, but I find the idea of adding up numbers on a sheet of paper less interesting and less fun than when adding up cards in a hand of blackjack.

But the big aspect of blackjack that can help you brush up on your math skills is card counting. Card counting uses the addition of positive and negative numbers. For example you could be adding a -1 to 3, which gives you 2.

Sure you might be saying that the above example looks easy but imagine that you cannot see the actual positive and negative numbers, and that you have to do all the math instantly in your head as soon as you see the cards and without giving away to anyone else that you are doing the math in your head.

Now you see where the challenge and the fun comes in to using blackjack as a fun way to brush up on your math skills. Not to mention you will be gaining a blackjack strategy skill in card counting that you can use to help lower, if not beat, the house edge.

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Basics for Blackjack Strategy

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Between the news, the blackjack apps and my thoughts on blackjack misconceptions, I have been rather neglectful of blackjack strategy. And we cannot have that now can we?

I figured the best way to jump back into blackjack strategy was to look at the basics again. Even experienced blackjack players should go back and look at the basics. For one thing it never hurts to see where you came from. Who knows, maybe you forgot something. And keeping firm on the basics helps to keep your more advanced strategies solid.

In other life, as I like to put it, I worked in retail and a lot of our training was “Back to Basics.” So either they could not think of any new sales strategies or there really is something to looking back to basic skills. I am putting my money on the latter—it just sounds smarter.

When it comes to the basics for blackjack strategy, the place to start is always with basic strategy. I know, I know, I can hear you saying, “Basic strategy? Again? Really?”

Yes, really.

No blackjack player worth their chips can afford to turn their noses up at such an easy to use strategy that also happens to be one of the most effective in the game. In fact, basic strategy is the single most effective strategy out of all the strategies available to casino games.

Playing perfect basic strategy can lower the house edge to 0.5%, making blackjack the casino game with the lowest house edge. And this strategy is legal to use in casinos and online casinos. You can sit at the table with your little basic strategy chart out playing according to it and not get slapped on the wrist—or worse—by the pit boss.

But that is the beauty about looking back at basics—they can remind us of what the basics of blackjack strategy can do for you and what it continues to do for you.

Oh, and by perfect basic strategy I mean that you have to play every single round according to what the basic strategy chart says. So if it says to double down, you had better double down.

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Understanding the Objective of Blackjack and How to Play

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

It is okay to admit that you once upon a time did not truly understand the objective of blackjack. Not understanding the objective actually has an impact on how to play blackjack.

I will admit it. There once was a time that I did not know how to play blackjack correctly because I did not know the true objective of blackjack. Granted, this was a long time ago, but there was such a time. I was eleven years old waiting for classes to start in the morning; my friends and I would play blackjack thinking all we had to do was get 21.

Most often brand new players or non-regular players will hear that blackjack is all about getting a hand of 21.

This, however, is not the true objective of blackjack. The true objective is to beat the dealer without getting a card total of more than 21. And it is important to know the difference as these two objectives require two different playing and strategy mindsets.

If you were to play blackjack according to the idea that all you have to do is get a hand total of 21, it would not matter what the dealer had since all you have to worry about is getting 21. This difference in objectives becomes most evident in the hard hands.

About half of the hard hands in the game you stand on in hopes that the dealer will bust. But if you are not worried about the dealer, then a good many of those hard hands you would not stand on since the potential to get 21 is all the exists in this particular idea of the game.

But when taking the dealer into account it becomes evident how the game changes. Beating the dealer does not mean getting 21. It means getting a strong hand or playing defensively on a rough hand and hoping the dealer busts.

There are more hitting options in a game based only on getting 21. But there is more strategy involved in when you are playing a game in which you are trying to beat the dealer—in a game of blackjack. Knowing the true objective does have an impact on how to play blackjack. It is important to know the objective if you want to learn how to play blackjack right.

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