Blackjack Rules And Odds
Blackjack is one of the most played card games at the casino. The rules of this popular game are very easy to understand and the unique combination of skill and chance makes it very attractive to casino players the world around.
The objective of Blackjack is to create a hand that is higher in value than the dealers hand or closest to 21 without going bust.
Whilst the objective is the same regardless of the variant, there are hundreds of Blackjack variations that can increase or decrease the house’s edge over the player.
Whilst there is no such thing as a perfect Blackjack strategy, there is a basic strategy that can be implemented that will reduce the casinos edge to less than 1%, which is another reason the game is so popular.
To help negate this, casinos offer a number of variations that increase their edge and therefore their long term profits.
One of the most common variants in the game is the number of card decks used. Some online casinos offer a popular variant called “Single Deck Blackjack“.
In this variation of Blackjack the casino has an advantage over the players of only 0.17%.
The disadvantage of this blackjack variation is that you will generally find a number of additional rules that help the casino.
In comparison a Blackjack game played with four decks of cards has a casino edge of 0.6% and if you play the most common variant of Blackjack which uses 8 decks of cards, the house edge increases to 0.66%
One common variation of the rules in many online casinos is that players can only split Aces once.
The reason for this is that if players were allowed to Hit after splitting Aces, this would effectively lower the house edge by 0.13%. If you consider that the house’s advantage is only 1% then this is a meaningful reduction.
However, most casinos allow a player to “double-down” on a split pair, other than aces, even though this gives a 0.12% advantage to the player.
The largest variation will occur whenever you’re dealt a natural blackjack hand.
You can expect this to happened in about 4.8% of all hands played. So deviating from a typical 3:2 payout for natural blackjack will massively swing the odds in the casino‘s favour.
A 6:5 payout reduces the player’s edge by 1.4% whilst some casino who only payout 1:1 do so to give themselves a huge 2.3% edge.
Before you start playing blackjack for real money, it is advisable to first have a look at rules of the blackjack variation you want to play and check the advantage that the casino has over you.
In an ideal world, you should be playing online a blackjack game that features four decks of cards, the dealer must stand on a soft 17, late surrender is available, you’re allowed to double-down after splitting, you’re allowed to double on any two cards and pays out at 3:2 for natural blackjack.
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