If you’re new to blackjack, or even if you’re a seasoned player, it’s important to know and utilize various blackjack strategies in order to improve your chances of winning. There’s no surefire way to guarantee a win every time, but using the right strategy can help tip the odds in your favor.
Here are five blackjack strategies that you need to learn right now in order to improve your game:
Don’t Forget the Basics
Before we delve further into those strategies, let’s talk about the basics of how to play blackjack first. In the game, you will be dealt with two cards face up. The dealer will also get two, but one of them will be face down.
Your task would be to have a hand that is as close as possible to 21 without going over. If your hand is unsatisfactory, you can hit it, and you will be given another card. If you’re content with your hand, you can go for a stand. In this game, the aces are worth 1 (or, in some rule variations, they are worth 11), and the face cards are worth 10. Now that you are familiar with the basics, here are some strategies you can use.
Martingale System
This strategy is widely used in most games in the casino. However, it’s mostly used in both blackjack and roulette. That said, if you want to play roulette online or perhaps blackjack, you can use the Martingale system to have more profit. With this strategy, you need to profit from your initial wager, no matter how many lost hands you got.
For example, let’s say your initial wager is $10. If you win with that bet, you’ve already succeeded with the martingale system by having your first bet guaranteed. You can then restart the system.
However, if you lose, the system states that you need to double down your next bet to try and recoup your loss. That would be $20. If you still lose that, you need to double down again. You need to double down every time you lose, as winning once would make you take back all of your losses. In short words, it’s a glorified way of chasing your losses.
1326
This progressive strategy can help you maintain control over your bankroll. In this strategy, you will follow a sequence of several units, namely 1326. It’s implied that you are likely able to win the first two in the sequence and lose the third. But if you win the third, the strategy tells us that you should put all your profit in the current sequence. Still with us? Let’s have a scenario.
Let’s say that your unit is worth $10. If you win your bet with a single unit, you need to increase your bet to three units, which is $30. If you can still win that, you must put all your profit from the current sequence in your bankroll and only proceed to bet two units.
If you’re still winning with that, you must put all your profit in the last part of the sequence, which would be $60. If you’re able to win with those units, you need to restart the current sequence and go back to only betting a single unit.
Strong Dealer
This one delves more into how the game is played. In this strategy, if the dealer’s upcard is 10, 9, or 8, then you should assume that their hand is 20, 18, or 19. In this situation, you need to take the chance if your hand has the possibility of having a better hand than those numbers. Standing on 16 or 17 would be a losing hand for you.
Weak Dealer
On the other hand, if the dealer has an upcard that has either 6, 5, 4, or 3, you can assume that their hand would end up with 13-16. This is dangerous for the dealer since if they do end up having a hand between 13-16, they would need to hit, which gives them a high possibility of busting.
With that in mind, if you have a hand that is at least higher than 11, then you should be safe. Don’t risk busting yourself in this situation.
Double Down
This correlates with the weak dealer strategy. You see, if the dealer has a weak hand, you can choose to double down to increase your winnings. It’s often recommended only to double down if your hand is at least more than 12.
Final Words
Blackjack is a simple game, but you would be astounded about how many strategies you can use to make your night profitable with blackjack. If you’re still a newbie to blackjack in the casino, we recommend you try at least one of the strategies we laid out for you today.
