Blackjack Tips
If you’re new to playing blackjack and you’re looking for some blackjack tips then we’ve put together some general pointers here that you might find helpful. Blackjack is a casino game – one of the most classic casino table games there is – and the object of the game is pretty simple to understand. However, how you can win playing blackjack online can be difficult to wrap your head around if you’re new to online gambling and playing online blackjack real money at an online casino. You don’t ever want to head into a live betting scenario not really knowing what you’re doing. You’re less likely to enjoy playing the game and we want all of our US players to have fun, win big, and make the most of their experience playing with us.
Along with blackjack and blackjack tips, we also offer our players a range of online slots real money. Our online slots include Keno slots – America’s favorite lottery-style game – as well as the rest of the casino classics like craps and baccarat online. If you want to play baccarat for the first time but you’re not sure of the rules then load your game in ‘Practice Mode’ first. All of our games, including Pai Gow Poker and American Roulette, can be loaded in this special mode before you play. You’re not playing for money while you’re practicing so it’s a great way to learn how to play craps, blackjack, etc.
Basic Blackjack Tips
The object of any version of blackjack real money is to reach 21 points as quickly as possible. Any more than 21 points and you’ve busted, losing the bet. Less than 21 points can be a win if your dealer busts. There’s no real one way of arriving at a winning hand in blackjack and winning blackjack is more about just your points. It’s about understanding what kind of bets you can make and how to make the game work for you. That’s why we’ve put together this list of blackjack tips – to help you understand how to make this classic of all the Vegas games work for you, the blackjack player, and make you as much money as possible.
Blackjack is traditionally played with a standard 52-card deck – or a few of them, depending on the version that you’re playing – and the point value of the cards are as follows: face cards equal 10 points, an ace is worth either 1 point or 11, all other cards are worth their face value. “Blackjack” is to achieve a 2-card hand that equals 21 points exactly. When you play blackjack, you play against your live dealer who is also trying to achieve 21 points on their own hand. A hand exceeding 21 is an automatic loss, otherwise known as a ‘bust’.
Thanks to online casinos like ours, you can not only play standard and traditional blackjack online, but a whole host of other variations as well. At Slots.lv, we offer all of our players' Single Deck and Double Deck Blackjack, as well as a range of other variations, including Perfect Pairs. Most casino blackjack tables at a live venue do not offer players the chance to play with a single deck of cards. To counter the loss of some of the house edge a bit, you’re often offered a 6-5 payout for landing a blackjack when you’re playing with only a single deck.
Other kinds of single deck options that you might have seen available include The New Blackjack and 21 Blackjack Classic. The first version is a bit slicker and has been designed specifically for playing online. It offers players a much clearer gaming interface and only buttons when you need them. 21 Blackjack Classic is more in line with something you would see on the tables in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Whether you’re looking for more of a game interface or you’d prefer a more of classic casino-style playing space, both are available for your playing pleasure.
Blackjack variants can also include regional games like European Blackjack which restricts doubling to hard totals of 9 to 11 and the dealer will stand soft on 17. In Perfect Pairs, there is the ability to make a side bet which will pay out 25-1 when you land any pair on your initial 2 card hand. The final type of blackjack you might have come across is Zappit Blackjack which actually eliminates hands of 15, 16, and 17 with the use of the ‘zap’ button. Because of the decreased house edge, dealer scores of 22 in Zappit Blackjack do not mean the dealer busted and results in a push instead. A push is a tie between you and the dealer and if the hand results in a push then your bet is returned.
Of course, if you’re entirely new to the world of online card games and playing blackjack then not a lot of what we just explained may mean much to you. We have some useful information available on our blackjack strategy page which goes into a little more detail but while you’re here we’ll show you a bit about how to win when you play blackjack, what a hole card is and why card counting became so popular in the 1960s.
Like any other card game, including Pai Gow Poker or even video poker (which is an exciting mesh of poker strategy and scoring with online slots and quick fire wins), you will be asked to make your bet before your cards are dealt. Once all bets are placed, the dealer will deal you two cards, usually face up but it depends on the game, and then deal two for themselves. What you want to achieve straight away is blackjack which is two cards totaling 21 points. If you don’t have 21 yet, then you have some options. The first option to take another card or, as it’s also known, to ask the dealer to hit you. If you hit on your hand and your new card takes you over 21 then you have busted or lost the hand and it’s time for the next round of play.
If you don’t choose another card straight away then you are choosing to stand, which is to receive no more cards and wait to see if the current total you have so far will beat your dealer. If you’re not able to achieve 21 points, then the hand that is closest to 21 will win. In some versions of online blackjack games, the dealer is required to stand on a soft hand of 17. A soft hand is a hand is when the dealer has an ace, or you have ace. It’s called ‘soft’ because an ace can have a value or either 11 or 1 point, depending on what else has been drawn, unlike the hard values of other cards in the deck. Whether the dealer will stand on a soft hand depends on the version of the game and before you start playing, always check the blackjack rules.
To double down is to double your original bet and take only one more card. You’ll want to do this when you’re very sure of the result you’re most likely to receive. Not all versions of blackjack will be the same when it comes to doubling down. Again, double-check the rules of the version that you’re playing to make sure that you understand what you can and can’t do, and when. For example, doubling down in European Blackjack is restricted to only hard totals of 9 to 11 (which do not include an ace as the ace card has potentially two different values).
When you do have an ace then you’ll want to think about a split. Splitting your hand is possible when you draw two cards of equal value and its basically doubling your chances of achieving blackjack by separating your first draw into two draws. Splitting a hand with an ace is a great blackjack tip as the ace has that soft value, capable of being either 1 point or 11 points.
When you split your hand, the dealer will split your two cards and deal you a new one on the first hand. You play that hand all the way to a win or a bust and then the dealer switches to the second hand and you play that out as you normally would. Splitting aces results in only one other card drawn on that hand. Doubling after splitting may be permitted but ensure you take careful note of this rule whenever you’re playing because it’s a big advantage to the player. Once again, check the rules of play before you start betting.
All new blackjack players should be aware of the early surrender which stops the hand and returns half of your original bet. This is a great option if you’re concerned about your hand, especially if you have overplayed a hand that doesn’t look so hot anymore.
Our final bit round of blackjack tips are about counting cards. Card counters keep track of the visible cards already played and then they bet strategically based on the hole cards (the ones that aren’t visible and have yet to be dealt). New players can sometimes be tricked into thinking that card counting is easy and always successful, guaranteeing the player huge chances of winning. It’s not easy and you have to be willing and able to bankroll a significant number of hands for your strategy to actually payoff. It’s not a case of simply sitting down and then walking away with winning hand after winning hand.
Don’t forget to check out our slots real money options for a break between blackjack hands!
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