Winning Casino Blackjack - Advanced Strategy
As explained in the book "Pocket Guide to Winning Blackjack", in order to overcome the built-in casino advantage for 21 Blackjack, you must increase your bet at some point. Betting the same amount is a losing strategy no matter how well you know basic strategy or whether or not you are counting cards.
You should increase your bet when the advantage is in your favor. Following basic strategy is one way to lower the casino’s mathematical advantage, but it does not eliminate it. It also does not help in determining when the advantage has shifted. Once you learn even the most basic card counting system, you will have enough knowledge to understand when it is advantageous to increase your bet for subsequent hands. You are doing this mainly because when there is a positive count (indicating a higher proportion of high cards left to be dealt), you have a better chance of receiving a "natural" or "Blackjack". Although the dealer has the same chance of receiving a "Blackjack", the bonus that you receive (3 to 2, or a "50% bonus") is much higher than what you would be paying the dealer (your losing bet).
Once you know perfect basic strategy, you should learn a card counting system. Pocket Guide to Winning Blackjack explains perhaps the most popular method of counting cards. It is presented in an easy to understand format without any complicated math equations. Once you have practiced card counting at home (for free), and are more comfortable with your new skill, you will understand how useful it will be in a live casino Blackjack game.
In fact, there are many hand possibilities and a mathematically proven way to play each hand depending on the "true count". It is extremely time consuming and difficult for most people to learn all of the variations, but I would like to present to you some of the more common hands along with the correct way to play the hand. Learning these deviations in basic strategy will go a very long way in improving your game and you will have turned the casino's mathematical edge in your favor. Just remember, these are deviations from basic strategy and your hands should only be played this way if you are counting cards and the "true count" (running count divided by number of decks left in the shoe) is higher than the "index". The index is the number you should remember and know that basic strategy will be affected at counts higher than that number for the corresponding hand.
Basic Strategy Deviations – Card Counting:
|
Your Hand (hard totals) |
Dealer’s Upcard |
Index |
Basic Strategy Deviation |
|
10,10 |
5 |
5 |
Split at +6 or higher |
|
10,10 |
6 |
4 |
Split at +5 or higher |
|
16 |
10 |
0 |
Stand at +1 or higher |
|
16 |
9 |
5 |
Stand at +6 or higher |
|
15 |
10 |
4 |
Stand at +5 or higher |
|
13 |
2 |
-1 |
Stand at 0 or higher |
|
12 |
3 |
2 |
Stand at +3 or higher |
|
12 |
2 |
3 |
Stand at +4 or higher |
|
10 |
Ace |
4 |
Double at +5 or higher |
|
10 |
10 |
4 |
Double at +5 or higher |
|
9 |
7 |
3 |
Double at +4 or higher |
|
9 |
2 |
1 |
Double at +2 or higher |
Take insurance when: True count is +3 or higher in a 6-deck Blackjack game.
