Hit or Stay? Tips for Winning Blackjack

It's a simple game: two cards to start, one opponent to beat and for the most part, only two decisions to make. But there are many, many nuances to the game of Blackjack. Following these simple guidelines will help minimize losses and maximize success.

Have a spending limit. Public Service Announcement: Gambling is intended to be recreational. Think of the money you spend playing in the same way you might buy theater tickets or seats to a pro sports event. For the purposes of this exercise, let's say that you have $100 bucks in play money. Once that's gone, the show is over. Leave the casino and hit the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Play within play within your limits. If you only have $100 bucks in play money, stay away from the $50 minimum tables. Allow yourself a decent chance of winning -or at least playing for a while- by sticking to the $10 tables. And whatever you do, don't go back to the cash machine after you've spent your play money. That's a good recipe for a bad evening, followed by calls from bill collectors and hopeless exchanges with an angry wife.

Don't ever commit a large portion of play money to one pot. If I'm playing $10 hands I won't ever bet more than $25 on a hand. Doing otherwise is a recipe for a quick ouster.

Pocket your winnings. Don't just give your chips back to the house by being greedy. If I'm playing with $100, every time I make $50 I cash those chips in and don't use them. That way I can play with the house's money and minimize my losses (if any). The idea is to win as much as I can with my $100 and then walk away.

Drink in moderation. The alcohol is free for a reason: it leads to impaired judgment, hence poor decision making, hence more money that stays in the house. Know your limit to make sure you stay sharp.

On to the game!

Sit in the last chair. You don't want to subject yourself to the whimsy of the other players, so be the "table captain" and sit in the last seat, the one to the far right of the dealer. This allows you to play against the dealer without any middlemen. Alternative is to sit in the first seat, but his leads you vulnerable to the decision making of the other players.

Always assume the dealer's down card is a 10. About one-third of the cards in the deck are tens. Plus, it gives you an idea of what you're going up against. You can't just play your own hand; consider the dealer's hand, too.

If you and the dealer both have a bust hand, then stay. For rookies, a "bust hand" is one in which a ten will put you over 21. There's no need to pull cards and try to make a winning hand when the dealer has a losing one. You won't win every time by staying, but in the long run you'll come out ahead.

Splits and Doubles. Here's where the game gets more nuanced. Playing splits and doubles are where the money is made (and lost) in blackjack. This is also where you will have to rely more heavily on your instincts to guide you.

Tens and nines. The dealers will tell you never to split a winning hand. As in, if you have 20 or 18 and the dealer is showing an eight or above, then stay. If your dealer is showing a "bust" hand (12 to 16), then you can either stick with the 20 or split and try to double up. It's a risk, so you don't do it all the time, but once in a while is okay. Generally, if I'm playing with the house's money I'll take the risk.

Eights and Sevens. There's a longstanding debate among blackjack players over whether to split eights. Sixteen and fourteen are a pretty crummy hand, so I always split eights and sevens if the dealer is showing a bust hand. If the dealer is showing 8, 9 or 10, it's a judgment call, but I definitely wouldn't split. I would either stick or hit.

Below seven. Splitting a pair below seven doesn't really buy you much unless the dealer has a bust hand. I wouldn't do it at all. Fives, Fours are good chances to pull a ten.

Double downs are always a good bet when your dealer has a bust hand. More conservative players only double down when they have 11 (in the hopes of pulling a 10), but I've also done it with 10 and even 9 or 8 on occasion. If the dealer has a decent card showing (8 or above), it gets risky because you don't get your card, you'll probably lose the hand. If I'm playing with the house's money, I'm much more likely to do it.

Tip the dealer. Even when things are going bad, tipping the dealer every now and then is a good idea. They're not magicians, but there is something real about dealer's karma that I've come to believe in. It's always better to have the dealer on your side. That goes for the waitresses too.

Have fun! Energy is a strange thing. If your happiness depends on the outcome, then you'll play tight and stressed, which is a recipe for disaster. Enjoy the journey and let the destination take care of itself.