Blackjack by DC

It’s one of the most successful betting strategies I’ve used in my time has been paying off in the past few weeks again. It takes long sessions to make a living, but it cuts the risks to an absolute minimum if you stick to basic strategy.

I used to play each day and quit as soon as I got $1000 ahead. I made about $4000 a week losses included on a 6-deck game.

A quick rundown;

1. Forget about doubles. Stick to basic strategy, but when you lose a double, don’t up your next bet.

2. Lose the $100? Bet $150 next. You’ll win $50 over the course of two bets if you win.

3. Lose your $150 bet? Bet $250 in the next run. You’ll break even over the 3 bets if you win and will be down $500 if you lose.

4. Once you lose a $250, go back down to $100. I know this means you’ll encounter some downswings, but believe me — all you need is a $2500 bankroll to be almost safe to not go broke.

Won $1200 yesterday in about two hours. Never was down a single second.

I’ve been playing online, FOR FREE. I feel like the smallest little donkey idiot ever. I downloaded this trainer game, and have been hooked trying to make prime decisions only.

I’ve had moment in which I disagreed with the software consistently. Guess my game WASN’T perfect. I mean — BASIC STRATEGY SHOULD BE SIMPLE, no? :p

Meh — I need a hobby.

Using free online blackjack games to learn the finesses of the game can be a good thing — but sometimes it’s even better to use trainer software to really finetune your game and lean basic strategy by heart. I’m working on an extensive list of online and desktop free blackjack games to allow all of our readers a good free way of upping their skills — but I might need some help…

If you know of specific blackjack trainer games (free!), and want to make sure I include them in my list — holler at me using the comment system. I’ll make sure to add any relevant link!

This is quite an interesting video considering Fox being the source. The interview about Mike, a former MIT Blackjack team member, a bunch of geniuses counting cards in Vegas…

The MIT team is now banned in a lot of casinos, which is sad…

Good to see mike stressing the basic strategy… It’s SO important, even when card counting!

Blackjack is all about the maths. You can’t bluff, cheat or hustle in blackjack you just have to know the most favourable play in each situation. Really clever bods have run computer simulations to establish the best possible strategy to use in blackjack, and this is commonly referred to as Basic Strategy. Sticking rigidly to the basic strategy will reduce the houses edge.

It is basic because it is basic. You just follow the chart. No really it is that simple.

The Basic Strategy chart for a single deck game is slightly different than the Basic Strategy chart for a multi-deck game. A good blackjack player knows the Basic Strategy charts inside and out. If you are playing on line have them handy to refer to at all times. Below is a basic guide suitable for a beginner. As you get more accomplished you should read more about card counting and what to do in more complicated situations; like pairs and playing with different numbers of decks.

Please remember that the Basic Strategy is a guide. It is the mathematical solution to what to do in each situation but it is not going to make you win all the time. (If you find something that does let me know!) A basic strategy just reduces the house edge to give you a fighting chance.

Hard Totals

Soft Totals (Ace is either 1 or 11)

Action: H = Hit S = Stand D = Double