Blackjack – how to beat the house!
Whenever you enter a casino or play online you have one goal, and that is to make the house suffer. The more the winnings are the more it hurts. And some say everything depend only on luck. But that is not completely true. Behind every play there is an idea how to better the odds. How to minimize the houses edge. The most important thing to understand is they will always have the edge. We just have to make it as small as possible so that we can profit from it.
First of all, blackjack is a somewhat slow game, so just because you lose to hands it does not mean the game is over. I usually say try to make sure that you do not bet everything you have on one hand, sure the win would be great but since they have an edge the chance of you losing everything then doubling your money is larger. Therefore, try to think logically, a losing hand is always what you will get, it is your job to make sure your hand becomes the winning one.
In different casinos and different countries, the rules may change so it is important to ask before you play. But generally, a draw means push so you do not lose any money, a blackjack pays 3 to 2. In some smaller casinos, the house wins if they draw at 17,18 and 19. I strongly recommend that you do not play there. The chances of you actually making some real winnings are very minimal. It is also important to ask if the dealer has to draw at 16. This makes it easier to calculate some of the possibilities.
Now in larger casinos, there are usually six card decks in the game with an auto-shuffler. The dealer takes all the cards after each game and put it in the shuffler so counting card makes it a bit difficult. So remember that if you are one hundred percent sure of what is under do not take it, because you probably do not know.
First of you have to see what the dealer gets. If the dealer gets anything from 7 to 10 or ace you are in a poor situation. You have his second card is a 10 how will you play then. With the numbers mentioned above you would need to come as close to 21 or higher then the first card. Say the dealer gets a seven, and you have two fours. You take a card and it is nine, you stop there because if he gets a ten he will have to stop and you will not lose. He gets anything below he has to take another card and chance of hitting above 21 increases.
If the dealer however has a card as low as six or below you will try to not risk your own hand. Because the dealer will have to take at least two cards. The same theory applies here so if he have to take two cards he will probably go above. So therefore if you have say thirteen or fourteen DO NOT take one more card. Let the house do the gambling instead. So anything I would say above 11 in this case stand and watch the house lose money.
This is a very basic strategy for beginners, there are many such as the counting card and always playing until the table is hot etc. But those are more complicated. If you are just looking forward to a cool day at the casino with friends and some fun do this basic strategy and enjoy!