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Blackjack is a game that may look simple on the outside, but beneath the surface, you’ll find that it’s all about odds and making the correct mathematical decisions. It’s easy to let your intuition take over and base your decisions at the table on that. To be able to play perfectly and master blackjack, it is, however, crucial to understand what the odds are for every scenario you face and only base your decisions on those odds. It’s important to be aware of how the house is getting an edge in the game and what advantages us players have to our disposal, which can be used to lower the house edge.
In the following article, we’ll be covering the basics for the optimal blackjack strategy, known as basic strategy, which makes it possible to lower the house edge a great deal. We’ll take a look at how the house is getting its edge; what our own advantages are; give a few examples on the odds on certain outcomes and show you how basic strategy is applied at the tables. The goal is to create a good understanding of the importance of odds and how the use of basic strategy can help you improve your game when you’re playing for real money.
Understanding blackjack odds and house advantages will help you decide how to choose the best possible type of online blackjack. Read all about online blackjack odds and house advantages.
If you understand what your odds are when playing online blackjack, you’ll also be able to tell how to maximize your chances. And you’ll also start to realize what facets of the game affect those odds.
Online blackjack players may get into the game without much planning. Maybe you’ve played a little casino blackjack and want to have some fun online. Or you could be new to blackjack and want to try it where there’s less pressure.
Still, you should always look at online gambling as you would an investment. Learn as much as possible about the potential of that investment. Understanding online blackjack odds and house advantages is a great way to start that process.
In this article, we’ll explain the concepts behind online blackjack odds and the house advantage. We’ll talk about how you can control the odds in some respect by knowing what factors affect it. And we’ll also answer some of the most popular questions people ask about these concepts.
You’ll sometimes hear it called the house advantage or the house edge, but it refers to the same thing. Basically, the vast majority of casino-type games are stacked against the player over the long run. This is how casinos and online gambling sites stay in business.
Some games have bigger house advantages than others, based on the rules and built-in odds. The good news about the online blackjack house edge is that it’s one of the lowest among most casino games. That’s part of the reason why it’s so popular.
House edge is always measured as a percentage and is the inverse of the player’s payback percentage. If a specific game yielded a percentage of 100% exactly, you could be expected to break even playing it over the long haul. That makes the house advantage zero.
There are very few real money casino or online casino games that come in at a payback percentage of 100% or better. If you want to calculate the house edge all you have to do is subtract the actual percentage of payback from 100.
For example, imagine a game that is listed with a 98% payback percentage. The house edge would thus be 100 minus 98, which is 2%. Think of it this way—the lower the online blackjack house advantage, the better it is for the player.
This figure doesn’t include loyalty rewards you might earn from casinos or top gambling sites. If you can find a game with a very low house edge (ideally less than 1%) and consistently earn these rewards, you can make a profit in the long run.
Assuming standard rules and a player who knows how to make the right decisions in every circumstance using basic strategy, you can expect a payback percentage of around 99.5% to 99.6% for online blackjack. That means an online blackjack house edge or around 0.4% to 0.5%, which is very small. That sounds great, right?
Well, as we’ll explore, you won’t always be able to get standard rules in the online blackjack games that you play. The other key part of is the one about the player using strategy.
If you go into your online blackjack game without learning the basic strategy about when to hit, stand, double, split, and so on, your percentage will drop and the house edge will rise. That’s why you should always prepare by learning proper strategy beforehand, which we’ll discuss more below.
Here are some of the rule variations that will help you determine the online blackjack games with the best odds:
For the most part, the odds for online and offline blackjack are moreso affected by the rules listed above than anything else. The big difference in the two is created by the fact that card counting, which can give an expert player an advantage, is extremely difficult in online blackjack.
Card counting only works when a lot of cards are out of play. But computer dealers reshuffle decks after every hand in online blackjack. That keeps all cards in the decks constantly in play and eliminates any house edge reduction from card counting.
You might be able to find some online blackjack games using live dealers. Unfortunately, even these games feature much more frequent shuffling than you would find in a casino. Therefore, the card counting edge you might gain is pretty much minimal to nonexistent.
As we mentioned above, it’s crucial to play online blackjack with proper strategy. Many people go into the game with homemade strategies that are actually hurting their chances to win. The more mistakes you make while playing online blackjack, the higher the house advantage becomes.
For example, one basic strategy that beginners use is one where they assume that the dealer’s hidden card has a value of 10 when making their decisions about whether to hit or stand. The problem is that, in actuality, the dealer has a less than 1 in 3 chance of having a card with a value of 10 hidden.
You’re better off taking the time to learn proper online blackjack basic strategy as devised by experts. This should lower the house edge a few percentage points.
That might not seem like much. But when you’re playing many hands per hour, it can start to mean several dollars at a time, maybe more depending on the size of your bets.
In most cases, when people are talking about advanced strategy in blackjack, they are talking about card counting. An expert card counter can often bring up payback percentage two points or so, which can make the difference between profit and loss.
As we said above, however, card counting is pretty much worthless in online blackjack. One other advanced strategy that might help improve online blackjack odds bases your decisions about how to play the hand on the numerical value of each card, rather than the total value.
In other words, if you had a 13 that was comprised of a 10 and a three, you might be advised to play it differently than if you had a seven and a six. This strategy can shave a hair off the house edge, less than a percentage point. Yet even small advantages like that can help if you’re going to be a long-term online blackjack player.
It isn’t so much the online casinos you choose that affects the online blackjack odds. Instead, it’s more important which rules they use.
You might find certain online gambling sites with different variations even within the single site. The bottom line is knowing which rules work in your favor and yield the best online blackjack house edge.
You have to find the right set of online blackjack rules to lessen the house edge. But you also have to play with correct strategy.
If you’re a bit confused about the game you’re playing, that will lead to bad decisions. And those bad decisions will likely eliminate any edge you might have gained from the favorable payback. It would be better for you to play a standard game and play it well.
Not nearly as much. If you’re only going to be a part-time online blackjack player, luck will be more of a factor in your results than any mathematical house edge.
Once you start playing on a regular basis, you should be trying to keep the house edge as low as possible. Over the long term, your results will be determined by the mathematical characteristics of the game once the luck evens out.
We hope that you now have a good handle on what online blackjack odds and house advantages are all about. And we especially hope that it leads to you choosing your game wisely and making the most of your online blackjack play.