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To use the basic strategy, look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. There are two charts depending on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. This bet is done by placing one on one blackjack odds a chip on top of the number on which you want to bet. View more Powerful Hand Filters Industry leading hand filtering tools allow you to quickly and easily find hands of interest. Make sure that the user interface is lightning fast one on one blackjack odds and straightforward.

Basic blackjack strategy

The single most important thing that you need to understand about the game of blackjack is that it is a game of player decisions.

Unlike any other game in the casino, when playing blackjack your decisions can have an outcome on how the hand plays out and thus can contribute to the wins or losses of the players at the table. Because of this fact, there is a mathematically proven strategy that gives you the best advantage when playing, and this should be used every time you play if you want the best odds in the long run.

This strategy is known as basic strategy and is illustrated in the blackjack strategy chart shown below:

As you can see from the diagrams in the chart, basic strategy outlines exactly how you should optimally play when considering what you have been dealt in relation to the dealer’s hand. Many new blackjack players make the mistake of going with gut feeling and being afraid to bust when they play, but using basic strategy every time is the best way to give yourself favorable odds during play.

If you are familiar with casino games, you will know that the house has the advantage in every game in the casino, which is how they turn a profit. Blackjack is no exception, however is one of the lowest house edge games in the casino, which is why it’s such a great game for players to learn and play.

The house edge in a typical blackjack game is around 0.50 percent when a player uses perfect basic strategy during play. This means that for every $100 you bet, the casino expects to win $0.50 from you over an infinite number of hands. The reason why basic strategy is so important is because if you take this same example of a $100 average bet and apply it to an unskilled player, the house advantage can go as high as 2.5 percent or more, meaning that the house would expect to win $2.50 or more over time.

Because of this, it’s easy to see why playing with basic strategy is the best choice for players each and every time.

Advanced blackjack strategy – card counting

I’m sure if you’ve had any experience in the casino, you have heard of what is known as card counting – a system that allows you to gain a positive expectation while playing blackjack putting the house edge in your favor. While card counting is not explicitly illegal, most casinos will kick out card counters since they can seriously damage the casino’s profits if they hit a hot streak.

Below is a brief introduction to card counting if you are curious about how this tactic is done.

In a nutshell, card counting is a tracking system where players use their memory to keep track of what cards have been dealt in blackjack. Since the game is dealt from a shoe (in most casinos) and there are only a certain number of cards in play each round, it is possible to get an idea of what is remaining in the deck and adjust your betting strategy accordingly.

Most counting systems use a -1, 0 and +1 system which gives each card in the deck a value. Usually cards 2-6 are +1, cards 7, 8 and 9 are 0 (neutral) and face cards and aces are -1.

As the cards are dealt, the player keeps track of the count using this system to get an overall picture for the remaining cards in the shoe. Since most blackjack games use multiple decks, the player will have to divide the running count (current count they have) by the number of decks they believe are left to form what is known as the true count.

Using the true count value, the player adjusts the bet so when it’s high in the positives they bet much more, however when the count is low they lower their bet since the odds aren’t in their favor. This system takesa ton of practice, however it is a proven method to get an advantage over the casino in blackjack.

Card counting in casinos is a concept surrounded by misconceptions, with most people assuming it is a skill only mathematical wizards can pull off successfully. Blackjack and poker players are often assailed by questions regarding the big deal with counting cards, as well as its legality and workability.

Counting cards is really just a variation of basic strategies, not rocket science. It requires no mathematical prowess or photographic memory, even though mathematicians developed and established the first card counting systems. The actual counting is a skill average players master without a challenge; the difficult part is usually avoiding getting kicked out of a casino, though this is not a problem with online casinos.

It makes it possible for a Blackjack player to be at an advantage over the casino for a lengthy period of time, which means that overall, players that are counting cards will experience more wins than losses. This is only possible when the player knows when the odds of winning are in their favor, so they can bet more, and when the odds of losing the hand shift to the dealer. This is done by keeping track of the cards during the game.

How to Count Cards in Blackjack

Blackjack is a game of adversaries, with the player’s opponent being the house dealer. The game has many variations, but for standard Blackjack, the player aims at having a hand of cards totaling to 21 points without exceeding. The face value of all cards in the deck is considered to be their points, except for 10, Jack, Queen, and King, which are the Royals, each with a value of 10. The Ace can serve as a 10 or a 1, depending on the player’s decision.

To play, the dealer deals each player with two cards, face down, and two cards to themselves, with only one face down. The player is then able to see the exposed card and can speculate what the dealer’s hole card and hand value is.

In Blackjack, you should not expect to see the deck being shuffled except for that one time at the onset of the game. For players with extremely good memory, they can mentally mark every card they see, hand after hand, and then deduct the number of cards remaining in the deck as well as which ones have been dealt already. Following this deduction, a player can tell when it’s time to bet high or low. For instance, if only small cards have been revealed for a while, there is a great chance that Royals will be the next hand, and this may be the best time to bet high. On the other hand, if only large cards have been shown, betting low is the best option, and you can hit without worrying about a bust.

Why do Large Cards Favor the Player?

Before you venture into playing blackjack for real money, understand that the mix of cards in the deck influences the probability of your winning a hand. The probability increases when the mix has an abundance of large cards, such as Aces, 10s, Kings, Queens, and Jacks. When dominated by small cards, the odds remain in the dealer’s favor.

To understand how large cards shift the odds to the player’s favor, start by understanding that a mix full of large cards is likely to yield more Blackjacks. Even as the dealer also has the same chance of obtaining Blackjacks, the player’s Blackjack hand wins them a 3:2 bonus payoff.

Sometimes the dealer may end up with a stiff hand (such as 12 to 16), and at this point he has to draw. If large cards are the majority in the deck, it is more likely that the dealer will bust. However, the player’s situation when the deck is still rich in large cards is the contrary, as they are not obliged to draw on a stiff hand.

Players who double down in the large card mix usually make good. Likewise, when the dealer’s face card is weak, the player can get quite a lucrative pay by splitting the pair into two hands. On the other hand, there is more profit for dealers who hold stiff hands and draw from small card-rich decks.

How then does the player know if the deck is laden with large or small cards? This is where understanding the basics of card counting in Blackjack come in handy.

Basic Strategies of Card Counting

The basis of a card counting strategy is the odds that come with every card in the deck. However, when a hand has been played, the used cards are put by the dealer in the discard tray. The next hand is dealt with what remains of that deck. An estimated half or three-quarters of the same deck may end up being used before the cards are reshuffled.

Normally, card counting systems base their calculations for the odds of drawing a 10-value card on the cards still in the deck. When a player is able to keep track of the cards as they are played, deduction becomes easy. Keeping track of the cards is easiest done by assigning each card with a tag.

Tagging Cards

Hi-Low, the most popular system of counting cards, assigns a tag of +1 to the small cards favorable to the dealer (2-6). A tag of -1 is assigned to the player favorable cards, which are the large cards (10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace). A tag of 0 is assigned to the cards left (7, 8, and 9).

The player observes keenly as the cards are played and then discarded, and he continually adds their values. Zero is the starting point immediately after a shuffle, and the values fluctuate between positive and negative, the total being the running count. At the start of the first round, when the cards are faced, the player adds the tags. If, for instance, player #1 shows a 2 and 4, you add +1 tag for the 2 and +1 tag for the 4 to get a sum count of +2.

This addition of the card tags should continue for every card the player sees, increasing the count by 1 for small cards and decreasing by 1 for large cards. As the first round draws to a close, the running count will either be negative or positive. The player may have seen 10 (-1), 9 (0), 2 (+1), King (-1), Ace (-1), and Jack (-1) dealt in the first hand, in which case the count would be -3.

A negative running count indicates more high value cards have been played, and therefore, the deck is rich in small cards. At this point, the dealer will have the edge and the player bets the lowest amount allowed. The reverse is true of a positive running count: the discard tray contains many low value cards, which in turn means the deck still has a greater percentage of high value cards. This has a positive impact, as the next hand brings the odds in favor of the player, and the next bet he makes should be larger.

Considering a player bases his strategy on the assumption that a 10-value card will be dealt in the next hand, this assumption becomes stronger when it is backed by the greater percentage. This, therefore, strengthens the overall basic strategy.

Placing the Bet

A typical user of a card-counting system usually places a minimum bet against the table when the deck is still fresh. As the running count increases and gets to a particular level, like a +4 or higher, the system user doubles down aggressively or increases his bet significantly. The higher the running count, the larger the bet placed and vice versa.

These are the beneficial odds the player uses to make wins while the deck is still hot. When the count drops to less than a zero or the dealer shuffles the deck, it is high time to go back to the minimum bets.

This goes to show that card counting in Blackjack is simply adding each card’s tag as it is played, and it changes the amount you bet but not the rules of the basic counting strategy.

Putting Theory into Practice

As a player, you must put all you have learned so far into practice. Take a deck of cards and thoroughly shuffle them, after which you should turn each card over at a time, reciting its tag. If, for example, the first card is a 4, say “plus 1” and if the one that follows is a Jack, say “minus 1.” Do the same for the whole deck, so that you can be able to associate each card with its tag.

Next, flip the cards in the same deck over one at a time while making a mental note of the running count. If the first card is 3 and the next is 2, the running count is “plus 2.” If the third card is 8, the running count remains a “plus 2,” as the tag for 8 is 0. By the time you are done counting the entire deck, “zero” should be your running count. This is the test for card counting accuracy.

Success at card counting comes with the ability to make an accurate count down of a deck of cards in under 30 seconds. Other skills also come to play, which include the following:

• How to place a bet depending on the count.
• How to determine the amount of bankroll you need.
• When to stop using the basic playing strategy and make a deviation.
• How to play without indicating you have an edge.
• How to gauge risk of ruin.

How Legal is Counting Cards?

Card counting is not cheating, unless counting machines or devices are used. In spite of the many attempts by casinos to get laws criminalizing it passed, it remains legal. This means that winning a card game by employing a mental strategy or skillfully using the information you have is not an issue. You cannot really be stopped by anyone from counting cards in your head!

The problem comes in when the casinos, which are private establishments with the right to serve the customers they choose, deem a counting strategy cheating and believe a player to be counting cards. Such a decision could even stem from the fact that the player’s winning streak is so long that the casino begins to lose money. At this point, the player risks not only being thrown out of the casino they are playing at, but being blacklisted by other casinos as well.

Most brick-and-mortar casinos hire people with the training and experience for spotting players counting cards so as to boot them before the casino incurs significant loss. They also share a common network, and it is quite possible for a player barred from entering one casino under accusations of rigging a game to be given the same treatment in all casinos within the same link. Charges of trespass become inevitable if you go to these casinos after being blacklisted.

Blackjack strategy frequently asked questions

Do players have the best odds in blackjack?

The answer is yes. The odds normally depend on the rules of the game, as well as how skilled the player is. For instance, with Las Vegas Strip rules, in a single deck game where you play using the correct basic strategy, you are allowed to double after splitting and this gives you an advantage of +0.1 percent.

What does the term “Las Vegas rules” mean?

This is a term often used when comparing different variations of blackjack, and it refers to the variants with rules that are typical of Downtown Las Vegas. These include:

• Players are allowed to double down on their initial two cards.
• Players are allowed to re-split.
• The dealer can hit a soft 17.
• Insurance is allowed.
• The “Las Vegas rules” enhance the odds of the player slightly, as the dealer has to stand on soft 17.

What is meant by the correct basic blackjack strategy?

Blackjack has a single correct basic strategy, given the game’s basic rules. However, the strategy can vary slightly from game to game, as different casinos may offer different rules. The basic strategy can also be affected by the number of decks used in different blackjack variants.

What is the first step in learning how to win at blackjack?

There are many good books on blackjack that you can read. Learning the basic strategy perfectly is the first step towards a winning streak. As you read and practice this strategy, keep your bets in the casino at the minimum, and be wary of any promises of advantages exceeding 1.5 percent.

You should also keep off money management systems and progressive betting. You can even subscribe to reputable newsletters for the latest strategies. Most of all, be disciplined. This is your money at stake!

Which games are better: single deck or multi-deck?

The answer cannot be a certain yes or no. When having the same rules, there is a 0.5 percent to 0.6 percent disadvantage of the multi-deck game over the single deck game, with the difference between the two stemming from the impact of removing cards. The removal of one card in a shoe game has a negligible effect while in a single deck, the effect is big.

On the other hand, finding player-friendly conditions and good rules in multi-deck shoes is much easier. Therefore, single and double-deck games have an inherent advantage over multi-deck games, but they are also easily manipulated to the casino’s benefit.

What factors should be considered when evaluating a game of blackjack?

It depends. As a card counter, you look for the games that have the best conditions for best utilizing the card counting system. As a player who uses basic strategy, you look for single-deck games with the best options and rules. As a gambler, casinos with slow dealers, full and single-deck games, the least number of players, and liberal comp policies options are your best bet.

How “beatable” is blackjack really?

Blackjack is not just a fun game or brainteaser, but an investment opportunity that involves skill, knowledge, risk, and bankroll. You have to consider these factors every time you want to place a bet.

For a player with high skills but a small bankroll, he must settle for only a couple dollars in wins per hour, with the alternative being risk of financial ruin. Still, those are better chances than you’ll usually enjoy when playing online slot machines or roulette.

Does card counting increase the amount I win?

The most honest answer is that there is always a fair chance of losing money in blackjack, even with card counting skills. Your achievements largely depend on a combination of your skill level, amount of risk you are ready to take, bankroll, and the game quality.

When these factors are in the balance, you, hypothetically speaking, get a 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent long-term advantage. This means that over time, you can expect to bag about 1 percent of the total of your actions, although it does not in any way imply that you have a greater advantage in an individual circumstance or bet. So, if you are making $25 bets on average on each hand and each hour you play 75 hands, you can expect about $19 in wins every hour.

Beware, though, that this is not a given, considering expected variations.

Is card counting legal?

Yes. Card counting is purely a mental activity, and it is as legal as counting the money in your pocket using only your head. As long as you do not use blackjack counting machines and devices, there is no law that makes card counting skills illegal.

Some casinos do consider it cheating, though, and if suspected of counting cards, you may be asked to leave the casino.

What is the best system of counting cards?

Only robots can have a “best” card counting system, but for a human, you have a number of limitations when it comes to the ability to keep track of each and every card played. For multi-deck (shoe) games, all systems of card counting work within about one-tenth of one percent of each other.

For single deck variations, there can be a significant theoretical improvement when there is a balanced multi-level count that includes an ace side-count instead of single-level counts. The huge problem with such a counting system is that you run the risk of mental fatigue, which inadvertently results in error.

For most players the simplest system is the best, and rightly so. Simple card counting systems for multi-deck games include Zen, Hi-Lo, K-O, and Red-Seven systems, while those for single-deck games include Zen, Hi-Opt I, and Omega II systems.

Are there other ways to beat blackjack besides card counting?

Many years of playing and modifying blackjack have proven that card counting is the unparalleled method of beating the game.

Many casinos offer different variations of blackjack, which sometimes presents players with windows of opportunities to increase their wins. Other such factors on a blackjack game include comps, shuffle tracking, peeking, tells, front loading, sidebets, coupons, flashing, basing, warps, promotions, rules, mistakes, and new games.

Is cheating something to worry about?

In large and long-established casinos, you do not have to be concerned about cheating. With small, out of the way casinos, though, this may be a different case. Relatively speaking, single deck blackjack is one of the card games best known for easy cheating. With multi-deck shoes, there is usually physical evidence of rigging left behind.

As a player, it is up to you to know all the tactics used to cheat and stay on alert, so as to protect yourself. For instance, if you are playing single deck, look out for preferential shuffling by the dealer, which happens whenever the odds shift to the players’ advantage. It is better to just leave the game when you suspect anything shifty.

When is it advisable to take insurance?

As a player who uses the basic strategy, you shouldn’t think of taking insurance. The card counter is the only person who is usually aware when there is a profitable insurance bet. If the dealer deals you a Bblackjack and then he shows an ace, your simple answer should be “No, I will take my chances!”

Politely refuse to take even money, as you are at a greater advantage when your payoffs are 3:2 most of the time, instead of having to receive even money for every win you make.

What is the big secret to winning at blackjack?

To win at this game, you must have the knack for taking advantage of the situation. This means balancing your skills and knowledge with risk and bankroll factors. The ultimate secret, though, is dedication to blackjack and experience.

Blackjack etiquette

Long gone are the days you had to be sporting a tuxedo to be able to play blackjack in a brick and mortar casino. The advent of online blackjack has brought with it a very casual attitude to the game, such that there is no one to stop a player from placing a $1000 bet while sitting in their underwear.

Etiquette is, however, of the essence when playing live blackjack at a non-online casino.

Playing online blackjack does not come with as great a demand for proper etiquette as in a brick and mortar casino, but there are still expected table manners. Some players may prefer to have a bit of banter or chat with fellow players, while others may prefer silence as they play in order to concentrate on their game.

Every blackjack player is different and the blackjack table manners are put there to create a balanced and conducive atmosphere in the gaming room, whether online or off.

Talking at a blackjack table

Maintain silence if the other players or the dealer are not chatty. If you are an outrageously loud player, you may find yourself playing alone, as having a comment to make on every hand dealt can get on the nerves of others. This goes for live blackjack as well as the chat box of an online blackjack room.

Know how to play

Before you settle down for a new game at a land-based casino, make sure you understand all the rules of that game variation. There will typically be a small sign listing how the game is played at the side of the dealer at every table should you have a question.

There are also more game rules, which include the dealer’s expected action when on a hard, soft, or all 17s; insurance; bet details; and the payouts. It is only courteous to take time to learn the rules, so as not to drive fellow players crazy with unending questions like, “Can I double down this hand?” or “Can I split?”

Rules differ between games. If you are in a London casino, your cards are dealt face up, and you must never touch them even just once during the game. If at a Nevada casino, you are dealt your cards face down and can handle them, although it is wise to do this as little as possible.

Failure to follow rules can have you thrown out of the game and/or the casino altogether. And for both games, you make your bet before the round begins. After that, you do not touch your bet again. When you want to double down, you do not place this bet on top of your original bet, but rather beside it.

In case you wish to buy insurance, there is an area set aside on the table for making this type of bet. If it is absent, place the bet beside your original bet.

Respect other players

You should never treat the player who seats on the table’s last position as your enemy, even though every single move they make has a direct effect on the dealer’s hand. Blackjack is a game of respect and sophistication.

Do not abuse other players when the card they take leads to the dealer’s win. Oftentimes, this player is blamed by the others at the table for standing their hand or taking an extra card when a different decision would have caused the dealer to bust. Remember your decisions also impact the overall game.

Tipping the dealer

Tipping a blackjack dealer is allowed, but avoid getting carried away. If you are in the habit of flipping a chip to the dealer in every win you make, you should know it is your bankroll you are giving away, thus dramatically lowering your chances of making a bigger win.

It is wiser to wait for the time the dealers are shifting to offer your tip or after a big win.

Respect the dealer

Don’t take your anger out on the dealers if you are experiencing a losing streak, as they are only doing their job. Take a break rather or move to another table.

The purpose of this “blackjack for beginners” page is to
provide a detailed buy also easily understood introduction to
the game. Too many guides to the game get really complicated
really quickly. We’re going to avoid that here.

The first section covers the card game and how it works in
actual play. We follow that with an explanation of the
appropriate strategies for getting the best odds. Finally, we
conclude the page with some comments on advantage play and how
to get an edge over the casino.

Introduction to Blackjack

Blackjack is a card game played in casinos. You play against
the dealer, not the other players. Since this page is for
beginners, we’re going to go into a little bit of detail about
card games in general and how they work to star this off.

How a Traditional Deck of Cards Works

Blackjack uses a traditional deck of cards. (Actually it
often uses multiple decks, but we’ll go more into that later in
the page.) Here’s what you need to know about a traditional deck
of cards.

Let’s start with the suits. A traditional deck of cards has
52 cards total, but they’re of 4 different suits:

• Clubs
• Diamonds
• Hearts
• Spades

As you can see, the clubs and spades are colored black while
the hearts and diamonds are colored red. Every card of each suit
includes the symbol for that suit (i.e., all the cards that are
designated “hearts” have a heart symbol on them, all the cards
that are designated “diamonds” have a diamond symbol on them,
and so on).

Now let’s look at the ranks. A traditional card has 13 ranks,
as follows.

All the cards shown here are clubs, but each suit contains
one card of each rank. So there’s an ace of clubs, of diamonds,
of hearts, and of spades in every deck. There’s also a two of
each suit, and so on. The number or letter in parenthesis after
each ranking is the shorthand form that’s used to describe that
card when writing about blackjack.

The ace is the “1”, but it is also often considered the
highest card in the deck. It’s not just a “1”, in other
words—it’s an ace!

The jack, queen, and king are all called face cards.

Scoring in Blackjack

In blackjack, the suits only matter in certain rare
variations of the game. For the most part, you can almost always
ignore the cards’ suits. It is important to realize that there
are only 4 cards of each rank in the deck, though. (4 suits, 4
cards of each rank).

In blackjack, hands are given a score based on the ranks of
the cards in the hand. These scores are given as follows:

• Ace – Worth 1 or 11 points.
• Face cards – Worth 10 points.
• All other cards – Worth their rank in points.
  • For example, the 3 is worth 3 points, the 4 is worth
    4 points, and so on.

To calculate the score for a hand of blackjack, you simply
add the points up for all the cards in the hand. The hand with
the HIGHER total is the winner.

Notice we use the word “higher”, not “highest”. That’s
because you only use the superlative (“highest”) when comparing
3 or more items. In blackjack, you’re ALWAYS only comparing 2
hands’the player’s hand versus the dealer’s hand. Other hands
might be in play, but for purposes of calculating a win, there
are only 2 hands that matter.

There’s one other catch. Any hand with a total of 22 or
higher is considered a bust, which is a dead hand and
automatically loses immediately.

Why Blackjack Is THE Best Bet in the Casino

All casino games have a built in mathematical edge for the
house. Blackjack is no exception. But if you know how to play
well, the game has the lowest house edge in the casino.

It’s also one of the most fun games in the casino.

It’s expressed as a percentage. Over the long run (thousands
of hands), the house edge is the percentage of each bet that the
casino mathematically expects to keep. This number can range as
high as 40% for some games (like keno) to as low as 0.5% or less
for other games (like blackjack).

You’re playing slot machines, and these games are programmed
with a house edge of 15%. (They’re at the airport, which offers
some of the worst odds in town.) You’re playing for a dollar per
spin, and you’re making 600 spins per hour. That means you’re
putting $600 per hour into action.

15% of $600 is $90. That’s how much the casino expects you to
lose every hour while playing that game. That number takes into
account the occasional wins and payoffs you get. If you play
long enough, you will certainly go broke.

Any casino bet can be looked at in terms of an expected
hourly loss. This is how casinos make projections and plan their
floor space. They want to maximize the amount of revenue they
generate per square foot.

Roulette is another good example. The house edge for this
game is 5.26%. You’ll rarely find a roulette game which will
accept a bet of less than $5 per spin. Let’s assume you’re
playing at a roulette table where you’re able to place 60 bets
per hour. (Notice how much slower a game than slots roulette
is.)

60 bets per hour at $5 per bet is $300. 5.26% of $300 is
$15.78, which is your expected hourly loss. Even though the
house edge for this game is almost 1/3 that of the slot machines
we discussed earlier, and we’re placing bets that are 5x greater
than we were placing on the slots, we’re still losing a
considerably lower amount of money per hour. That’s because the
lower speed of the game limits your exposure.

When we say that blackjack offers a house edge of around
0.5%, we’re assuming a good set of rules options. Different
casinos and different tables within the same casino offer
different options to their blackjack games which affect the
house edge. For example, a game that uses 8 decks has a higher
house edge than a game which only uses one deck.

Assume you’re playing for $5 per hand. Let’s also assume that
you’re playing 100 hands per hour. You’re putting $500 into
action each hour—almost as much as when you were playing the
airport slot machines in the earlier example.

But you only expect to lose 0.5% of that. That means your
expected hourly loss is only $2.50.

Compare $2.50 with $90, or even with $15.78. It’s clear to
see which game offers the best odds.

And the other beautiful thing about blackjack is that you can
get an edge over the house through multiple advantage play
techniques. Most of these are too much trouble for the casual
blackjack player, but we’ll cover the basics of those later on
this page, too.

Blackjack Basics

Blackjack is played at a blackjack table, which usually seats
around 7 players on one side and a dealer on the other. You’ll
see some words printed on the table, or on a sign sitting on the
table. These words will usually include the following:

• Blackjack pays 3 to 2.
• Dealer must hit soft 17.
• Insurance pays 2 to 1.
• $5 minimum, $500 maximum.

Here’s what those phrases mean:

Blackjack pays 3 to 2

A blackjack is a 2 card hand that totals 21. That’s an
automatic winner, unless the dealer also has a blackjack. In the
latter case, the casino considers this result a push, so you
don’t lose or win any money. Your bet is returned to you.

But if you don’t have a push, you win, and your bet is paid
off at 3 to 2. So if you had placed a bet of $20, you’d receive
a payoff of $30.

On most blackjack hands, if you win, you’ll get paid off at
even odds. You bet $20 and win, you get a $20 payoff. But
blackjack almost always has a better payoff.

You’ll find many casinos which offer a 6 to 5 payout instead
of a 3 to 2 payout. That significantly changes the odds in favor
of the casino. Our recommendation is to avoid such games.

Dealer must hit soft 17

The dealer in a blackjack game has to play his hand in a
prescribed fashion. Hitting is one of the actions available to
both the player and the dealer. Dealers always stand (another
available action) on a hard 17 or higher and must always hit a
16 or lower.

This is a rules option that favors the casino, not the
player. It adds about 0.2% to the casino’s expected edge. We’ll
get into these terms and what they mean later in the gameplay
section.

If the dealer doesn’t hit a soft 17, the table will usually
read “Dealer must stand on all 17s or higher”.

Insurances pays 2 to 1

Insurance is an optional side bet on whether or not the
dealer has a blackjack. It’s considered a sucker bet by people
in the know, as the house edge is high. Dealers encourage
players to take this bet, but it’s best to skip it unless you’re
counting cards.

You bet $10. You get dealt your cards, and so does the
dealer. The dealer has a possible blackjack and offers you the
option of taking the insurance bet, which costs another $10. If
the dealer has a blackjack, you lose your original $10 bet, but
you win $10 on insurance, which results in a net loss of 0.

That sounds like a pretty good deal on the face of it, but
you have to also consider what happens when you lose the
insurance bet.

If the dealer doesn’t have a total of 21, you lose the $10
insurance bet. This is going to happen more than half the time.
Also, you still might lose on your main hand, which means you
have a greater than 50% chance of losing your insurance side bet
and your original bet.

You’re better off just skipping the insurance bet and just
playing your hand.

$5 minimum, $500 maximum

These refer to the minimum and maximum bets you can place at
this particular table. You’ll rarely find a casino which offers
a minimum bet of less than $5 anymore, although sometimes you’ll
find a game where you can bet $1 per hand—especially if you’re
playing online.

How to Play Blackjack

The dealer is a casino employee who deals the cards and runs
all the action at the blackjack table. He starts the game after
the players at the table place their bets.

Blackjack games use chips instead of cash. You’ll buy your
chips from the dealer. You lay the money on the table—you never
put it in the dealer’s hand. He’ll give you the chips in
exchange. You should buy your chips between hands—don’t try to
interrupt a hand that’s being played to get chips.

You place your bet by putting your chips in the designated
spot in front of your seat. It’s a circle drawn onto the table.
Once you and the other players have placed their bets, the
dealer starts the game.

The game begins when the dealer gives each player 2 cards. In
some casinos these cards are dealt face up; in others, they’re
dealt face down. The game plays out the same either way.

The dealer also deals himself a 2 card hand, but he deals
himself one card face up and the other card face down. This is
important, because that face up card gives the player a lot of
information about how she should play her hand.

Since you’re starting with a 2 card hand, the highest
possible total you could have is 21—that’s an ace (which counts
as 11) and a ten. That’s a blackjack, which usually pays off at
3 to 2.

If the dealer’s face up card is an ace, you’re given the
opportunity to take insurance. We talked about that side bet
earlier. It’s a sucker bet. Just say no, ever time, and you’ll
be fine.

Once all the cards are dealt, the dealer peeks to see if he
has blackjack. If he doesn’t, then the players get to decide how
to play their hands. You have several options, but 2 of those
options are the most important:

• Hitting
• Standing

Hitting

Hitting is when you take an additional card, increasing the
score of the hand. Remember that if your total goes to 22 or
higher, you bust and you lose. Hitting is almost always a
calculated risk.

Standing

Standing is when you decide to keep the hand you have and not
take any additional cards. This is also a calculated risk, as
the dealer might have a better hand than you do. He might also
hit his hand until he has a better hand than you.

Blackjack Strategy Trainer

Those are the 2 basic “moves” in this game. Taking cards or
not taking cards. Hitting or standing.

Later on this page, we’ll discuss how to make that decision
intelligently. There’s a single correct play for every situation
in blackjack mathematically, and that list of correct decisions
is called “basic strategy”. It’s easier to learn than you might
think, too.

Those aren’t the only 2 options you have, though. In some
situations, you have other choices, too. These include:

• Splitting
• Doubling down
• Surrendering

Splitting

Splitting can only be done if and when you have two cards of
the same rank. When you split a hand, you take each of the 2
cards from your hand and start 2 hands. You have to place an
additional bet in order to get that 2nd hand. These 2 hands are
played independently of each other. They also pay off
independently of each other.

You bet $10. You’re dealt 2 aces. You decide to split, so you
place an additional $10 bet.

You now have 2 hands. The first card of each of these hands
is an ace. The dealer gives you an additional card on each of
those 2 hands so that you have 2 2-card hands. You play each
hand independently, win or lose. It’s possible to win both, lose
both, or lose one while winning the other.

The basic strategy table we keep referring to includes a list
of all the possible hands that could be split, and provides the
mathematically correct decision about whether or not to split
based on the dealer’s upcard.

Doubling Down

Doubling down means that you’re placing an additional bet and
simultaneously agreeing to take one more (and ONLY one more)
card.

You bet $10. You’re dealt an 8 and a 3, so you have a total
of 11. You double down, putting $10 more into action. You’re
dealt a card worth 10, so you have a total of 21 with $20 in
action.

Surrendering

Surrendering is when you agree to give up half your bet and
just drop out of the hand. It’s comparable to folding in poker.
It’s the correct move in some rare situations. Some casinos have
early surrender, while others have late surrender.

In a casino which offers early surrender, you have the option
of dropping out BEFORE the dealer checks his hole card to see if
he has a blackjack. Casinos which offer early surrender are
giving up a good bit of their house edge, which is good for the
player. It’s a generous rules option. It’s also rarely found.

In a casino which offers late surrender, which is far more
common, you only have the option of dropping out AFTER the
dealer checks for blackjack. That means if the dealer has a
blackjack, you don’t have the option of surrendering at all.
Everyone at the table loses when the dealer has a
blackjack—unless you too have a blackjack, in which case you’ve
tied.

Here’s how the game plays out:

1. The players place their bets.
2. The dealer deals everyone’s hands.
3. The dealer checks for blackjack. If he has it, he collects his bets from all the players who don’t also have blackjack.
4. If the dealer doesn’t have blackjack, then the players who were dealt a blackjack get paid off 3 to 2.
5. Then the players get to play their hands, hitting, standing, splitting, doubling down, or surrendering, as the case may be. If at any point a player’s hand totals 22 or more, she loses her bet and is out of the action.
6. Once all the players have made all their decisions, the dealer plays his hand.
7. All the bets are settled finally.

How the Dealer Plays His Hand

Players can take any allowable action with their hands. If a
player has a total of 20 and wants to take a hit because she
feels lucky, then she’s allowed to do that.

But the dealer has to play his hand according to a prescribed
strategy based on the casino’s rules.

In all blackjack games, dealers always have to hit any total
of 16 or below, no matter what kinds of cards the players have.

Dealers also always stand on an 18 or higher.

The only difference is when the dealer has a soft 17. (A
“soft” 17 is a total of 17 that includes an ace. Since the ace
can count as 1 point or as 11 points, there are more
possibilities with that total than with some other totals.)

In some casinos, a dealer is required to hit a soft 17. In
others, the dealer is required to stand on a soft 17.

You’ll notice a couple of interesting things about these
rules for how the dealer has to play his hand.

The first is that the dealer always acts last, which is a
factor in the casino’s favor. Since a player loses her bet
immediately when she busts, she doesn’t have the chance to see
how the dealer’s hand plays out. You can bust out and lose even
if the dealer eventually busts out and loses. That’s because you
act first.

The next is that the dealer doesn’t get to make decisions.

Here’s an example of why that might matter:

You bet $10. You’re dealt a total of 15. The dealer has a 6
as his upcard.

You stand.

The dealer has you beat, but he can’t decide to stand. He
MUST take a hit because of the rules of the game.

He has a total of 16 as it turns out, but he deals himself a
10, so he busts.

You win $10.

If he were allowed to make decisions, he could decide to
stand on the total of 16. But he doesn’t have that option. This
gives a player what we like to call “a fighting chance”.

Blackjack Strategy for Beginners

The first thing to understand when thinking about blackjack
strategy is the difference between a hard hand and a soft hand.

A hard hand is a hand with no aces in it. It’s also a hand
with an ace in it where the ace has to count as 1, not 11, in
order to avoid going bust.

Think of a hard hand in blackjack as a hand with no wiggle
room.

You’ll play hard hands differently from soft hands, for
reasons which will soon become obvious.

A soft hand, on the other hand (ahem), is a hand with an ace
in it which can count as either a 1 or as an 11. The total used
is the higher of the 2 options, but you have some wiggle room in
case you’re dealt a high value card.

Here are 2 examples of hard hands:

You have a jack and a 5. That’s a hard total of 15.

You have an 8, a 3, and an ace. That’s a hard total of 12.
(If you count the ace as 11, you have a total of 22, which would
make you bust.)

Here are 2 examples of soft hands:

You have a 9 and an ace. You have a “soft total” of 20. You
COULD take a hit here without going bust. The highest value card
you could receive would be worth 10, which would still leave you
with a total of 20.

You have a 5 and an ace. You have a “soft total” of 16. You
could take a hit here, too, and it would be impossible for you
to bust. Even if you were dealt a 10, which is the highest value
card in the game, you could just count the ace as 1 and avoid
going bust.

When deciding how to play each hand, you’ll take into account
whether it’s hard or soft.

The second thing you need to understand about blackjack
strategy is the importance of the dealer’s up card. You’ll look
at the dealer’s up card to see how likely you think it is that
the dealer will go bust.

The “breaking point” for the dealer’s up card is between the
6 and 7. When the dealer has a 6 or lower showing, you will
generally play your hand more conservatively, because the dealer
is more likely to go bust. When the dealer has a 7 or higher
showing, you will generally play your hand more aggressively,
because the dealer is more likely to wind up with a high total
that you’ll have to beat.

When reading pages about “common blackjack myths”, you’ll
occasionally see people complain about the idea of assuming that
the dealer has a 10 in the hole. And it’s true that your
strategy won’t always be correct if you assume that.

But the reality is that there are more cards in the deck
worth 10 than any other value. You have 16 cards out of 52 which
are worth 10 points, so the chance that the dealer has a 10 in
the hole is usually 30.7%. That’s almost 1/3 of the time.

But you should also consider that cards of 7, 8, and 9 are
often in the hole, too. So if the dealer has a 6 or lower
showing, he has a good chance of having a total of 16, 15, 14,
or 13. All of those hands are apt to go bust when the dealer
takes a hit.

Because there’s always an excellent chance of the dealer
getting dealt a 10 on the next. Heck, with any of those totals,
even an 8 or a 9 is going to bust the dealer.

That’s why the correct strategy, when you have a hard total
of between 12 and 16 versus a dealer’s 6 or lower, is almost
always to stand. You want to stay in the game to maximize your
chances of still being in the game when the dealer busts.

There are exceptions to this. A lot of times, if you have
total of 12 or 13, you’ll take a hit against the dealer—not
always, but some of the time.

At the same time, if the dealer has a 7 or higher showing,
he’s likely to have a 10 in the hole, which means he’s
going to stand on a pretty good hand.

That’s why, if you have a hard total of 16, if the dealer is
showing a 7, you should take a hit. Even though you’re likely to
go bust, it’s more likely that the dealer has a hand total of 17
or better, and he’ll beat you if you stand on that 16.

There are exceptions to all these rules, but these are the
considerations and thought processes that go into creating a
correct basic strategy for the game.

The dealer’s up card will also inform your decisions about
splitting and doubling down. These will also often assume that
the cards you don’t see have a value of 10.

Here’s an example:

Here’s why:

If you have a pair of aces, you basically have a total of
soft 12. If you take a card, and you get a 10, you now have a
hard total of 12, which is not a great hand.

But if you split the aces, you have a chance of getting a 10
as the 2nd card of each of your 2 new hands. That gives you the
opportunity to get 2 blackjacks, in fact. That’s an obvious good
decision.

If you have a pair of 8s, you have a hard total of 16, which
is likely to go bust if you hit it. It’s also likely to lose if
the dealer doesn’t bust. It’s just a lousy hand.

On the other hand, if you split those 8s, you have a chance
of getting 2 hands totaling 18. That’s a respectable total that
has a good chance of beating the dealer even if he doesn’t go
bust.

Here’s another example:

Let’s just look at one of those examples.

You’re dealt a pair of 5s, so you have a hard total of 10.

If you split that hand, you have 2 new hands, each of which
starts with 5. If you’re dealt a 10, you’ve got 2 hands of 15,
which are lousy hands. They’ll get beat most of the time if you
stand on them, and they’ll bust most of the time if you hit
them.

On the other hand, if hit a hard total of 10, a good
percentage of the time you’ll get dealt a 10 or an ace, in which
case you have a total of 20 or 21. Either of those hands is a
likely winner against most dealer hands.

Doubling down is also fun, but it’s a move you’ll probably
only get to make rarely. If you have a total of 10 or 11, you’ll
almost always double down. In fact, the only time you WON’T
double down is if and when the dealer has an ace showing. In
that case, the dealer has such a high chance of winning that it
isn’t worth getting the money into action.

Doubling down on other totals makes sense sometimes, although
many casinos restrict the totals that you’re allowed to double
down on to 9, 10, or 11. But if you can double down on a hard
total of 8 against a dealer 5, you should do so.

Most people learn a complete basic strategy using a chart or
a table. In fact, you can buy such a chart or table in the
casino gift shop and use it while you play. As long as you’re
not slowing down the game, the casino doesn’t mind. After all,
using the correct basic strategy doesn’t eliminate the casino’s
edge or even give you an edge. It just reduces the house edge to
a more reasonable level.

We’re fans of learning basic strategy a little more
holistically. You can visit our basic strategy page for a text
version of basic strategy which explains some of the reasoning
behind some of the decisions.

Either way, keep in mind that game conditions do affect the
correct strategy in certain situations. You can find
customizable basic strategy generators that take into account
the rules in place where you’re playing. If you don’t bother
with these customizations, you’re not giving up much to the
house.

In fact, the most dedicated basic strategy players don’t stop
with basic strategy. They start getting interested in advantage
play techniques. We offer an introduction to advantage player
for beginners in the next section.

Advantage Play for Beginners

“Advantage play” is a phrase used in the gambling niche to
describe a method of gambling that puts the edge on the side of
the player. These techniques are distinct from cheating, as they
don’t go outside the prescribed rules or game conditions. The
most commonly known advantage play technique in gambling is
counting cards in blackjack.

This entire page is aimed at beginners, so learning how to
count cards might seem like an advanced topic. But we’re only
providing an introduction to the subject here. We have extensive
sections on how to count cards and get an edge in blackjack
elsewhere on the site. You can review those pages when you’re
ready.

Some people think that counting cards is beyond what their
puny brains can handle, but we can attest that even the puniest
of minds (ours included) can learn how to count cards in
blackjack. That’s because you don’t really have to memorize
which cards have been played.

Card counting uses a heuristic system for determining the
ratio of high cards to low cards in the deck. When the deck has
a relatively large number of high cards in it, a card counter
raises her bets. When it has a relatively low number of high
cards, a card counter lowers her bets.

Think about which hands offer the biggest payout—the
blackjack. The ace and the 10 are required to get a blackjack,
and those are the 2 highest cards in the deck. If a deck had
lots of aces and 10s compared to lower cards, you’d have a
better chance of getting that 3 to 2 payout, wouldn’t you?

Think about it this way. If you’re playing blackjack, and all
the aces have already been dealt, your odds of getting a
blackjack are 0%. That means you won’t see a 3 to 2 payout until
the deck gets re-shuffled.

Card counter have simple and complicated ways of tracking
this ratio. Most of them use a simple count called the “hi lo”
count. It works like this:

• Every time you see an ace or a 10, you subtract 1 from
  the count.
• Every time you see a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, you add 1 to the
  count.

If the total count is highly positive, you bet more. If it’s
negative or 0, you bet the table minimum.

This might seem like it’s hard to do, and it is, but it’s
achievable with practice. We recommend practicing extensively at
the kitchen table before trying to count cards at the casino. If
they think you’re counting cards, they’ll start shuffling every
hand, eliminating the possibility of getting an edge.

They might even ask you to stop playing blackjack there.

Some casinos even ban card counters from the premises
altogether.

That’s why card counters use a technique called “camouflage”.
They make sure to not look like they’re paying attention.
They’ll sometimes make basic strategy mistakes. They’ll tip the
dealers. They won’t stay at the same casino or at the same table
for more than an hour or 2 at a time.

If you can’t play, you can’t get an edge, by definition. So
get good at counting cards without looking like you’re counting
them if you want to try it.

Max Rubin, the author of Comp City, suggests using just
enough card counting plus basic strategy to play at even odds
with the casino. You don’t even need to get an edge over the
casino, because you’ll get rewards from the casino just for
playing. You’ll also be less likely to risk getting banned or
barred.

Other advantage gambling techniques exist for blackjack, but
they’re beyond the scope of an introduction to blackjack for
beginners. Go to the appropriate page on our site for details on
other advantage blackjack techniques like shuffle tracking, hole
carding, and dealer tells.

Conclusion

Blackjack is the best game in the casino for multiple
reasons, even if you’re a total beginner. With just a little bit
of practice, it’s the easiest card game to learn how to play
besides War. But the house edge is so much better than War that
it would be silly to ever even try War.

Also, blackjack is one of the few games in the casino which
offer players “agency”. That’s a fancy word that philosophers
use to describe having some control over the outcome of your
activity. When you’re playing slot machines, you put your money
in and passively wait to see if you’ve won. When you’re playing
blackjack, you’re making decisions on every hand which increase
or decrease your chances of walking away a winner.

It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and offers the best odds in
the casino. You can even learn how to get an edge over the
casino if you’re dedicated to studying some simple advantage
gambling techniques like card counting.