Best Way to Bet in Blackjack (Simple Guide)
Blackjack is still an ageless casino game worldwide. Blackjack games are one of the most popular entertainments at both online and land casinos globally.
Though the house edge makes blackjack nearly unbeatable in the long term, you can optimize any blackjack hand using an effective betting system. Basic strategy, effective bankroll management, and a solid betting system are the key building blocks to an effective blackjack system.
Others take their betting strategies to the extreme, using card counting and even team betting as they attempt to overcome the house edge.
In this article, we talk about blackjack betting strategy, covering the basics you must understand at the blackjack table.
What are Blackjack Rules?
Blackjack rules will vary based on the game of blackjack you are participating in. Most Las Vegas casinos and most online blackjack games employ American Blackjack rules.
In American Blackjack, a player is dealt two cards, both visible. The dealer is given two cards, one up and one down.
The blackjack players are tasked with adding two or more cards to 21, or the closest value to 21. Once two cards have been dealt, players can hit (take a card), stand (keep the cards dealt to you), or in certain instances double down, split pairs, or surrender (give up your hand and keep half of your bet).
A double down can only be applied if you’re dealt a total of nine, ten, or 11. Splitting pairs takes a paired hand and splits it into two separate hands. This doubles your wager but allowing only one more card on each.
Busting occurs by exceeding a total of 21, and the player forfeits whatever he has wagered.
After all players have placed their selected wagering move, the dealer turns their face-down card face-up so that everyone can see it. The dealer must hit if their hand total is 16 or lower and must stand on 17 or higher.
If the dealer has to stand, all the rest of the players who beat the dealer with a still higher score are winners. The dealer busting makes all the rest of the live players winners.
If the dealer is originally dealt a natural blackjack (21) on his first two cards, the down card is turned over face up, and all the rest of the players who do not also have a natural blackjack automatically lose.
A natural blackjack wins 1.5-to-1, while winning against the dealer in any other manner is an even money win.
Blackjack Betting Strategy
There are numerous free blackjack strategy resources available online or in print. The most prevalent resources that players use for blackjack are strategy charts showing hit, stand, or double down for each of the player’s hand and the dealer’s up card combinations.
Most casinos, even in Las Vegas, permit players to use such charts directly at the blackjack table. The knowledge of basic strategy begins with a clear understanding of how your cards and the dealer’s influence the manner in which you should play blackjack.
Once you have a good grasp of basic strategy, you can then add to your strategy specific betting systems.
Also Read: How To Play Blackjack Bangladesh: Rules, Strategy
Blackjack Betting Systems
Blackjack players have been devising ways to reduce the house edge since the game was created. Some strategies, such as the Martingale System, try to balance losing runs by doubling the size of a bet until you win.
Other strategies use progressive betting methods, which state that you raise the size of a bet only after a win and revert to the initial bet size after losing. Some players just apply a basic flat betting strategy and remain as close to optimal basic strategy as possible.
The most aggressive blackjack players on the planet may employ methods like card counting and team play to attempt to beat the house edge, rendering blackjack a winning game for the player.
Here are some of the most popular blackjack betting systems:
Martingale System
The Martingale System tries to balance losing streaks by doubling the size of the bet following each hand you lose. Theoretically, you can always return to even on a session if you play the Martingale System through until you win a hand regardless of how many consecutive hands you lost leading up to it.
The Martingale System is a negative progression betting strategy. Even at minimum blackjack stakes, you’ll require an enormous bankroll to stay safe from risk of ruin in cash games.
To illustrate, suppose you place an initial $10 bet using the Martingale System. Lose the first hand, and you have to bet $20 on the second hand. Lose the second hand, and your next bet must be $40.
You’ll have to keep doubling your wager with this system of negative progressions until at last you peak a winning hand. Losing the game ten successive times or better isn’t much of an outlying event with blackjack, therefore the Martingale System won’t be ideal blackjack strategy should you not happen to have much money to squander.
For example, if you lost ten consecutive hands employing the Martingale System when you started off with a $10 bet, you would lose $10,230 for the session. Don’t employ negative progression blackjack betting systems if you’re not willing to pursue your losses with high recoup bets.
Winning Streak Strategies
Winning streak strategies, or positive progression strategies, are the opposite of the Martingale System in their strategy. Positive progression strategies try to maximize the value of a hot streak by raising the bet after a winning hand.
The secret to winning when employing a positive progression strategy is to never stop in the middle of a winning run. For instance, if you begin with a $10 bet and win, your subsequent bet could be $20.
Win the $20 hand, and you’re $30 ahead after two hands. If you raise your next bet to $40 and win once more, you’re $70 ahead after three hands.
After three consecutive victories, you may consider calling it a session. Your present hot run will eventually end, and you have to quit after a victory for a positive progression strategy to be effective.
Also Read: How to Beat the 21+3 Side Bet in Blackjack
Oscar’s Grind
The Oscar’s Grind strategy is applicable to any game that has even money payouts. Blackjack does not necessarily fall into that category since there are some occurrences, such as hitting a natural blackjack, which pay at varying odds rather than 1-to-1.
Oscar system is based on maintaining the same bet amount after a loss and adding one unit to the bet after winning. You do this system up to the time you’re in possession of a single unit more, then return to the starting bet amount.
This system focuses on winning just one betting unit in each sequence, then re-commence with the initial bet amount.
For instance, suppose you start with a $10 bet when playing Oscar’s Grind. If you lose the hand, your subsequent bet is still $10.
You will continue betting $10 on every hand until you win a hand. Then you raise the bet to $20. You continue betting $20 until you win again, then raise the bet to $30.
Every series on Oscar’s Grind continues in this manner until you’re in the profit. Once you’ve won a profit, that series is over, and you begin a new series with a $10 wager.
Similar to the Martingale System, Oscar’s Grind should only be utilized if you have a bankroll that can sustain long losing streaks.
Counting Cards
The basis of card counting is to bet big when the shoe is full of aces and high cards and bet small when the remaining shoe has plenty of low cards.
The number of decks in the shoe will determine how effective a card counting system will be. A six-deck game of blackjack is best for card counting, while games using one deck limit the effectiveness of this system.
Card counting involves keeping a running total of cards that have been dispensed out of a shoe in a blackjack game so far. The most basic card counting system gives each card dispensed out of the deck a point value.
Mike Aponte, an ex-MIT Blackjack team member, illustrates a live card counting lesson.
For example, the system in Mezrich’s books provided a “-1” to each card ten or above that was played to the table. Cards seven through nine get a “0” and cards six or below are awarded a “+1”.
When the running “+”, or running count, of “+s” reaches certain values, card counters increase the wagers. High “+”, or running count, indicates that the remaining portion of the shoe has a surplus of high cards, and those situations mathematically favor the player.
Low-card stacked shoe favors the dealer, and card counters will react to high “-“‘s by merely placing the minimum wagers.
While the MIT Blackjack Team can carry out this technique with breathtaking precision, card counting can have consequences at casinos. While card counting is not technically cheating, successful implementation of this method will attract the attention of casino security for all the wrong reasons.
Card counting is also extremely cognitively challenging since not only does it involve keeping a proper running count, but you must also stray from basic blackjack strategy depending on the situation.
Conclusion
Card counting aside, even best blackjack strategies cannot overcome the house edge in the game. Like all games of chance (with the exception of poker), the player will ultimately lose to the house in the long run.
Blackjack is ideally played for entertainment purposes. You should play only at the table with a size of bankroll that you are ready to lose and do not pursue loss if you happen to lose pre-set bankroll.
If you would like to use one of the above-explained systems, make sure you understand what bankroll to use for each and precisely what each system attempts to accomplish.
Finally, if you’re thinking of going into card counting, prepare to put a lot of time and practice into that skill set. You won’t be at the casinos if you’re among the rare breed who are able to get card counting to work, so be prepared to get escorted out, or worse.
