Blackjack Strategy

Blackjack has some fantastic game strategies, which aim to assist the player in reducing the house edge and therefore increasing your chances of winning. The strategies need to be wisely implemented into your game and may need a little practice before you consider playing with the high rollers.

Basic Strategy

The Composition-dependent strategy is when a player tries to improve their hand and use what they have to its full potential in a single deck game, instead of just concentrating on their point total.

When the player has 12 and the dealer has 4, the best option is to hit because you will bust if you draw another 10 (this is unlikely though, as you have a 10 in hand already). Standing is not a good idea with these specific cards because the only way not to lose is if the dealer busts, which isn’t likely as there are fewer tens left in the shoe (a shoe is the gadget from which the cards are dealt).

Card Counting

Card counting is an advantage play. Advantage play is a term given to a set of skills that enable the player to have long term playing advantages in the game. Use your memory and calculation skills, and study the game closely - they are honest techniques, as long as you don’t use any device to help you count. 

Card counting involves keeping track and making conclusions from previously dealt cards. Usually there are two main conclusions deduced: when the play is going to the advantage of the player (if there are quite a few aces and 10’s left in the deck) he/she can increase their bets, or the player can double down more often, in the hopes of obtaining a better hand, if there are still aces and 10’s in the deck. Card counting is highly advantageous toward the end of a shoe, when there aren’t many cards left. Card counting, especially in single deck games can offer the player a 2% advantage in reducing house edge.

Shuffle Tracking

Shuffle tracking requires great eyesight and requires skills of visual inference. It works best in multi-deck games, as it involves keeping track of the different groups of cards, from when the cards are dealt, through to shuffling. The player can then bet and play accordingly, when those particular cards come into play from a fresh shoe.

There is another tracking strategy, known as identifying concealed cards, which is when the player identifies unique markings on the back of the cards and observes closely for those particular cards to show up in the pack. This is probably the least effective strategy in Blackjack, but is worth giving a try.

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