An Easy Way to Become a Good Blackjack Player
by Tom McBroom
Learning to play the game of casino Blackjack
reasonably well is not rocket science, regardless of what the dozens of
books on the subject would have you believe. Playing professionally at
the expert level, as is true of any game, is indeed complex and takes
years to perfect. But anyone can become a good recreational player and
have a fighting chance against the casino simply by learning some very
easy rules. So, if you're tired of throwing all your money away on
brain-numbing slot machines, read on! Blackjack can be as simple or as
complex as you want to make it. Using card counting and advanced
techniques, you can actually have a slight advantage over the house in
certain conditions. That is, if you are willing to spend hundreds of
hours learning and practicing, plus hundreds of hours each year
playing!
Only a few of us have this kind of dedication.
The "beginner strategy" described below is
designed for those of you who have never played Blackjack before or
have played only a few times (and are tired of losing!). It requires
that you learn only four simple rules. You can memorize these rules in
30 minutes or less. Well, actually, much less! You may have heard of
the term "Blackjack basic strategy". The Blackjack basic strategy is a
set of betting and hit/stand rules to statistically maximize your
chances of winning. While not complex, it will still take some time and
quite a bit of practice to learn and apply consistently. For beginners,
or very occasional players who don't want to spend hours practicing the
Blackjack basic strategy, here is a Beginner Strategy that won't give
you a headache trying to learn. While this will not give you the same
low odds against you as the true Blackjack Basic Strategy (about .5%),
it produces a low 1.5% or so edge for the casino, still one of the best
odds you'll find in any casino game. You won't lose your shirt and
you'll have a fighting chance of winning if you encounter a favorable
run of cards.
It should only take a few minutes to learn these
four simple Blackjack rules, though you should practice for a couple of
hours to get comfortable with them before actually playing in a casino
game.
FIRST, A SHORT AND EASY LESSON ON THE GAME RULES
If you already know how to play Blackjack, you can
skip this section. Otherwise, it will only take a few minutes to learn
the simple playing rules.
CARD VALUES Tens and face cards count as 10, Aces
count as either 1 or 11 (your choice), and all other cards have a count
equal to their face value.
THE PLAY All players play against the dealer, not
against one another. Each player makes their bet and the dealer starts
out by dealing two cards to each player and two cards to himself. The
dealer's second card is dealt face-up for all players to see. If the
dealer has a "Blackjack" (and Ace and a ten or face card), he will turn
it over and automatically wins all bets, unless a player also has a
Blackjack, in which case it's a tie.
Then, starting with the player to the dealer's
left, each player has the choice of standing (not drawing any more
cards) or being dealt additional cards. Play continues with that player
until the player stands or "busts" (gets a card count that totals more
than 21). After all players have made their decisions (or busted), the
dealer draws additional cards to either reach a total of 17 or higher
(when they must automatically stop), or bust. If the dealer doesn't
bust, all remaining player's hands with a higher card total win, and
those with a lower card total lose.
One very critical point to remember is this: you
goal is not to get a card count as close to 21 as possible, but to get
closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over. The goal is to beat
the dealer! Thus, your decisions on whether or not draw additional
cards are based on the value of the dealer's up card.
DOUBLING DOWN, SPLITTING PAIRS AND INSURANCE There
are three special bets you can make after the first two cards are
dealt. Doubling down means you can double your original bet after you
receive your first two cards. You then receive one - and only one -
additional card.
Splitting pairs means that when you receive any
pair on your first two cards, you can split them into two separate
hands and play each one independently (of course, you must place an
additional bet equal to your first bet on the second hand).
Taking insurance means that if the dealer's up
card is an Ace, you can wager an additional amount equal to half your
original bet as "insurance" in case the dealer has a blackjack. If the
dealer has a blackjack, you lose your original bet but your insurance
bet is paid at 2 to 1, so you break even.
"HARD HANDS" VERSUS "SOFT HANDS" In order to
understand and apply any Blackjack strategy, you need to learn the
difference between "hard" and "soft" hands. This is because the
strategies for various plays are different depending on whether you
have a soft hand or a hard hand.
A "soft" hand is one that has an Ace which is
counted as 11 (remember: Aces can be counted as either one or 11). For
example, a hand composed of an Ace and a 4 is called a soft 15. A hand
that either contains no Aces or the Ace is counted as a 1 is called a
"hard" hand. For example, a hand composed of a 6 and a 9 is a hard 15.
A hand with an Ace and 4 is called a soft 15 (11 plus 4), but if you
then draw an 8 you have to count the Ace as 1 instead of 11, giving you
a hard 13 (because counting it as 11 would give you a "bust" hand of
23). FOUR SIMPLE RULES
Here are four Blackjack basic strategy rules that
anyone can easily remember. Always adhere to them exactly and you will
be playing better then the majority of people who sit down at a
blackjack table.
While these four rules do not represent "perfect"
Blackjack basic strategy, they give you a great deal of the advantage
of a perfect basic strategy and are very simple to memorize.
1. If the dealer's up card is 7 or higher,
continue to draw cards until you have a hard count of at least 17 or
higher, or a soft count of 18 or higher.
2. If the dealer's up card is 6 or lower, draw
cards until you have at least 12. Stop when you have 12 or higher.
3. Double down when your first two cards total 10
or 11, IF the dealer has a 9 or lower.
4. Always split aces and eights. Do not split any
other pairs.
And that's it! These four simple rules will take
you out of the "sucker" category, keep you out of serious trouble and
ensure that the house edge is around 1.5% or so - some of the best odds
you'll get in a casino.
Once you've mastered this easy system, learn the
full Blackjack Basic Strategy and you'll whittle that house edge down
to almost zero. Good luck!
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About the Author: Tom McBroom is the webmaster for
Blackjack For Everyone, which is dedicated to the beginning through
serious recreational Blackjack player. Visit his site for complete
Blackjack instructions, advice, strategies and the best online and Las
Vegas casinos for Blackjack.
Tom is the webmaster at
http://www.blackjack-for-everyone.com, a website with Blackjack Rules,
advice and strategy for the beginning through serioius recreational
player.
Tom McBroom may be contacted at http://www.blackjack-for-everyone.com
or Tom@blackjack-for-everyone.com
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