Blackjack. Remarkably, one word conjures up so much excitement. Many of us have played blackjack before, and some of us are pretty skilled at this casino card game.

If you are looking for solid advice on how to play blackjack well, you’ve come to the right place. What does blackjack mean? It has nothing to do with ‘black’ jacks – at least not today. The eponymous card game is all about beating the dealer’s hand total. Contrary to popular belief – you don’t need 21 to win a game of blackjack. If the dealer stands on 17 and you’ve got 18 – you win!

Tip #1 –A player hand total that beats the dealer’s hand without exceeding 21 wins.

If only it was that simple. It’s not easy beating the dealer’s hand total because the dealer acts after the player. What does that mean? Well, two cards are dealt to the player and dealer in turn. Only one of the dealer’s cards is dealt face up. The player makes decisions based on the dealer’s up card. If the player busts, the dealer doesn’t have to act.

Consider the following dealer hand and player hand:

• Dealer – Ace up card
• Player – 7 of Hearts + Jack of Spades

Should the player stand on 17 or hit? It’s a gamble, right? Fortunately, blackjack players can rely on statistical tables and solid blackjack strategy to make decisions. When the dealer’s upcard is an Ace, the player may wish to take insurance to guard against a dealer’s blackjack. The insurance bet costs the player 50% of the original bet. It’s known as a blackjack side bet. If the player is correct, and the dealer has blackjack, the player receives a payout of 2:1.

Assuming your original bet is $20, the insurance bet will cost you $10 and pay $20 if you win. Your original bet costs you $20 + $10 insurance for a payback of $30 ($20 winnings + $10 insurance bet). Unfortunately, insurance bets are never advised. Over the long-term, you are gifting the casino a 3% edge over you

Let’s take a look at why this is known as a sucker bet. If the dealer has an Ace showing, 4 X 10-value cards can make a blackjack. They include 10, Jack, Queen, King. That’s a 4/13 chance of scoring a blackjack. However, the odds of an insurance bet are 1 in 3. The deception is in the numbers. 4/13 = 30.8% chance of the dealer making blackjack. The payout of 33.3% a.k.a 2 to 1 is far less than 9 to 4. In other words, you’re less likely to win this bet so you should get paid out more than 2 to 1, but that other casino makes its money!

Tip #2 – avoid insurance bets, they are sucker bets

Now let’s take a look at some basic card counting in blackjack. This isn’t going to work with online blackjack games since computer software generates random outcomes for every play. You can thank RNGs (random number generators) for that. How do players count cards at the table? It’s probably something you’ve thought of doing but aren’t quite sure how to go about. There are many different ways to do this, but the simplest way is with +1, 0, and -1 values assigned to different groups of cards. Take a look at this:

• Card values 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 – assign a value of +1
• Card values 7, 8, 9 – assign a value of 0
• Card values 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace – assign a value of -1

The trick is knowing what to do with your running count. When you have a high positive value such as +4, +5, +6, what does that tell you? It means that there are fewer low-value cards in the deck. It also means that the probability of a high-value card coming up on the next deal is greater. A high count favors the player. Now, assume the count is high negative such as -4, -5, -6. This time, high-value cards are less likely to come up. This increases the casino’s advantage.

As a player, you should always increase your bets when the true count rises. When the count is negative or neutral, you should decrease your bets because you’re more likely to lose. It’s not cheating, it’s 100% legit.

Tip #3 – increase your bets with an increasing true count and decrease your bets with a negative true count