Since the first casino offering online Blackjack in Canada appeared, the players have been looking for ways to get the best award in this game. For years, many have tried to create a betting system that would guarantee permanent victories in sessions, but many of them failed. Dreams of quick and easy money did not give rest to mathematicians and simple players. Why were they attracted to Blackjack? It’s simple. Here, the use of the right strategy significantly reduces the advantage of the casino.
Using the simple guide to online Blackjack, which offers the basic rules and the well-known strategies of this game, you will increase your chances to beat the casino. It may only seem to you that it is very easy to play Blackjack online — you need to control all of your steps and foresee the actions of the dealer.
The guide to online Blackjack for beginners — the game rules
According to the guide to online Blackjack, the players here do not compete with each other, but with the dealer. The goal of this exciting game is to collect a simple cards’ combination that has a higher value than the dealer’s, but at the same time not to cross the line at 21 points. If the sum of your points is more than 21, then you automatically lose, regardless of the dealer’s cards combination.
At the beginning of the game, players receive two cards face down, and the dealer lays out their cards like this: one card face up, and the second down.
Steps of a player
If the dealer does not Blackjack (21 points), then the game continues. The player has four basic steps that he/she can take:
- Hit (more) — according to the guide to online Blackjack, the player asks the dealer for an additional card. You can take as many cards as you like until the sum of points is equal to 21 or you have taken more.
- Stand (enough) — the player gives the dealer to understand that they prefers to stay with the hand they have.
- Split — if during the distribution a player received two cards of the same rank, they may ask to split it into two hands. After that, the player must double the initial bet, after which the dealer will deal cards for each card.
Cards value and their combinations
The value of a hand (cards’ combination) is determined by adding all the player’s cards.
The cost of each card is determined by its numerical value. Jack, Queen, King bring 10 points, an Ace is considered to be 1 or 11, depending on which option is more profitable for the player or dealer. The best hand is an Ace and a card for 10 points. This combination is estimated at 21 points.
Strategies in online Blackjack and betting
Very often, gambling people confuse betting systems and strategies described in the guide to online Blackjack. This is not the same thing. Betting systems instruct players how much money they can bet. The betting strategy offers solutions that the player must take in various situations.
For example, is it worth taking a card when there are an Ace and a 6? Online Blackjack free strategies prove their effectiveness by reducing the advantage of the casino and, consequently, increasing the player’s chances of winning.
Martingale system
The most famous strategy is the Martingale system. It is a kind of negative progression that instructs the player to double the bet after each loss. The basic idea of this system is that when you ultimately win, you can cover all previous losses and get one unit of interest as a profit.
The minus is that you risk losing the whole bankroll even before the expected gain.
Other betting systems
All betting systems, mentioned in the guide to online Blackjack, instruct you how to change your bets to suit the requirements of the system. They include Parlay, Laboucher staking plans, two progressive betting systems, 1-3-2-6 betting systems, and many others. In reality, they do not bring profit.
Only one betting system has proven its effectiveness and therefore is considered a form of fraud in many casinos. This is card counting.
Card counting
This is a system and a strategy that uses math to keep track of all the cards in the deck. This is done in order to know which cards are still in the shoe and what are the chances of them appearing in the game at any given time.
Counting cards in blackjack is the only reliable way to reduce the benefits of a casino, turning it into your advantage. It allows you to find out when a deck contains many good cards. When the deck has them, increase the stakes.
Doubling Down
One of the best moves available to the players here is to double the bet calling Doubling Down. The guide to online Blackjack says that the decision to use this strategy can be made only after the first deal when you have two cards in your hand.
For example, you play with one deck, after the first hand you hold 6 and 5, which gives you 11 points in total, and the dealer has 4 open. In this case, it would be appropriate to double the bet, since you are in a good position, having a 30% chance of getting 10 points and gaining 21 points.
Using Doubling Down rules
In order to successfully play Blackjack, it is very important to apply this strategy correctly. Follow these rules:
- A hand worth 11 points when playing with one deck: double your bet with any dealer’s hand.
- A hand worth 11 points when playing multiple decks: double your bet against any dealer’s card, with the exception of an Ace.
- The total amount of the hand is 10 — double the bet if the dealer has a card from 2 to 9 when playing with one or several decks.
- The total cost of the hand is 8 — double the bet if the dealer has a card from 3 to 6 when playing with several decks or from 2 to 6 when playing with one deck.
- The hand of 8 —- do not double when playing with several decks. If the game is played with one deck, and the dealer has 5 or 6 open, then increase your bet.
Insurance and surrender
According to the guide to online Blackjack, when the dealer has an ace, then the player is given the opportunity to take insurance by placing an additional bet up to half the amount of the original bet, thereby protecting themselves from losing money in the case of the dealer’s Blackjack. A player may also refuse to play further (surrender) if they believe that with this hand they can lose rather than win. Having surrendered, the player loses only half of the original bet.
Naturally, you will understand the rules and the strategies when you start playing this card game in Canada. However, the guide to online Blackjack will be the best helper in the very beginning.