Blackjack is one of the most profitable games in the casino when it is played correctly. Winning at blackjack involves more than just basic blackjack strategy and card counting. It also involves a proper blackjack betting strategy. Here are some tips that beginners can use to improve their chances of success at online and offline casinos.
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Understanding Blackjack Betting
How to Play Blackjack. Blackjack is a popular casino game because it’s so easy to play. The rules are simple, and you’ll soon understand the basic blackjack strategies that will help to increase your chances of winning in the long term. The game is sometimes known as 21, because the fundamental aim is to collect cards that get you to 21, or close to it, without going over and bust. Dec 14, 2007 Split the hands by separating the cards and placing a duplicate bet. Surrender: In many casinos, you can (before playing and after determining if the dealer has a blackjack) choose to give up half of your bet without playing. Surrender is only desirable when the dealer is showing a 9-A, and the player has a 5-7 or 12-16.
Before one begins to play blackjack online for real money it is important to understand the betting structure of the game. Knowing how bets are placed is crucial to success. You cannot sit down and play blindly without understanding what you are betting on.
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The betting action at blackjack begins with a minimum wager. You can bet more than the table minimum but you cannot bet less. In a live casino the table minimums can be as low as $5 or they can be $10 or more. On the weekends and at busy times in the casino the table minimum goes up as the casino tries to maximize its profit per hand.
When you play blackjack online you will find games that are offered for as little as $1 per hand. Right away this should reveal to the beginning blackjack player the advantage of playing online. Therefore, the first blackjack betting strategy tip that Counting Edge will propose is playing blackjack online if you are new to the game.
Why play for less when you are a beginner? Because your blackjack skills are still being developed. You have to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. By keeping your bets low as you learn to play the game you will lose less money.
Once you have made your minimum wager the cards are dealt. You will then have the opportunity to act on your hand. At this stage of the game more bets may become possible. You could have the option to split, double, or take insurance. All of these will require an additional wager.
Splitting, Doubling, and Insurance Blackjack Bets
Let’s take a look at all of the different types of blackjack bets that can occur after the cards have been dealt to the players and the dealer.
A split is possible when you are dealt a pair of cards on your first two cards at the blackjack table. A common example is 8-8. You can elect to split these cards and receive a new card on each. This requires you to place a bet equal to your original wager in order to cover the new hand. When this bet is placed the dealer will split the cards and place a new card on each. You will then play out both hands according to the standard rules of blackjack.
A double is when you have a total that you think can be improved to a winning hand with one extra card. The most common totals that a player will double are 10 and 11. Blackjack betting strategy dictates that the player should always double down on a total of 11. The goal is to get a ten to make a total of 21.
When you double you place an additional wager equal to the original one on the table. The dealer will then give you one additional card on the hand. If you double down you are not permitted to draw any additional cards that could improve the total that you hold. In some casinos it is also permitted for the player to double for less than the original amount. For example, if your original bet was $10 you might be allowed to double for $5. This is always a bad idea unless you simply don’t have the $10 to make the full wager. If you have confidence that the hand is worthy of a double down, double for the full amount.
Insurance is offered when the dealer shows an ace as his upcard. You can make an insurance bet that is equal to half of your original wager. If the dealer has blackjack, you will win the insurance bet at odds of 2-1, but you will lose your original wager. In other words, you will break even. If the dealer does not have a blackjack you will lose the insurance wager but the original wager may still be won if you have a total closer to 21 than the dealer when the game is over. In almost every case taking insurance is a bad bet.
Crafting Your Own Betting Strategy for Blackjack
When you start playing blackjack it can be tempting to just throw money at hands and hope for the best. This might work for a little while if you have a good grasp of basic strategy. It will ultimately fail, however, as the casino edge asserts itself. You must have a blackjack betting strategy in place before you start to play.
The first thing that you need to understand about betting for blackjack is that always betting the table minimum will get you nothing. The house edge will eventually catch up with you no matter how good you are at the game. When that happens you will lose money.
You must learn how to maximize your bets when you have the best of it. There are a few ways to do this. First, you can learn how to count cards. Card counting will give you an idea if the deck is favorable to the player or to the house. The second thing you can do is be aware of betting opportunities like the double down and how to take advantage of them.
When the deck is favorable to the players, your bets should increase. When the deck is cold, the bets should remain at a minimum. By doing this you will increase your chances of maximizing profits at the blackjack table.
No one blackjack betting strategy works for all players. Some of them do not work for any players. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples that may help you to choose which strategy will work best for you.
Successful and Unsuccessful Strategies at Blackjack Betting
One of the worst strategies ever devised for gambling is called the Martingale System. Those who use the system will argue with you until they die that the system is profitable. Smart players know that it has an underlying flaw that makes it unsuitable as a good strategy.
In the Martingale System of betting you are looking to capitalize on winning streaks while always insuring that the worst you can do is break even. You begin by making a table minimum bet. Let’s say $10. If you win the first bet continue to bet the minimum amount until you lose. When the first loss happens, your next bet is twice the table minimum or $20. If you win this hand, you go back to $10. If you lose the hand, you double again to $40.
Can you see the general idea here? You are always guaranteed to either win one unit or break even. That sounds pretty good, right? It is good until you encounter one of those streaks at the blackjack table that results in losing 7, 8, or 9 hands in a row. Those streaks do happen. Ask any blackjack player and they will tell you so.
So, let’s see what happens with the Martingale when you lose 5 hands in a row. Your first bet is $10. Your second is $20. Your third is $40. Your fourth bet is $80 and the final bet in the sequence is $160. Your heart sinks as you lose the $160, but you are not discouraged. You have the power of the Martingale System on your side! A win will come sooner or later and you will be even again. With a smug look you snatch up $360 in chips and slide them to the table, knowing that you have the big bad casino by the balls. You can’t lose.
Imagine your dismay when the dealer informs you that you have exceeded the maximum bet for the table. With a $10 minimum the maximum bet is usually around $200. That is all the dealer will allow you to bet on the next hand. You didn’t really think the casino would forget to build in protections against such a system, did you?
Bear in mind that the scenario we just described only requires losing 5 hands in a row at blackjack. That can happen with regularity. As you can see, the Martingale System is flawed.
A better blackjack betting strategy that we have written about at Counting Edge is known as the Up and Pull. In this system you begin with a bet that is twice the table minimum. If this bet wins you pull back half and the next hand is bet at the minimum. If you win this second hand your next wager is doubled. You keep doubling the bet until you lose a hand and then start the system over again.
The point of the Up and Pull is to lock in a small profit on your first win and look to maximize winning streaks. By locking in that first profit you are insuring that you’ll do no worse than break even if the second hand is a loser.
The Worst Strategy is No Strategy
Know this. The worst blackjack betting strategy is having no strategy at all. You must have some type of plan to conquer the casino. Otherwise you will lose again and again.
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By Henry Tamburin
One of the most often asked questions from players about blackjack strategy, is 'how should I bet?' You've got several options and I'll discuss them in this article and offer my recommendation.
Flat Bet Blackjack Strategy
This means betting the same amount all the time. Most players don't like to bet this way because they figure if the dealer wins more hands then them they'll never win any money. Also players feel it's boring betting this way. They prefer the thrill of sometimes betting more in the hopes that when they do so, they will win the hand and make a nice profit.
Here are the facts on the flat betting blackjack strategy. If you bet say $5 on every hand in a standard multiple deck game the house will have an edge of 0.5% against the skilled basic strategy player. That means you will lose on average 0.5% of every wager you make. So if you bet $10 on every hand and average 80 hands per hour you will have made a total of $800 worth of bets. The casino expects to earn 0.5% of the $800 or $4.00. Of course the more likely result is that you'll win or lose much more than $4 after an hour of play. But on average you can expect over time to lose at the rate of $4 per hour.
Let's take an example of a player flat betting $10 on every hand. It's is a conservative betting strategy that leads to a relatively low theoretical loss rate. The fluctuation in this player's bankroll will also be low which means the likelihood he'll have a big winning or losing session is not great.
Progressive Betting Blackjack Strategy
This is where things get interesting. The Progressive betting blackjack strategy is when players vary their bets in some way from one hand to the next rather than always betting the same amount on every hand. There are all different types of betting progressions but they all have one common denominator. You either decrease or increase your next bet depending upon whether the hand you just played won or lose.
Win progressions encourage you to increase your bet size after a winning hand. For example you make a minimum bet of $10 and if you win, you raise your next stakes on next hand to $20.
There are all different kinds of win progressions. The most common is a 1-2-3-5 progression. This means you increase your bet by the above multiples after each winning hand but as soon as you experience a loss, you start the progression over with a 1 unit bet.
Proponents of win progressions will tell you that you'll win more money if you win 5 consecutive hands compared to the amount you lose if you lose 5 consecutive hands. Of course what they don't tell you is that you never know when that 5 consecutive winning hand streak will occur.
There are also betting progressions in which you increase your bet following a loss. These Martingale type betting progression are dangerous and you should never consider using them.
There is also hybrid betting progressions, which have you increase your bets following a win, but after two or three success wins you lock up some profit and gradually regress your bets. The creativity of progressive bettors is never ending.
First of all, blackjack strategy for betting progressions do not change the 0.5% house edge one iota. There has never been a correlation between the hand just won (or lost) and you chance of winning the next hand. In other words using the criteria of the result of one hand (W/L) to base how you bet on the next hand has no scientific validity. So betting progressions in the long run don't work in the sense that they won't improve your long-term chances of winning.
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But here's what betting progressions will do. First off they increase the fluctuation in your session bankroll compared to flat betting. This means you can win more using a betting progression compared to flat betting but you can also lose more. Secondly, betting progressions will increase the amount of money you wager per hour compared to flat betting. If a $10 bettor uses a 1-2-3-5 betting progression, his average bet will $20. Over an hour he will average $20 times 80 hands or $1600 worth of bets. The casinos expected win is 0.5% of $1600 or $8. In other words a $10 progressive bettor stands to lose twice as much per hour as a $10 flat bettor.
Here's a tip to save you some money in the long run if you insist on using a betting progression. Instead of starting your progression at $10, start at a lower amount (ie. $5). This will reduce your average bet to $10 per hour and cut you hourly theoretical loss rate in half.
But in the long run flat betting and betting progressions don't work in the sense they won't change the house edge against you and you will lose in the long run. So what betting system works? That my friends is card counting.
Betting When You Have The Edge (Card Counting)
With card counting you know when you have the edge based on the change in the composition of the decks and therefore you'll know when it's the right time to bet more. So unlike betting progressions that are based on whether you win or lose the previous hands, card counting is based on the mix of cards that were played on previous hands. If more small value cards were played in previous rounds, there are more big value cards left in the unplayed cards and the edge shifts from dealer to player. This would be the best time to bet more.
But I'm realist. Not a whole lot of average blackjack players have the time or mental concentration during play that is required to master one of the popular point count card counting systems. These are readily available in blackjack books. But even though millions of blackjack books have been sold since Ed Thorp's classic book, Beat The Dealer (circa 1962) first revealed card counting to the masses, the number of players who can successful win money in the long run at blackjack number in the hundreds and thousands.
So what's the answer to betting at blackjack for the average player? I asked Don Pronovost that same question about four years ago. Don is a software developer that markets blackjack training software. He spent the better part of two years and a trillion computer simulated hands looking for the solution to this dilemma. What he developed is Speed Count.
Speed Count is unlike any conventional card counting system. It's much simpler to master and requires much less concentration when you play. And unlike progressive betting systems, Speed Count will give you a verifiable advantage over the casino You can read about Speed Count in Frank Scoblete’s book, Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution.
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Now that you know the scoop on betting at blackjack, I wish you many aces and faces the next time you play.
Henry Tamburin has been a respected casino gambling writer for the past 50 years. He is the author of the Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide and was editor of the Blackjack Insider newsletter. You can read his latest articles on blackjack, video poker, and his personal playing experiences at https://www.888casino.com/blog/writers/henry-tamburin