Zach Galifanakis’ character in The Hangover showed us one way to handle yourself at a blackjack table. Hopefully you, too, can follow suit and win $80,000 on the tables tonight – as unrealistic as his card-counting run was.
The game has been played since the 17th century by the most astute card players and nowadays, anyone can throw down on a few hands of “21”. The beauty of blackjack is that it is quite simple: get closer to 21 than the dealer (you may also refer to it as the house), and that allows you get into the strategic aspect of the game quicker. Blackjack is a game that forces you to think and keeps you on your toes at all times, and there are all kinds of different methods you can use for getting an edge on the house.
Before you start clicking away and going head-to-head with the house, here’s are three advanced online blackjack tips, which will help increase your winnings.
How to handle soft hands
One of the first concepts you should understand about online blackjack is that of the soft hand, which is when you are dealt an ace. The value for an ace is either one or 11, and that allows you to take a few more risks in the quest to get closer to 21. You can be a little more liberal with your choices here because you can fall back on that ace to bring your value down if there is a threat of a bust. If you play it right, a soft hand could end up paying off in huge dividends.
Doubling down
Understanding the risks and rewards of doubling down is also essential to becoming a good online blackjack player because being able to profit off the double-down can make things much easier. The ability to double down when you have a soft hand can provide a big boost to your bankroll but you can’t just go for broke every time. You should only double down if you have between a 15 and an 18 and the dealer is sitting between four and six. That way you have a small window in which to take advantage of the house. A major component to online blackjack is making a big move when the dealer has a poor hand but it can also backfire as well if you just double down blindly at every opportunity.
Keep an eye on dealer’s face-up card
Most of the strategies that you will run across in online blackjack begin with the dealer’s card that is facing up and that card will tell you a lot about what you are going to do for the upcoming hand. If the dealer has a lower card facing up, somewhere between a two and a six, you should look to stand as the dealer could have a value of 10 facing down. You should also remember that the dealer has to stand when they have a hand of 17 or above.
One of the benefits of playing online – opposed to in person at a land-based casino – is that you can find a simple blackjack table where it shows you the percentages of what move to make based on what the dealer is showing. Often times, these are good guidelines to follow but tend to make the game a little bland. Use them to fall back on but still mix in your instincts just as the pros do.
If you follow the above three strategies, you’ll be in good shape at the blackjack table. And hopefully, you can clean up just like the boys from The Hangover.