Improve your Blackjack game today

By Daniel Johnson

It is a well known fact that when playing Blackjack against the house the odds are not in your favour. This is often the case regardless of your skills because casinos normally use a six card deck. However, there are a few things that you can do which will significantly increase your chances of winning.
The first thing to do at any casino, whether land based or online, is to find a table where you can afford the minimum bet. On the internet this will not be a problem as there are many sites where blackjack games start for as little as $0.10, however, at a land casino you'll find the figure is higher at around $15.

After finding a table which you can comfortably afford you can start executing your strategy. There is a basic two stand strategy which is recommendable. The first part is to get the highest card value possible (obviously 21 is best) and the second part is to force the dealer to go bust. The dealer will always have one card revealed and as they must stay on 17, you can force them to draw if the revealed card is three, four or five. For example, if your cards are worth anything between 12 and 15 and the dealer is showing a five, do not draw another card, let the dealer draw.
Splitting in blackjack is also an important feature of the game. Aces should always be split as should eights and nines (if the dealer is showing a nine). It is not recommended to split 4s or 5s. Be cautious with splitting as it can cost you a lot of money, as can doubling. You should double if you're expecting a ten, but don't if the total value of your cards is below 8.