Tips for Online Blackjack

Good Rules

Most blackjack players take the first seat they see at the closest table. What you may not know is depending on the rules, the casino’s edge can vary from around a half percent to over 3%. It’s hard enough to beat the game without giving the house any extra edge.

For example, a table that only pays 6-to-5 for a blackjack has a house edge around 1.35% higher than a table that pays 3-to-2 if all the other rules of blackjack are the same.

Here’s a quick list of rules of blackjack that help you. Take a few minutes to find the tables offering as many of them as possible before you start playing blackjack.

• Allowed to double down after split
• Allowed to double down on any number of cards
• Allowed to draw to split aces or re-split aces
• Surrender offered
• Dealer hit or stand on soft 17
• The number of decks being used

Strategy Card

It never stops amazing me how few players use strategy chart cards at the blackjack table. I don’t know if they think other players will make fun of them or if they just don’t understand how powerful playing hands correctly can be.

Playing perfect basic strategy can more than double the time most players can play before depleting their bankroll. If you lose an average of 2% on every hand and can reduce that to 1% or less, you should be able to play twice as long on the same amount of money.

All you have to do to accomplish this is use basic strategy. The easiest way to do it is using a strategy card at the table. Rarely will anyone say anything rude about it, and so what if they do? Let them continue losing their money twice as fast. You can take satisfaction in knowing you’re playing the right way.

Strategy chart cards are available in casino gift shops and many other places around casinos.

Never Take Insurance

This could be included with using a strategy card, but I see so many players taking insurance that I had to include it by itself. The insurance bet, also called even money because you break even when the dealer has a blackjack, is always a bad bet.

(To be 100% honest, you can find a few situations where taking insurance is a profitable play, but only if you’re card counting. If you’re already card counting successfully, you probably already know everything on this page, so this tip is for the rest of us.)

The casino has an edge of over 5% on the insurance wager in most cases. If you compare this to the 2 to 3% edge they have against most players during the rest of the blackjack game, even the worst players give up too much edge by taking insurance.

Attention to Dealer

The online casino has an edge of over 5% on the insurance wager in most cases. If you compare this to the 2 to 3% edge they have against most players during the rest of the blackjack game, even the worst players give up too much edge by taking insurance.

While a dealer shouldn’t change the outcome of a blackjack hand, occasionally you may find one that can help you win more often.

Though it’s rare, some dealers accidentally flash their down card to the table. They lift an edge or float the card a little higher than normal. This can let a sharp-eyed player see what the dealer has down.

In games where the dealer checks for a blackjack before you act on your hand, sometimes you can read them. If the dealer takes a deep breath every time she has a blackjack, you can start taking insurance when you see this tell. Some dealers will linger when they ask if you want insurance when they have a blackjack, and pass by quicker when they don’t.

Don’t ever mention it if one of these things happens, but you might consider an extra tip for the dealer if she helped you win.