To win at blackjack, you need to get closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over. That sounds basic, but a key to blackjack for beginners is understanding the odds and basic strategy of when to draw another card (hit) and when to stop (stay). In this casino guide, blackjack for beginners, you’ll get the basic rules, strategy, and lingo so you can feel comfortable gambling online or in a brick-and-mortar casino.

Blackjack for beginners: The basics

The cards, the cash, the cocktails. As a game, blackjack just looks cool in the casino. In movies from “Rain Man” to “21” to “Vegas Vacation,” Blackjack plays a major role and is one of those iconic casino games everyone wants to give a shot. If you’re new to the game, here’s a quick guide to get you on the right track at the table. Hopefully your luck is a bit better than Clark Griswold’s.

A blackjack hand beats any other hand, also those with a total value of 21 but with more cards. As described above, if the dealer has a blackjack, players with blackjack make a push, while all other players lose. Blackjack Side Rules. Above, the basic rules of blackjack. The ‘rules’ of any game give you a fixed parameter within which you can manoeuvre and outplay your opponents. As it is with other games, your objective in blackjack should not just be based on the rules, but also on what outcome will favour you the best. The focus should not be on getting ‘21’ or ‘closest to 21’ as many would say. Blackjack begins by selecting a seat at the table. Typically, a blackjack table allows for five to seven players. Whenever you see an empty seat at a blackjack table, you may assume it’s for your taking. A Few Words about Blackjack. We assume that you opened this article because you are a beginner.

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The goal of blackjack is for a player’s hand of cards to add up to as close to 21 as possible without going over — known as busting. Numbered cards count as their number; that’s simple enough. Aces can be played as 1 or 11, and face cards count as 10.

To start a game, each player is dealt two cards (usually face up) from a shoe usually with four, six, or eight decks (though you can find single- and double-deck blackjack at higher stakes). The dealer also is dealt two cards with only one of those face up. The dealer has a major advantage in getting to act last.

A player dealt an ace and a 10 (or face card) hits a “natural” 21, also known as blackjack. The player is paid immediately in most circumstances at 3-to-2 (bet $200 and win $300), although more casinos have gone to the inferior 6-to-5 payout (bet $500 to win $600). If the dealer is also dealt a blackjack, however, the hand is a push — no win, no loss.

Blackjack for beginners is pretty simple: If your hand is closer to 21 than the dealer’s, then you win. Also, if the dealer happens to bust (go over 21), you win. It sounds easy, but there are more caveats and things to remember.

Blackjack for beginners: Terms and bets

Hit: Maybe you’ve seen someone playing blackjack in a movie say “hit me.” That means you’re taking another card in the quest to get closer to 21. A tap of the finger or hand also works, and the dealer will give you another card.

Stand: You “stand” when you don’t want any more cards. Usually this happens when you hit a 17 or higher (and sometimes even lower depending on the dealer’s card). A simple waving of the hand as if saying “no” will do the trick. The dealer will then go on to the next player.

Soft: If you have a “soft 17,” that means you have an ace and 6. Because an ace counts as 1 or 11, this hand can be either 7 or 17 and a player isn’t hurt by taking a hit as a 10 won’t bust this hand. Dealers must draw until reaching 17 or higher, but usually must hit a soft 17. Staying on all 17s works in the player’s favor. Different casinos have different rules dictating the dealer’s move on soft 17.

Insurance: A bet players can make when the dealer’s up card is an ace. The player can usually bet half of his bet and “insure” some of his bet against a Blackjack. This is a sucker bet and a loser in the long run.

Split: If you are dealt two of the same card, you are allowed to split those bets into two different hands by making a second bet. The hands then play out in the normal routine. It’s important to know basic strategy to know the best odds when it comes to knowing when and what hands to split (see graphic). Got two 10s? Never split — that 20 already has a high likelihood of being a winner. Two fives? Another hand that’s a keeper. That 10 has a nice likelihood to get another high card — hopefully an ace — for a winner.

Double down: Players are allowed to (and should) double their bets on certain hands for an extra score. The catch to doubling down is the player will only receive one card, so if you pull a 3, and have 13, you’re done. Doubling is common on hands totaling 9, 10 or 11 because of the high likelihood of getting another high card. But there are other circumstances to consider before making this move. Knowing basic strategy will certainly help.

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Things to know about blackjack

Blackjack is one of the best games in the casino for a player, but it’s important to learn basic strategy if you want to take it seriously and have the best odds of winning. With numerous cards valued at a 10 or 11 (10, jack, queen, king, ace), there are a variety of things to consider when it comes to hitting, standing, doubling down, or splitting.

There are numerous resources to check out and learn the best strategy when playing blackjack, and it’s highly recommended. Applying the strategy perfectly can reduce that house edge down to as low as .05 percent.

There’s also one more thing to remember: Unlike the movies, players are not allowed to touch the cards. Simple hand movements are the norm in most games. Good luck.

Counting cards is one of the most well-known ways of tipping the gambling scales in your favour. Gambler’s myths are full of skilled players using card counting strategies to beat the odds. From the outside, it may seem like a complex game of controlling probabilities – and it is. However, that doesn’t mean that a beginner can’t figure out the basic principles and even use them.

The Basic Principles

The biggest myth about this practice is that it’s about memorizing each card in a blackjack shoe. The reality, on the other hand, is a bit different. Don’t get us wrong – paying attention and memory play a part, but those are merely the means to an end.

It’s all about gauging whether the remaining cards are favourable to the player or the dealer. In general, the more Aces and 10-value cards there are in the shoe, the better. As such, you’ll want to pay attention to the ratio of high cards compared to low cards. How do we do that, you might ask? Thankfully, hundreds of gamblers in the past have figured out simple systems of keeping track.

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Counting Cards – Card Values and the Running Count

The system we are about to talk about is often called Hi-Lo card counting. If you’ve been paying attention, it’s easy to figure out why. The first thing you’ll want to do is assign a certain “value” to each card based on whether its “Hi” or “Lo”. It generally goes like this:

• 2-6 = +1
• 7-9 = 0
• 10 – Ace = -1

After each hand is played, you’ll want to adjust the “score” based on which cards were dealt. For example, if a Queen is dealt, that means that there are fewer high-value cards in the shoe. This, in turn, means that the ratio of high-to-low cards goes down. As we’ve already mentioned, that’s bad for the player.

All the card values of each blackjack hand then combine into the so-called “running count.” This essentially represents how favourable the remaining cards are. A high running count means that there are more high cards than low cards left and it might be a good time to wager aggressively. Conversely, if there are more low cards left, the outcome is less predictable. Moreover, your odds of getting blackjack go down significantly.

Knowing how to use this information is a complex subject. Experts and professional gamblers have even developed more than one card counting algorithm. The idea is to know exactly how high the probability of a win, bust, or blackjack are. That’s a bit more than a beginner may need, though.

For now, all you need to remember is that all card games are a game of chance. Skill is a major factor, of course, but no card counting betting strategy can guarantee success. Just because you’ve made the odds favour you instead of the house doesn’t mean you’ll automatically win. Long-term experimentation is required if you want to see results – so keep practising!

Counting Cards and Multiple Decks

It should be clear by now how easy it would be to gain an advantage with single-deck blackjack. A running count of just +2 would mean a significant increase in your odds of winning. This is exactly why casinos have started using multiple decks a long time ago.

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Luckily for us, gamblers are a crafty bunch. Although the card counting advantage is significantly reduced with more decks, you can still keep track of said advantage. All you have to do is take into account the multiple decks and how they affect the odds.

This is what’s often called a “true count” because it more accurately represents the high-low ratio of cards remaining. Remember, you’re not interested in the total number of high cards. All you care about is if there are more of them than low cards.

With that in mind, just divide the initial running count with the number of decks remaining in the shoe. For example, if your running count is +10 and there are 5 decks left, your “true” count is +2.

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Of course, this means that you’ll also have to count how many decks have gone by. Counting to 52 is easy enough by itself, but that’s not all you have to do. You’ll need to juggle between the running score, the total cards and decks, and whatever betting strategy you’re using. Additionally, casinos don’t like counters, so you’ll have to do it all discreetly.

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The only advice we can give you on that end is to practice. The task may seem daunting at first, but it’ll become a lot easier just few games down the line.