Blackjack House Edge Without Basic Strategy
Club USA Casino Blackjack is the best bet for practicing blackjack basic strategy without stress and distractions. The game comes in both free play and real money modes and you can play up to three hands on your own table. The rules are favorable and with a house edge. Depending on the house rules, if you mimic the dealer you give the house and edge between 5 and 6%. This is around 10 times the house edge when you use the proper basic strategy. With good rules you can play with a half percent house edge, and most blackjack games are under 1% house edge when you use the best strategy.
- Basic Blackjack Strategy Chart
- Blackjack House Edge Without Basic Strategy For Beginners
- Basic Strategy Blackjack Card
- Blackjack House Edge Without Basic Strategy For Dummies
- Basic Strategy Blackjack
- Blackjack House Edge Without Basic Strategy Tactics
- Basic Strategy Blackjack Test
Basic strategy for online blackjack games
If you don’t know basic strategy, you don’t know how to play real money blackjack. Without it, you cannot expect to enjoy the lowest possible house edge. Let us show you how blackjack strategy works, complete with play charts for some of the best online 21 games at Australia’s top real money casinos.
Best casino sites for online blackjack
Each of the online casinos above is officially licensed, fully regulated and 100 per cent legal for Australian blackjack players over the age of 18. They support numerous AUD banking methods for instant deposits and fast withdrawals, including VISA, MasterCard, POLi, Neteller, Skrill, Paysafecard and direct bank transfers. All games on offer at these sites, including both RNG-based digital 21 and live dealer blackjack tables, are audited and tested several times a year by third-party regulators such as eCOGRA (eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), so there is no need to doubt whether they are safe, fair and honestly run.
What is basic strategy in blackjack?
Basic Blackjack Strategy Chart
Many casino games don’t offer players the scope to improve their odds of success through skill and smarts. Popular pursuits such as online baccarat, real money roulette and especially the pokies are beasts of pure chance where all a punter can do is put down a bet and hope for the best.
In blackjack, however, players can control their destiny to some degree by choosing when to stand, hit, double down, split, or surrender. It is still a game of chance, and there is no way to completely overturn the house edge (besides counting cards, which is a pointless ploy when playing online), but knowing the right move for each and every scenario means we can give ourselves the best possible odds of winning.
That’s what basic strategy is: a list of preset plays that describe what to do for any given situation in a hand of real money 21. Each move is calculated to provide the most likely route to success in accordance with the specific rules in play and how they affect probability, expected returns and true odds. All we have to do is read the charts, memorise the plays and put them in action.
Best strategies for online blackjack games
While most Australian, American and European blackjack games have much in common, the vast array of rule variations in 21 means the ideal strategy can differ from game to game. That being said, blackjack strategy sheets are not hard to find – a simple Google search will do the trick – and there are a number of strategy calculators on the web that will show you the right plays for any set of rules.
Below are the proper basic strategies for some of the most popular online and mobile blackjack games, all of which are available at our approved safe casino sites for Australians. These charts were formulated with the assistance of the excellent blackjack strategy calculator devised by gambling guru Michael Shackleford (Wizard of Odds).
Strategy key:
S = Stand
H = Hit
Dh = Double down if allowed, hit if not
Ds = Double down if allowed, stand if not
P = Split pairs
Rs = Surrender
Microgaming Gold Series
House edge = 0.13 per cent
Soft hands
Blackjack House Edge Without Basic Strategy For Beginners
Pairs
Vegas Strip Blackjack
Microgaming Gold Series
House edge = 0.35 per cent
Hard hands
Soft hands
Pairs
Single Deck Blackjack
NetEnt Pro Series
House edge = 0.48 per cent
Hard hands
Soft hands
Pairs
VIP Live Blackjack
Evolution Gaming
House edge = 0.49 per cent
Hard hands
Soft hands
Pairs
(Same as Vegas Strip Blackjack)
How to read blackjack strategy charts
If you have never seen a basic strategy chart before, it might look a little complicated at first glance. There is no great mystery to it, however, and it becomes pretty straightforward once you get a handle on how things are laid out.
Most strategy sheets are divided into three parts, each of which details the different plays for a hard hand (one with no Ace, or where an Ace can count only as one point), a soft hand (one with an Ace that can count as either one or 11 points) and a pair that can be split to form separate hands. Charts are displayed as tables upon which the player’s possible hands are listed on the left and the dealer’s possible up-cards are listed across the top. Each cell on the grid shows the correct move for X (the player’s total) in the event of Y (the dealer’s card).
For example, let’s say we are holding a hard total of 10 and the dealer is showing an Ace. If we find the row labelled ’10’ on the left of the chart and follow it to the column labelled ‘A’, the cell where those two intersect will tell us the correct play is to hit (‘H’).
Perfect strategy for real money 21
Simple, effective and repeatable, basic strategy is all most players need in order to enjoy a low house edge on 21 games. As shown above, it can keep the casino advantage well under 0.50 per cent when you play real money blackjack online. That’s much better value than you will find at any land-based Australian casino in this day and age, never mind the obvious convenience of playing via Mac, PC, smartphone or tablet.
However, there are other, more complex play charts available that take into consideration not only the hand totals and whether they are hard, soft, or paired, but also exactly which cards are on the table, the number of cards the player has drawn and other such specifics. This type of play is known as perfect composition-based strategy, or optimal strategy, and it provides the lowest blackjack house edge possible (without executing a flawless card count).
In most cases, the difference between basic play and perfect blackjack strategy is minute. In Vegas Strip Blackjack Gold, for example, a mere 0.0055 per cent separates the theoretical returns for basic strategy (99.64701 per cent) and optimal play (99.65251 per cent). So while the hardcore high stakes blackjack players might miss that extra five-and-a-half cents out of every $1000 wagered, most punters will give up little to nothing by sticking to basic strategy 21.
Playing and mastering blackjack are two entirely different things. Mastery of blackjack starts with understanding the house edge and recognizing how it can impact your game. Understanding the house edge is vital for becoming a player that is capable of taking on the house. Without further ado, let’s delve into how to reduce the house edge!
This guide will also show you the ins and outs of the house advantage, blackjack odds and blackjack strategy. You’ll be ready to sit at the table and take on the dealer after you’ve read this!
Basic Strategy Blackjack Card
What is the House Advantage?
The house edge is the mathematical advantage that a casino has over its players. This edge varies from game to game, and is normally represented as a percentage and denotes the amount of return that the house can expect to receive over time. It also represents the percentage of losses that the player will likely incur.
Let’s say that the house has an edge of 5% in a particular game. If a player bets €100, then the house will likely earn €5, while the player will likely lose €5. This does not mean that the player can’t win more or turn a profit – it merely means that the house will take some money at the end.
What Percentage is the House Edge in Blackjack?
Blackjack House Edge Without Basic Strategy For Dummies
The house edge in blackjack is low relative to other games, with it being as low as 1% when a basic blackjack strategy is implemented.
Basic Strategy Blackjack
In blackjack, the house edge comes from the dealer having a hidden card about which the player has to make assumptions. In addition, if the player busts, the dealer wins, even if they then bust in the same round. Learning blackjack odds and strategy makes this less of an issue.
Blackjack Odds
Admittedly, learning blackjack odds is a little more difficult than it is for other casino games. This is down to the randomness of the draw and the number of different combinations. Nevertheless, there are some ways of determining the odds of drawing specific cards. The initially probability of drawing a card of any value is 7.69%, based on there being 13 different possible options.
However, seeing as Jacks, Queens and Kings all have a value of 10 in blackjack, the odds of drawing a card valued at 10 is 4/13, which is a probability of 30.7% in percentage terms. As a result, the house edge can be reduced simply by having an idea of the odds of drawing certain cards. For example, if you happen to draw a Jack and a King, then you know that the odds of drawing yet another 10-value card are much reduced.
Reducing the House Edge in Blackjack
There are a variety of ways to reduce the house edge in blackjack. As previously mentioned, the simplest is to learn a basic blackjack strategy and commit it to memory before you play. A basic blackjack strategy is a set of rules, usually presented in a chart, which tells you how to play your hand after it is dealt. For example, if you are dealt a soft 17 (Ace, six), the chart compares it to the dealer’s upcard and informs you of how to act. In some cases, using a basic strategy can reduce the house edge to just 0.5%! If you want to lower the house advantage, studying the basics of blackjack strategies is a good place to start.
Blackjack House Edge Without Basic Strategy Tactics
In addition to basic strategy charts, several strategies have been developed to reduce the house edge in blackjack even further. Unlike the basic charts, which only focus on the total value of your hand, these strategies look at what cards make up your hand and give specific actions depending on the cards – they’re called composition-dependent strategies.
Here’s an example. If you have 16 and the dealer has 10, depending on the composition of your hand there are a number of different options. For instance, if you had three separate hands that all equaled 16, with the first comprised of a 10 and a six, the second of nine and seven, and the third of four, five, and seven. If you followed basic blackjack strategy, you’d hit on all these hands, but with a composition-dependent strategy, you don’t hit on the final hand. This is because it is made up of low-value cards that would otherwise be needed to make a pat hand (under 21) from 16. The blackjack odds of drawing a low-value card are much lower than with the other two hands.
Basic Strategy Blackjack Test
In most cases, by using a composition-dependent strategy along with the existing basic strategy charts, it’s possible to reduce the house edge to as little as 0.18%, which is practically nothing!
Hopefully, you’re now fully informed of what the house advantage is, how it applies to blackjack, and the steps you can take to reduce it. If you think you’re ready to put the new knowledge to the test, why not play on one of our online blackjack tables!