Good Betting Strategy For Blackjack
If you ever find yourself in the circle of lovers of this casino game, then you’ll probably learn a thing or two about all the different bets you can place. Also, you’ll most likely be exposed to different blackjack progressive betting strategies, so it won’t hurt if you know what this means. This system teaches you how and when to increase or decrease your wager. In the most general sense, there are two types of progressive betting strategies:
Best Betting Strategy For Blackjack
If your wish is to be a good Blackjack player then you must be very familiar with the rules, know what the odds are, and be able to make or use gameplay strategies. Movies are not always known for their accuracy, but there really is such a thing as counting card, and it makes a big difference to your level of play. The total betting limit per hand is the sum of the side bet and regular blackjack bet limits. The three side bets are ‘777 Jackpot’, ‘Highest Hand Bet’ and ‘Safe Bet’. 777 Jackpot gives players the chance to win 1500 units from a 1 unit stake if your first three cards (two initial and first card hit) are all 7.
- Positive progression — if you were to follow this, then you’d bet more after each win. With this, players want to maximize their profit and minimize their losses.
- Negative progression — this one includes raising your wager after each losing round. It strives to lessen the effects of losses.
Now that you’re acquainted with this, we can delve deeper into the most popular systems you can follow. However, before we start, we should put a disclaimer of some sorts — no matter which strategy you use, it cannot help you determine the outcome. They can only help you plan your bets accordingly before you start playing. In the end, nothing can exert an impact on the results.
The Martingale System
One could trace the roots of the Martingale system back to 18th century France. It has withstood the test of time, as evidenced by the fact that most novice players have heard about it. The overarching strategy is the following: it’s inevitable that you’ll face losses while playing blackjack. However, at some point, you’re bound to win. So why wouldn’t you double your wager until you emerge as a victor? Of course, some experts might suggest that believing in this might be the prime example of the gambler’s fallacy, but to each their own.
What’s more, you’ll notice that some blackjack players opt to adhere to this betting system. They increase their wager by 2, hoping that they’ll recover all the squandered money. In theory, this sounds appealing and seems like a plausible solution. But in practice, it comes with certain risks. Let’s say that you decide to play at a $5 table and abide by this strategy. As you might know, it’s easy to lose 8 hands in a row, so this means that, during the 9th bet, you’d actually be required to bet quite a substantial amount — $1,280.
If you’re not a high roller, then this professional blackjack betting strategy might not be the best solution.
The Oscar’s Grind
Moving onto another blackjack betting system — the Oscar’s Grind. It was created back in 1965 and mainly applied to the game of craps. Nevertheless, it started spreading to other games as well, including blackjack. It abides by the following this notion: all of your losing streaks will be countered by one winning hand. If this turns out to be true, then you’ll decrease the amount you’ve lost and get a payout, albeit a small one. However, no one can guarantee that this will happen, as the outcome is unpredictable.
So before you toy with the idea of using this system, you should contemplate your betting range. You’ll need to commence with a minimum bet and gradually increase it throughout the game — if you win, that is. It’s recommended you start with a wager that isn’t too high. Let’s say you decide to place $1. If you lose, then you won’t need to change the bet amount. However, if the third round turns out to be the winning one, then you should bet $2 on the following one. Another win increases the wager to $4.
Also, you should stop the moment you have a profit of 1 unit. As with the Martingale, you should use the Oscar’s blackjack betting strategy at your own risk.
The Manhattan System (2-1-2)
Some players believe in the existence of hot and cold streaks. You might even hear some of them lament that they’ve failed to make use of a hot streak. Of course, experts would assure you that this phenomenon doesn’t exist and that you should just enjoy the game itself. Well, it seems that the proponents of the blackjack betting strategy 2-1-2 side with the players on this issue and want to help them win real money.
So how does it all go down here? Well, as you might have inferred from its name, players begin by wagering two units. For instance, they can place $2. In case of a win, they don’t need to increase their bet — they actually decrease it by one unit. So the next one amounts to $1. And if this streak follows them, then they can wager $3. Each consecutive win after that, the players should increase their bet size by one unit. And if during the game, the dealer wins, then those following this system should return to their initial bet. The theory is that you should capitalize on your fortune until it starts declining.
The 1-2-3-5 Strategy
The progressive betting systems are quite prominent in blackjack. During a game, a bet could vary from one round to another — it never remains the same. There are different types of wagers here, but they all share one similarity. In other words, you’ll either increase or decrease the bet depending on whether you’re experiencing wins or losses. If you’re prevailing, then you’ll raise the amount of your wager after each hand. For instance, if you begin with $10, then you’ll put $20 during the next round.
Of course, there are different patterns that you can follow, and one of them is particularly well known — blackjack betting strategy 1-2-3-5. If you decide to try it out, then you’ll increase your wager following this pattern. However, the moment you lose, you’d go back to your initial 1 unit bet. Those who are in favor of this will try to convince you that you’ll get more money during those 5 consecutive winning rounds then you’ll ever lose in 5 losing ones. However, they fail to tell you that you can’t know when you’ll win.
The 1-3-2-6 System
Following the previous one, we would be remiss not to mention the blackjack betting strategy 1-3-2-6. Like the above-mentioned one, it’s simple to learn, and you won’t face any difficulties in implementing it. In essence, you can use it for other casino games as well, but it’s primarily popular in blackjack.
Basically, if you want to try it out, you need to opt for the initial wager. But bear in mind that this will serve as 1 unit in the sequence, so maybe choosing the lowest amount would be the best option. And once you’ve done this, you can start wagering. Naturally, if you win at blackjack, then this will lead you to increase the bet as per the sequence. And once it ends, you’ll need to go back to your starting stake. Additionally, this blackjack betting strategy differs from, say, the Martingale in the sense that you only need to keep increasing the amount if you’re successful. This way, you might recover all the lost money either in a land-based or an online casino.
Betting Strategy for Hi-Lo and Knockout Card Counting
The hi-lo and knockout card counting players have different approaches to wagering. Some say that you might increase your chances by adjusting your bets. And if you want to be successful, you should determine the true count by dividing your running one by the number of decks that are still remaining in the shoe. Then, you should wager the minimum amount when the true count is at 1, and then increase it when it is at 2. As the true count increases, so does your wager. And once it returns to 1, then you should return to your initial bet.
So before the game starts, you should select the wagering unit that you can use once you employ this blackjack betting system. Your betting unit increases as per the count. Also, always be aware of your bankroll and adjust your wager accordingly. The maximum wager, some say, should be 4 times your initial unit. Just make sure to be present in the game so that you could keep track of the count and your bankroll. Additionally, you can adopt this approach as your knockout blackjack betting strategy as well.
Practice Makes Perfect
Now that you’re familiar with a number of strategies, you can start practicing and opting for the ones you find to work the best for you. However, always bear in mind that there are more blackjack betting systems than actual strategies. After all, they don’t predict the outcome — they just tell you how to bet.
Nevertheless, if you want, you can try out some of the blackjack card counting strategies (which even help you beat the house edge) and see how far you’ll get. Who knows, you might even become a proponent of some of them or end up disappointed. Either way — good luck!
Since blackjack is the one casino game where skill truly matters, it’s important for players to test different strategies and start incorporating them into their gameplay. But before you test any of the blackjack systems out there, there’s a simple truth you must realise – every valid blackjack strategy is based on logic and maths. Therefore, the best strategy you can adopt right away would be to leave your superstitions behind, forget about your ‘winning rituals’ and trust only the numbers. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the best tactics you can adopt to help you win at online blackjack every time you play.
Tip #1: Pick the Right Casino
Players often ignore this all-important step, so I decided to start precisely with it. I cannot emphasise enough how big of a factor picking a good casino site is for your future success at beating the game. And that process is not even that hard – the trick is to pick a reputable, well-known casino that features a lot of blackjack games and generous bonuses that you can use on them. Here are three stellar examples:
Blackjack Site | Rating | Highlights | Welcome Bonus | Trusted Site | Terms and Conditions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
888 Casino | 7 RNG Games , 36 Live Tables | Up to £100 + £88 | Get Bonus! | Full T&Cs apply. 1st deposit only • £20 min deposit with code • Valid for selected games only • Bonus wins capped at £500 • 30x wagering – req. vary by game - in 90 days • UK - deposit balance available for withdrawal at any time • Withdrawal terms & T&Cs apply. | |
Ladbrokes Casino | 15 RNG Games, 10 Live Tables | £50 Welcome Bonus | Get Bonus! | Full T&Cs apply. 18+. New Casino players only. Deposit required. Min stake £10 on qualifying games. 40x wager reqs (bonus only) on selected games. 24hrs to accept. Bonus valid for 48hrs. Certain deposit types excluded. Bets covering >70% of Roulette table excluded. | |
Betway | 17 RNG Games, 30 Live Tables | 100% up to £250 | Get Bonus! | Full T&Cs apply. * New customers only. Opt-in required. 100% Match Bonus up to £250 on 1st deposit of £20+. 50x bonus wagering applies as do weighting requirements. Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Irregular gameplay may invalidate your bonus. This offer is valid for 7 days from your new account being registered. |
But how in fact does your choice of casino impact your winning chances? Truth is that not all online casinos are safe and trustworthy. Moreover, even if you have won fair and square, some of them might refuse to pay out your winnings. By choosing a licensed and regulated casino, such as the ones we recommend, you secure yourself a fair chance at winning and, most importantly, guaranteed payouts.
Tip #2: Pick the Right Blackjack Variant
Picking the right game variant is yet another important part of an all-encompassing blackjack strategy. The most important detail about each game is undoubtedly the house edge – the lower it is, the better. Here is a comparison between the house edges of some of the most popular online blackjack games in the UK:
As you can see, the house edge of these games is already quite low (just for reference, most slot games have a house edge of 4%-6%). Still, this is the first thing you should check before trying a new blackjack game. There are, in fact, some online blackjack games that have a house edge over 1% and even over 2%. If your goal is to win and not just to have fun, then you should definitely stay clear of those.
Tip #3: Know Your Game Inside Out
Not all blackjack games are made from the same mold. In fact, there are hardly any two blackjack variations that have exactly the same rules. Therefore, applying the same basic strategy for different games simply won’t work. Every little detail about the game matters as it affects the house edge. You can learn about the specific rules of each variant from the help section of the game. Here is what information you should be looking for if you want to find the best blackjack strategy for the game you’ve chosen.
- How much does a blackjack pay?
- How many decks are in the shoe?
- Can you double on any two cards or only with specific total?
- When can you split your hand and up to how many times?
- Are you allowed to double after splitting a hand?
- Are you allowed to hit split aces?
- Do you have the option to surrender and in which cases?
- Does the dealer hit a soft seventeen?
- Is there a 5-, 6- or a 7-card Charlie?
Another particularity you should be aware of when searching for a suitable online blackjack strategy is that there are some blackjack games that bear the same name but have different rules and, consequently, different house edge. This is due to the fact that the games are provided by different software developers. For example, Classic Blackjack by Microgaming has a house edge of merely 0.13% while the game of the same name developed by NetEnt has a house edge of 0.35%. A big difference, indeed.
Tip #4: Use a Basic Blackjack Strategy Card
Hopefully, you’ve followed our tips for playing blackjack and have already chosen a specific game to play, where to play it and you’ve familiarised yourself with all its rules. Now it’s time to find a basic blackjack strategy card specific to your game of choice which will help you make the right decision in any situation.
Good Betting Strategy For Blackjack Games
Below, you can see an example of a strategy card that’s especially created for Playtech’s Blackjack Pro. The image clearly shows how you should play against any given dealer upcard according to the hand you’re holding. The complete strategy chart for each different blackjack variation should consist of three parts – one for hard hands, one for soft hands and one for pairs.
The easiest way to find an optimal blackjack strategy chart for the game you want to try is to generate it yourself using one of the many blackjack basic strategy calculators you can find online. Using these strategy cards is very suitable for beginners since they are extremely easy to read and at the same time they are math-based. Still, there are some things that these cards don’t cover. They don’t tell you what to do with the side bets, how much to bet and whether card counting could help you. Those are exactly the topics that we’re going to cover next.
The Perfect Blackjack Strategy for Side Bets
As we have already established in the previous paragraphs, strategy cards can be very useful when playing most blackjack games, especially for the beginners. Yet, as you may have noticed, they don’t cover any side bets whatsoever. After all, the perfect blackjack strategy is the one that takes into account all aspects of the game and this includes whether or not to place bonus bets and if yes – how much to bet.
The truth is that blackjack is a casino game with an extremely low house edge. On top of that, skilled players are able to reduce this minimal advantage even further by adopting various blackjack strategies. This is why, in the hopes to increase the house edge and, consequently, the revenues, the casinos started adding extra decks to the different blackjack variations and came up with different side bets. And while these side bets definitely add fun and variety to te game, they make players lose money, slowly but surely.
So, it’s easy to see that the best strategy for blackjack side bets is actually not to place any! Just stick to the strategy cards until you’ve gained enough experience to start testing more advanced tactics.
What About Card Counting?
When most new players hear the words ‘blackjack strategies’, they immediately think of card counting. While this strategy may still be possible in some brick-and-mortar casinos (although, in general, it’s against the house rules or at least it’s frowned upon), it is virtually unfeasible in online casinos where the deck is shuffled after each hand. The only exception to this rule is live dealer blackjack. So, if you want to try some card counting techniques while playing online, your only option is to play live blackjack games.
But what actually is card counting and can it really help you beat the casino? Card counting is a blackjack technique that helps you follow the number of high and low cards in the shoe thus giving you some insight as to what type of card might come next – a bit of knowledge that can, indeed, tip the scales in your direction. The easiest card counting system in blackjack is called Hi-Lo and works like this: for each low card (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) you see you add one point and for each high card (10, J, Q, K, A) you deduct one. The higher the count, the bigger the chances to get 10-valued cards, which are generally considered ‘good’ for the player (and bad for the dealer).
Which Is the Best Blackjack Betting System?
Betting Strategy For Blackjack Tournament
As we have already established, using a blackjack strategy card can help you make the right decision in any given situation, but it doesn’t answer the important question players always ask themselves ‘How much should I bet?’ As you probably already know, there are many betting systems out there, many of which claim to be a sure way to beat any online blackjack game. A huge part of those systems are progressive betting systems which are based on the idea that if you’ve lost a number of times, you’re bound to win soon. This, of course, is not true and is often referred to as gambler’s fallacy – a mistaken notion that has claimed many victims through the ages.
The plain and simple truth is that no betting system on its own can help you beat the house, but some can help you improve your odds even more when combined with other blackjack strategies. For example, when using card counting and basic strategy, you can allow yourself to increase the bet amount when the count is high, as then the strategy cards are considered to be ‘more correct’ and your chances at winning are higher. But, as we already said, this can only work if you’re playing live dealer games. The best betting strategy for RNG games, on the other hand, is to simply bet the same amount over and over again while wagering some convenient casino bonus – a topic that we’re going to discuss a little bit further down the page.
Tip #5: Test in Demo Mode
Now that you have a complete overview of an all-encompassing online blackjack strategy, you probably feel ready to finally start playing. But before you go and bet real money, it’s highly recommended that you first test your skills with play money. Going back to our example with Blackjack Pro by Playtech, we’ve prepared a demo version of the game below that you can try for free. Don’t forget to use the strategy card that we presented to you to secure yourself the best odds.
Something else that you can do while playing in demo mode is to practice your card-counting skills, even though in all RNG games the shoe is virtually shuffled after each hand. After all, there are no demo versions of live blackjack, so your only option is to practice on their computerised versions.
Tip #6: Sync Your Bonus and Blackjack Strategies
Some of the biggest advantages of playing on the Internet vs playing at land-based casinos are undoubtedly the generous bonus opportunities that online casinos offer. Even if the casino has a slight advantage in any given game, playing with extra money that isn’t actually yours and being allowed to keep the winnings surely gives the players some edge. When it comes to blackjack, combining the already low house edge of the game with a solid math-based strategy and a suitable bonus is the most certain way to beat the casino. Of course, every bonus comes with its terms and conditions that are sometimes favourable but other times – not so much.
First of all, there’s always a wagering requirement that you have to fulfil before you can withdraw the winnings generated from the bonus. This requirement in most cases is set at 20 to 40 times the bonus plus the deposit amount. Furthermore, it’s important to take into account the fact that blackjack games don’t contribute at 100% toward the wagering requirement due to the fact that they have a pretty low house edge and give the players great winning odds. Usually, the wagering contribution for the game is set anywhere between 5% and 10%, the higher it is, of course, the better. Other important details you should take into account are the validity period of the bonus and the minimum deposit required to claim it.
All that said, let us present to you an easy-to-claim bonus that is perfect for beginners and offered by a casino that has a great array of blackjack games with both classic and innovative variants – Ladbrokes. At the moment, they offer a 100% bonus up to £500 to all new players that make minimum deposit of £20 at the casino – a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me. If you agree with me and are ready to start playing for real money, then click the link below and you’ll be safely redirected to the official website of the operator:
Sure enough, this is not the only available bonus offer that is suitable for playing blackjack online, in fact, most UK casino sites give you the opportunity to wager bonus money on all their blackjack games. So, if you want to find more great opportunities to play blackjack with bonus money, then make sure you also check out our dedicated bonus page.
Final Thoughts and Advice for Long-Term Success
Good Betting Strategy For Blackjack Card Game
In conclusion, the best blackjack strategy you can adopt is the one that fully corresponds to the game variation you’ve chosen to play. Be careful to only use a game plan that has been created for the particular type of blackjack you’re playing. Otherwise, you won’t be able to achieve the results you expect.
Good Betting Strategy For Blackjack Rules
Beginners, find yourselves a strategy card for the variation you play and stick with it. Combine it with a good bonus and you can expect a moderate return in the long run. Your number one priority should be to practice and learn. The more experienced players can, on the other hand, test their card counting skills against some unsuspecting dealer at a live casino of their choice – remember, you can see them, but they cannot see you! Furthermore, to make sure that you get the whole picture as to how to beat this game, you can also take a look at some game strategies analysed.
Good Betting Strategy For Blackjack Game
Last but not least, don’t forget to have fun! After all, it’s a game and its main purpose is to entertain you. Not getting too stressed about winning is a good tactic as it will help you keep a cool head and make better decisions while playing.