Basic Blackjack Strategies

The lifestyle of a professional gambler seems exotic and exciting. Who wouldn't want to spend their time gambling, and make enough money to live well? The idea of giving up a day job and focusing time on something you really love is what many people want. No wonder televised and online gambling are so hot right now.

There are more opportunities than ever for amateurs to become involved, win big, and get seats at huge tournaments. There are more and more amateur gamblers going to the World Series of Poker and the World Series of Blackjack every year.

By learning to master some simple blackjack strategies, anyone could win big at a casino, or even win a seat at the World Series of Blackjack tournament. Are you ready to play?

Always assume the dealer has a ten. You will be dealt two cards, face up, in any traditional game of Blackjack. The dealer will have two cards, one down and one up. You must always assume that the card the dealer is not showing has a value of ten. This would be any face card, or any 10 in the deck. For example, if the dealer is showing a 3, you assume the dealer is playing with a total value of 13 in their hand.

Under this assumption, you play your hand. For instance, you are dealt a King-6. The dealer shows a 3. You have sixteen total, and assume that the dealer has thirteen. In every game of Blackjack, the dealer must stand on 17 and must hit on 16. If the dealer has thirteen, the dealer must hit. Odds are that the dealer will bust and go over 21, and that's what you're hoping for. In this situation, you would stand on your hand of 16, and hope that the dealer busts on their 13.

In almost the exact situation, having a King-6 is not such a good thing. Say you get dealt a King-6, and the dealer is showing a Queen. Now you must assume that the dealer has a total of twenty, which makes your sixteen a losing hand.

Doubling down when you should. You always have the option to "double down" on your bet, as long as you have the chips. Doubling down is when you double your bet on any two cards, to receive only one more card. Because you only get one card more, you have to be careful about when you decide to double down.

When the dealer shows a 10 or any face card, it's not always a good idea to go double down. Because you must assume the dealer is holding twenty, you may not benefit from getting only one card more. Losing twice as much on a hand feels twice as bad.

Going double down on hands with a total of twelve or more leaves you open to busting. A "bust" is when you go over 21 - a completely losing hand. Doubling your bet and then busting is just rubbing salt in the wound, because you're losing twice as much. Going double down on hands with a total of fifteen or more is pretty much asking to lose.

But if you do double down, you should always double your bet when you have a total of eleven. Any combination eleven, such as 7-4, 6-5, 9-2 is an ideal hand for doubling down. For starters, you absolutely cannot bust. No card you get will have a greater value than ten, so you can't bust. Doubling down on eleven is always a great idea, unless the dealer has a ten. In that case, you may want to think twice about doubling down.

Going for the split. When you are dealt two of anything (2-2, J-J, 7-7, for example), you have the option to "split' your hand. Splitting a hand means taking those two cards apart, placing a new bet equal to the bet you placed on the hand, and playing each card as a brand-new hand. You'll get one card apiece to make your two new hands, and then have the option to hit, stand, or double down on each new hand.

When thinking about splitting, you want to always assume that the card you'll get will be a face card. For instance, if you split twos you have to face the possibility that you'll wind up with a couple of twelve-point hands. Always assume the next card in the deck is a face card before you decide to split.

The perfect hand for the split is A-A. Assuming you're going to get a face card, there's no better place to get a face card than on your ace. This gives you Blackjack, and that's the name of the game. You may not get a face card, but by starting out with an ace you've got a good chance you'll get two hands that you can play strongly with.

Successful gambling doesn't have to be a big mystery. By learning a few basic strategies, you can then go out and improve your game. There's no telling where it will take you.