Blackjack is one of those games at the casino that would really require a bit of strategy for you to win, and some might even say that blackjack is much harder to play than poker since the former requires more critical thinking than the latter, which relies more on luck and reading opponents’ emotions. However, knowing some basic strategies on blackjack will help you win more matches, and these strategies are quite easy to understand and learn. To get you started in winning at blackjack, here are some simple tips and strategies that you can apply to your gameplay.
Don’t Bet Too High at the Beginning
If you have a set budget for playing blackjack, the number one strategy that you should learn is about learning how to start small bets. By having only small bets during the first games or matches, you will be able to get used to the gameplay of blackjack and also the “feel” of the table without gambling too much with betting high.
There are certain days where luck might not be on your side, which would often be the cause of losing streaks, so if you start betting high during those particular days, then you will start losing money quickly. The key to one of these blackjack simple strategies is to learn how to gauge your winning and losing streaks so that you will slowly understand when you would want to bet higher or lower.
Sit at the Middle or Last Seats
It is a general blackjack rule that the one that sits on the first table, usually found in the right of the dealer, will be the first one that will receive his or her first set of cards. Sitting at the first base seat is often advantageous for veterans that already wanted to know what their cards are going to be so that they will know when to stand or to hit. In addition, sitting at the first seat also prevents his or her cards from being influenced by other players, who may have higher or lower cards than the first seat player.
However, if you are a beginner in the game, sitting on the first base seat may actually be a disadvantage for you, as you will have a shorter time to decide what to do with your cards and think about your dealer’s up card. For veterans, thinking of a strategy with their cards wouldn’t be a problem since they have already memorized each move they will use for every possible card combination. So, if you are just a newbie at blackjack, don’t sit at the first base seat and just sit instead to the middle or last seats so that you will have more time to strategize with your cards.
Mind the Dealer’s Up Card
The way to win in blackjack is for you to beat the dealer’s cards without going over the value of 21 with your cards. So, it is important that you should always think about your dealer’s cards when making your moves. Unfortunately, there is only one dealer card that is face-up on the table, and that is called the up card. Because the dealer’s second card is face-down, it would be much harder for you to strategize your cards since you would have to guess the value of the unknown card.
However, the value of the dealer’s entire card can already be strategized by only thinking about the up card since the said card can usually affect the value of the dealer’s hand more than the face-down card. If the dealer’s up card has a value of 2 to 6, there is a chance that you might win if you have cards with a higher value. But if the dealer has an up card with a value of 7 or higher, then you may want to surrender or fold since it would be difficult to beat the dealer’s cards that already have a high value even without you knowing the value of the face-down card.
Know the Basic Strategy
There is a pattern that you can follow depending on the cards that you and the dealer have on the table. Here are some of the patterns that coincide with the basic blackjack rules:
- Stand (keep your cards) if you have cards that create a value of 12 to 16 and the dealer has an up card that shows 2 to 6.
- Hit (take another card) if you have a hand that has a value of 12 to 16 and the dealer has an up card with 7 or higher (Ace being the highest) as its value.
- Split (separate two cards with the same value into two hands) if you have Aces or 8s on your hand.
Memorizing these basic patterns can be quite difficult for beginners, but there are blackjack rule books and strategy cards that you can purchase online that can be quite handy to bring with you whenever you are playing blackjack in a live casino.
So, those are just some simple strategies that you can follow if you want to win more rounds or matches at blackjack. Most of the strategies stated above don’t actually involve the actual gameplay aspect of the game, as they are more about planning where you would want to be at the table and what to do before the game starts. Memorize the pattern for each card combination and learn how to deal with the dealer’s up card to have an advantage over most players.