The Best Blackjack Strategy: A Step by Step Guide

• Blackjack is an easy Casino game to play
• But you need to use a Blackjack strategy if you want to win in a long run
• The best Blackjack strategy is explained in this article

Blackjack is one of the easiest games you can find in a Casino. All you have to do is use your two cards to beat the dealer.

To win a Blackjack game, you can hit aka ask for another card, or you can stand and hope that your initial two cards are good enough.

You win if dealer’s cards go over 21 or their sum is lower than the total sum of yours.

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Even if you’re a complete newbie at Blackjack and you did not understand anything of what I’ve just said, you have the chance to learn the game and get started within minutes.

But don’t let the game's simplicity fool you.

Blackjack is an easy game to play - but to win at blackjack, well - that’s a different story.

This guide is going to explain the best ways to play Blackjack. It will teach you to minimize your losses and maximize your chances to win .

So, make sure to read it from the top to the toe. Take notes when you think you should - and get ready to surprise everyone with your new amazing Blackjack skills.

Blackjack Myths

Due to its simplicity, there are lots of misconceptions about Blackjack.

So before we move to the step by step guide about how to play (and win), let’s start with something as different as "how NOT to play Blackjack".

99% Success at Blackjack

You will not win at Blackjack 100 percent of the times. You will not win 99 percent of the time.

And, believe me, if you think that you can find a system that is going to let you leave the Blackjack table with a victory in your pocket after 90 percent of your games, you are definitely on the perfect road…to get flat broke.

What you can do, is to find some spots and use them to your advantage.

Do it often, and you will be surprised by the money you will bring home. Do it wrong, and…well, you probably already know what happens, don’t you?

Blackjack Isn’t Always The Same Game

If you are new to the game, you may not know that Blackjack has dozens of variants. Games differ on the number of decks used, forced dealer stand on soft 17 or 16, and a few other aspects.

Let’s get one thing straight. This guide applies best to European Blackjack. Among many other variants, you can play European Blackjack for real money (or free) at this online Casino.

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(Don’t) Listen to Your Gut

You feel you will win. You feel this time the Jack is coming. You feel it’s now or never.

Well - guess what? You have just lost your money.

Don’t listen to your feelings when you sit at the Blackjack table. Instead, find a strategy, get a system, and stick to it.

True, it will take a while until you’ll master the right strategy. But that’s why you should always be sharp and ready to take notes as you play.

The Insurance

Regardless of what you think and what you feel (see above), you should never take the insurance.

Yes, it may have worked fine for the guy who sits next to you. But you don’t know how much money he has already left on the table because of the insurance side bet.

If there’s one truth about Blackjack, it's that the insurance is always a bad bet. Don’t take it.

Step by Step Guide to Playing Your Best Blackjack

To play your best Blackjack, you need to be confident, consistent and methodic.

When you sit down, make sure that you feel good and (possibly) that you haven’t drunk even a tiny drop of alcohol, as you are going to need a very sharp mind to succeed.

How to Play to Win at Online Blackjack

To win at Blackjack, the first thing that you need to know is how to deal with the most common scenarios that can happen in a hand of Blackjack.

Based on the information you have (the dealer’s card and your own cards) you need to decide whether you should hit, stand, double down, split, or surrender.

Luckily, there’s a handy cheat sheet with all common situations and suggested moves according to the Blackjack basic strategy.

It’s based on Blackjack odds and chances of winnings and is made to reduce the house edge to the minimum.

Keep it by your side while you play.

You will not be allowed to do so in a live Casino but, hey, if you play from the comfort of your home…no one can tell you what to do, right?

Key:
S = Stand
H = Hit
Dh = Double (if not allowed, then hit)
Ds = Double (if not allowed, then stand)
SP = Split
SU = Surrender (if not allowed, then hit)

Blackjack Betting Patterns

Betting the same amount every hand is a viable option - especially if you are new to Blackjack and don’t want to confuse yourself too much.

Yet, once you feel that you are starting to understand what to do with different hands, start to consider to head to step two.

What’s step two?

When you size your bet, consider the outcome of your previous hand.

Changing your bet sizes allows you to get the most out of winning streaks as well as to minimize your losses during the losing ones.

You can choose to be an aggressive player or a conservative one. Choose the style that best fits your approach (and your roll), and stick to it.

The Conservative Approach

This betting pattern is built to maximize your winnings.

According to the conservative approach - every time you win a hand, you should raise your bet and play again.

The key to surviving with this approach and making sure you survive even to the longest losing streak is to always play by your bankroll - and never bet money you can’t afford to lose.

The Aggressive Approach

If you think that the “conservative” approach looks rather hazardous, that’s because you don’t know the “aggressive” one yet.

Essentially based on the Martingale system, the aggressive approach invites you to double the size of your bet…every time you lose.

Sure, here the risk to lose some significant amount of money is pretty high, but all you need to do to close with a nice profit is to only win one hand. Nothing more than one hand.

My advice, however, is to take the conservative approach and to raise your bet only when you win, not when you lose.

Here’s another handy cheat sheet to help you with your bets. Use it together with the one above, and your winning odds will increase tenfold!

So, here it is.

1. Open European Blackjack table
2. Make sure you have your strategy chart next to you
3. Choose your bet size based on the outcome of the previous hand

Don't Miss Out on The Bonuses

Casino bonuses and promotions are as important as the best Blackjack strategy, seen that they give you the opportunity to play for free.

Take a look at this online Casino, for example.

It gives you a huge boost to your bankroll.

It’s enough extra money to try both conservative and aggressive approach to betting and to practice Blackjack strategy on a couple of different European Blackjack platforms.

After all, practice makes perfect. And Casino bonuses allow you to do exactly that.

AUTHORLaura Klusaite

BioMarketer, linguist, writer - I enjoy a lot of different things. Writing for CasinoSmash includes two of them - writing and playing games online.