When new players think of blackjack, they think the objective of the game is to get their hand total up to 21. To play to 21 in other words. However this is a bit of a misconception. Sure, 21 is the magic number in blackjack but it is not the objective.
The true objective of blackjack
This morning I talked about a pair that, according to good blackjack strategy is never ever split: a pair of 5s. But there is one more pair that is never eve split either: a pair of 10s.
A pair of 10s could be literally two 10 cards. Or it could be two face cards, not necessarily the same two face cards, meaning a pair could be a Queen and a Jack. Or a pair of 10s could be a 10 card and a face card. The whole point to the pair is that the two cards have the same value.
There are two mistakes that happen when a blackjack player uses some misguided blackjack strategy and splits a pair of 10s. Either he is ill-informed or he is just all caught up in being dealt a pair and cannot resist splitting it.
Mistake number one is that the split is made with the idea that the player can then double down on each of those 10s. First off, not all blackjack games allow for doubling after splitting. This rule is typically found at blackjack tables in casinos and not found at all in online blackjack.
The problem with this strategy, aside from the instances in which doubling after splitting is not allowed, is that the player is giving up a strong hand for something weaker. True, starting a hand with 10 is not too bad of a building block. But it is weaker when compared to an unsplit pair of 10s.
The other mistake that the player forgets about doubling after splitting, and is intent on trying to build two strong hands. But, again, the player is giving up strong blackjack ground for weaker ground.
The reason why you do not split a pair of 10s is right in front of the player
Like any game of skill, blackjack requires strategy. Any good game of skill worth the trip to an online gambling site requires good strategy. The most commonly used strategy tool in both online blackjack and blackjack played in a brick and mortar casino is basic strategy.
Basic strategy comes in the form of a chart with player hands running down the left hand side and all of the dealer up cards running across the top. When using basic strategy you find your hand and run it across the line until it intersects with the line of the card the dealer is showing. The play at the intersection is the best statistical play for you to make.
But if you look at a basic strategy chart you notice that it is somewhat divided into three sections based on the player
The whole point of having a strategy for online blackjack is to win more. And winning more means more money. There is one play in online blackjack that can increase your profit faster. It should also be a big part of your online blackjack strategy as well.
Doubling down is one of the basic plays in blackjack. It is when you double the amount of your original wager and only receive one more card. If you win the round you win double the amount you would have normally won because you doubled your original wager.
It has the same potential of winning a round as two rounds of blackjack. In effect, if you double down at the right moments (read: play according to basic strategy) you can earn twice as much money as you normally would. That is what makes doubling down such a strong play in online blackjack.
If you can double down when it is most advantageous (again, read: play according to basic strategy) you can reduce the houses edge by 1.6%. This is all because you are winning twice as much money in one hand as you normally would.
Let
Soft hands tend to throw some blackjack players off. Most tend to play them as if they were hard hands. Sometimes this works and other times players are not playing their blackjack hands to the greatest advantage.
And you should want the greatest advantage.
Even if a player is playing according to basic strategy the casino will still have the advantage. It does not matter if you are playing blackjack online or in a brick and mortar casino, the house will still have around a 0.5% advantage over you.
And because they will always have the advantage over the player (other than skilled card counting players) you should always want to play your hand to the greatest advantage in blackjack.
Stiff hands and soft hands are the hardest hands to play. There is nothing you can really do about stiff hands other than play them according to basic strategy. But soft hands do not have to be played like a hard hand
Part of the fun of getting new blackjack tables in Pennsylvania is waiting to see what the house is going to set their rules at: are they going to screw me or are they going to be decent and give me a fair shot at winning?
Thankfully the Pennsylvania blackjack tables have been set with some pretty decent house rules. How good? The Pennsylvania blackjack tables will have more player-friendly house rules than two thirds of the tables in Vegas.
So what is in store for players at these blackjack tables?
For starters I am pleased to say that they will be paying 3-2 for natural blackjack. There will be none of that 6-5 stuff in Pennsylvania!
Another good rule: dealers will have to stand on soft 17s. So that is 0.22% that the house will not have.
Double downs will not be limited to only hard 10s or hard 11s. Any two cards can be doubled down on.
Also having to do with double downs, players will be allowed to double down after splitting a pair.
And to top off all of those player friendly house rules blackjack players will be allowed to make late surrenders. So make sure you have a basic strategy chart that tells you when to surrender. This way you will only lose half of your wager rather than all of it.
In total these house rules will result in a house edge of less than 0.4% for those who use basic strategy
Did you know that the edge in an average game of blackjack starts out at around 7.8%? This applies to blackjack in a brick and mortar casino and to online blackjack. Does not matter where you find your blackjack, it all starts out at 7.8%
So if blackjack starts out at 7.8% why do most places tell you it really starts at around 5%?
That one is simple to answer really and it is the most direct to take away the dealer
I have never met a blackjack player who would not like to know when the dealer will bust. It would make the blackjack so much easier to play in terms of a player
Are you a blackjack player near coastal Louisiana or coastal Mississippi? If so you might just find your blackjack games at brick and mortar casinos beginning to show the effects of the two month old BP oil spill.
I am in no way saying that blackjack or gambling is more important than the animals or ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico that are being affected by the continuous flow of oil. Those animals and those ecosystems are way more important.
But as the summer tourism season gets underway coastal areas who rely on tourism will find that they are feeling the pinch of the oil spill in another way. It is likely that tourists will be choosing other destinations for their summer plans, which will hit areas hard. This will be an especially hard hit to areas that are still recovering from 2005
While we all enjoy our blackjack games, be it blackjack in a brick and mortar casino or blackjack online, we all will imagine from time to time what would be our perfect blackjack game. Granted, we do not expect to ever actually find our perfect game of blackjack, but every now and then we will all sigh and let our minds wander to this perfect game and imagine the fun and the winnings.
So what would my perfect game of blackjack be? Well, naturally it has all kinds of player favorable rules.
For starters I would have natural blackjacks paying 2-1 instead of 3-2. While a 3-2 payout is awesome, a 2-1 payout will not only pay more but it will also increase a player