The casino is a business for profit and everybody who plays there is fully aware of it. This is why all of the casino games have a so-called house edge. Meaning, the odds of winning at the game are always tilted in the casino’s favor. However, casinos can lose hard at times. There are gifted or smart individuals out there who can beat them at their own game.

One such example dates back to the 90s’ when a group of MIT students decided to team up. They were known as the blackjack team, and they managed to keep beating the dealer over and over. This only shows that casino games are not entirely based on luck, and that skill or knowledge can play an important role. You can win at games like blackjack if you have a good strategy. So, let’s see what these strategies are and whether they still work in 2021.

Learning the Basic Strategy

As mentioned, all of the games are designed to give casinos an edge. This is why players always go first in blackjack, and if they go bust they are the ones that lose. Even if the dealer’s hand is a bust if the player goes first and busts first they lose not the dealer. Moreover, the player starts with both cards face up, while the dealer has one card face down, therefore it’s hard for you to ascertain your own winning odds.

This is why knowing a basic blackjack strategy is very important. This is not the strategy that helps you win 100% of the time, it’s just there to reduce the odds of casino winning. So, playing basic blackjack perfectly is still way better than just playing on a hunch.

Professional players use this strategy and they know how to count cards, which is why they can earn millions, and it’s why casinos can refuse to play with them. Bear in mind that only 5% of players actually use these strategies, meaning the majority of players aren’t even playing optimally.

Who Created the Strategy and Why It Still Works

The basic strategy was created by mathematicians and it gives you insight into how to act based on the card combination in your hand. These actions are all based on calculation and statistical chance, so they are legit. Considering how blackjack rules have stayed the same over the years, there is no reason to doubt this strategy.

However, there is a lot to unpack here and you will need at least a month or so in order to fully memorize the basic strategy. You need to do this for a couple of hours a day and then test these strategies. If you wish to test them at a real casino game you can do that by picking an online casino that’s available in your country. You can select one of the 3 pound minimum deposit slots platforms in case you wish to change up things a bit and try different games. Moreover, playing these slots will do you good, because it will show you just how it feels like to play blackjack without relying on strategy. It will be a plain old game of chance rather than a game of skill.

Blackjack Tips

Surrender

You should forfeit if you have a hard 16. But if you have a pair of 8’s and the dealer has 9, or higher, you can split that 8 and continue playing. If you have a hard 15 and a dealer has 10 then always surrender.

Split

You should always split 8’s and Aces, but don’t split 5’s and/or 10’s You can also split 2’s, 6’s, 7’s ’s only if the dealer has 7 or below. You can also split 9’s if dealer 6 or below or if they have 8 or 9, don’t split if they have 7.

Since the strategy we talked about is very long and consists of multiple different charts depicting possible situations, we won’t go over those in detail. You can find those charts easily online and start learning. Once again, when you feel confident about your skill you can try out playing real games of blackjack in an online casino. Feel free to go to Gamblizard and find reliable online casinos with good no deposit bonuses on slots and other games. Here are some other general tips that can serve as the main takeaway from those charts.

Double

You can double hard 9 if the dealer has 6 or below, except for 2. You can also double hard 10 unless the dealer has either 10 or Ace. Additionally, you can double hard 11 unless the dealer has.

Hit and Stand

Always hit on 11 or less, and only stand on hard 12 if the dealer has 6,5, or 4. Also if the dealer has between 2 and 6, and you have between 13 and 16 you should always stand. If you have a hard 17 or more, always stand. If you have a soft 18 you can hit if the dealer has 9,10, or Ace.

Insurance

Finally, never use insurance. It is an interesting mechanic that you can use if you play for fun, but a general rule of thumb is that you should never use it, just surrender instead.

Counting Cards

Just knowing these basics or playing by the book won’t get you banned from a casino. However, this strategy can be improved if you know how to count cards. Basically, you adjust your strategy based on the other cards that are on the table. This is extremely difficult but indeed possible and if you are good at it then casinos are at a disadvantage. They have the right to deny you the chance to play, but you can always go to a gambling site. Some of these sites allow crypto payments which means you can play anonymously. So, if you ever get too good, this is how you will have to participate.

Conclusion

To sum up, the strategy is still just as complex and difficult to learn as always, and it still works. It’s worth mentioning that you should only play at the casinos that pay blackjack 3 to 2, or 150%. Some of them have 6 to 5 odds on blackjack, which is significantly less, and you should avoid those places.

About the author
Chris is a big fan of sports betting and casinos. He works as a game expert for slot machines and works at Gamblizard. Chris loves watching action movies, playing video games, and he organizes poker nights with his close friends.