Tag: Blackjack Odds

Understanding the Surrenders in Blackjack

So, my dear blackjack players, I have been giving some more thought to the rules of Double Attack Blackjack and it has me thinking about late surrender and surrender in blackjack in general. Late surrender is one of two ways for a blackjack player to exit a round without losing all of their wager. But there are two different types of surrender and it pays to know the difference between the two.

First we are going to look at late surrender. A lot of novice players assume that because of the word

Hand By Hand Basis

Do you give much thought to what your odds of winning in blackjack are on a hand by hand basis? I am going to guess probably not. Nothing wrong with that. Most blackjack players are looking at the overall odds, which is smart. But there are some blackjack players have some misconceptions about the odds of winning.

Just to rehash in case you are joining me here for the first time, the odds of winning a hand of blackjack, a single hand mind you, is 44%. The dealer has a 48% chance of beating you, and the remaining 8% is made up of pushes better known as ties.

Some of the less informed blackjack players think that their odds would change from hand to hand. This is not really so. The odds of winning are based on the rules of the game. And the rules do not change from hand to hand. And the rules of blackjack are set so that the house has the edge.

Now I know you might feel like arguing card counting, and while card counting can give players an indication of if the remaining cards are running rich in high or low cards, it still does not change the rules of the game. Regardless of whether the cards are running high or low the same rules for doubling and splitting or when you bust are still the same. This is how the odds of winning a hand are the same regardless of whether you are playing blackjack online or in a casino.

So keep that in mind when playing blackjack. But do not let it ruin the game for you. Blackjack strategy will help you make the most of your hand. Stick with your strategy. While it will not impact odds, it can hit the house

Frequency of Stiff Hands in Blackjack

Stiff hands are the worst hands to get in blackjack. They are not automatic losses; players still have a chance to win the round, but the odds are not with the player, they are with the dealer. But how often do blackjack players really have to contend with stiff hands?

Stiff hands, for the record, are hard 12s through hard 17s. I include hard 17 in this because even though players always stand on it for being too high to hit, it does not have the odds that blackjack players believe. As for how often players should expect to be dealt a stiff hand, it is about 43% of the time.

I know, that is a lot. But stop and remember that blackjack players will lose to the house 52% of the time; most of those losses are wrapped up in that 52% of total losses. Around 83% of your money that goes to the house happens with those stiff hands. And all you can really do is make you play and hope for the best because the odds are not on your side with those hands.

So what do you do when you are dealt one of those stiff hands, knowing that you are looking at odds stacked against you?

The best option blackjack players have in the instance of stiff hands is to play the best statistical play; and we all know that those plays are found on a basic strategy chart. That chart will tell you if it is better for you to hit, stand or even surrender (if the casino gives blackjack players that option).

What is Basic Strategy?

The term basic strategy is tossed around all over sites with blackjack advice. It comes up when experienced blackjack players are imparting advice to novice players. And it is always recommended as the place to start with blackjack strategy.

But what the heck is basic strategy anyway?

Basic strategy is the simplest form of blackjack strategy available. Its most common appearance is a chart. Across the top is every single dealer up card, and down the left side are all the two card starting hands that a player could be dealt. Where the line of a dealer

What Makes Online Blackjack Better

I am willing to bet you thought that this would be about why online blackjack is better than blackjack in a brick and mortar casino. You would be wrong. Forget that explanation. We are going to look at why online blackjack is better than other online casino games, namely online slots.

Online slots have a very dominate presence in online casinos and in the online gambling industry as a whole. Think about it. More than half of the games offered are online slots games. And, for the most part, online blackjack players do not have an interest in them. Online casinos are more than happy to let online slots take the center stage because they are the big money makers. Imagine millions of people around the world happily spinning away their money on slots; and as slots games are designed to take money over time rather than pay it out, casinos are happy to let online slots sit in the lime light and offer more slots games than other casino games.

But here is where online blackjack is better.

Online blackjack offers players a better house edge. And a better house edge means a better likelihood of making a profit. And who does not want more money?

Compare if you will: online slots offer around a 14% house edge and online blackjack offers around 4% house edge before any strategy is applied to it.

Can blackjack strategy help you to low that 4% house edge even more? Yes, it can.

The easiest blackjack strategy available for free use (and which is legal to use in online casinos) is basic strategy. This delightful little gem of a blackjack strategy tells players the most opportune play to make based on their first two cards and the dealer

Blackjack: A Game of Skill

For the most part casino games are regarded as games of chance. In the case of games like roulette and slots and keno this is true. Thos are games in which players have no ability or control to impact the outcome of a round of any of those games. But blackjack is different.

Like how it is being debated in several courtrooms that poker is a game of skill, the same could be the said about blackjack.

Blackjack is a game of skill.

And by game of skill I mean that players can use different plays and strategy to have an impact on the outcome of a round. To start with players are not simply dealt cards and that be the end of the matter. Players can choose to stand or hit or double down or split pairs. They can even choose to surrender in some cases. There are different routes players can take in blackjack to get to the end, and it takes knowledge of the game and its odds to make a wise decision on how to play out a round.

Then there is blackjack strategy. Players can take the time to learn how to use strategies based on statistics and odds to help improve their own odds. For example players can use basic strategy which is based on the statistics of player hands versus the dealer

How Card Counting Odds Work for the Blackjack Player

If you look at explanations of card counting and which cards favor whom, you might begin to wonder something: if high cards, such as 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces, favor the blackjack player then they also favor the dealer right?

Well, in truth, yes, they do favor the dealer too. Yes, it is just as likely that the dealer will be dealt a blackjack as you. But there are a few things built into the game of blackjack that, when combined with card counting, bring better odds for players when the remaining cards are rich in high cards. Today we are going to look at how payouts impact odds when the deck is rich in high cards.

Let