Ready to hit the virtual blackjack tables? Good for you. Whether you’ve been resisting because you didn’t think online blackjack could compare to the real thing or you’re discovering blackjack online for the first time, there’s no better time to get started.

Starting to Play Blackjack Online

When starting to play blackjack online, the first thing you’ll need is an online casino account. There are a wide variety of online casino sites out there, so take some time, look at some reviews and choose your favorite. Some of the options you will consider are the reputation of the site, the quality of the features and graphics that the site offers, and the size of any bonuses you may receive for signing up.

Once you’ve found your site, downloaded the online casino software and set up your online casino account, you’re ready to play some online blackjack. If you’ve never played blackjack before there should be a tutorial on the site, or you can find a basic tutorial elsewhere online.

Playing Blackjack Online

To be successful at online blackjack, you’re going to want to use what is known as basic strategy. Basic strategy is a chart of moves that tells you what the highest value action is for any situation. Playing according to basic strategy can reduce the House edge to one or two percentage points, while playing according to hunches can give the house a massive advantage.
Since you’re just starting out, you’ll want to find an online basic strategy chart and keep it open at all times. You may want to do this even after you become experienced just to be sure not to make any mistakes. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t rack up massive wins right away. Although most players lose over the long term, things should come pretty close to evening out over time if you play correctly.

Online Blackjack Warning

Remember to protect your bankroll and only risk an amount you can comfortably afford to lose in each session. This will enhance your enjoyment of the game and make sure it does not cause you any undue stress.

Just because you know the rules of blackjack, that doesn’t mean you know how to win. Similarly, just because you know how to win at blackjack, that doesn’t mean you know how to win a blackjack tournament. Blackjack tournaments introduce several unique game mechanics, and the best players know how to adjust their strategy accordingly. If you’re entering a blackjack tournament, then you’re playing to win. Here are some tips for doing so:

Basic Betting Strategy for Blackjack Tournaments

Blackjack tournaments differ from traditional blackjack play in that players are not just competing against the dealer, but other players and the clock as well. Because the goal of each round of a blackjack tournament is to get through the last hand with more chips than your competitors, betting obviously plays a major role in advancing to the next round.

Different players will recommend different strategies, but the general consensus is that players should bet relatively conservatively at the onset, and make bigger bets as necessary. As play progresses, your chip count in relation to the rest of the table will dictate how aggressive your betting will get. If you are trailing a chip leader, then a big bet is the only way to achieve the big swing you need to catch his or her lead and advance to the next round. Similarly, a chip leader will likely want to simply match the bets of his closest competitors. That way, if both lose the hand, the lead remains constant.

Blackjack Tournament Strategy – Be Aggressive

Of all the blackjack tournament strategies out there, the least effective is to play conservatively. While this may work great for normal blackjack play, the short-term dynamics of tournament play make it a poor choice when competing for the biggest chip count. Conservative tournament players are essentially hoping all the other players will be dealt poor hands. This is hardly ever the case.

Basic Play Strategy for Blackjack Tournaments

Though tournaments require you to compete against other players to win the round, each hand remains a competition between you and the dealer. As such, traditional card playing strategies hold true for blackjack tournaments. Expert players know which hands to hold on, hit on and split on. For beginners, having a basic blackjack strategy decision chart on hand will help you hold your own against the pros. Such charts are easily available online.

I got into an email fight with Ray because he said the only way to win at online blackjack was by becoming a slave to the best bonus and continually chasing down the bonus, then moving onto the next casino site.  Actually slave is a politer term compared to what he used.

I disagree, you can use your skill to lower the house edge against you.  Take on the house and beat that dealer!  A good bonus always helps and it helps to shop around, keeping the online casinos on their toes.  But that doesn’t mean that you have to ruin your online gambling experience by continually site hopping.

You can develop and master your blackjack strategy until you become a pro.  Them nasty casinos that take all our money, gonna be shaking in there boots!  You show’em.

Online blackjack is a fun and easy way to start getting into online casino games. If you already know how to play blackjack from playing it in live casinos, you’ll have no problem with the online version, since the games play almost identically. With online blackjack, there are a few important tips to keep in mind.

Counting Cards in Online Blackjack

In most cases, you shouldn’t bother trying to count cards in online blackjack. Card counting is based on knowing the composition of the deck, knowing how many ten-point cards relative to other cards, and in most online blackjack scenarios, the deck is effectively infinite, so card counting techniques will not work.

Basic Strategy in Online Blackjack

Basic strategy, on the other hand, works in any blackjack game. If you don’t know basic strategy by heart, you can always call up a basic strategy chart on the Internet and keep it next to the playing screen for easy reference. Using basic strategy, even if you don’t know it by heart, is perfectly legal, and keeps the house edge down.

Hunches in Online Blackjack

Playing hunches will only lose you money in the long run. Hit, stand, double or split based on correct strategy, not on what you “know” is coming. The random number generator in the software doesn’t create a card until you act, so there is nothing “coming” for you to know; the card simply springs into existence when you ask for it.

Insurance in Online Blackjack

Under conventional blackjack rules, insurance is a sucker bet. You should never take it under any circumstances.

All good gamblers look for the game or bet where the odds are to their advantage.  How much money are you going to put in, versus how much are you going to get out?  Minimize your risk and maximize your return.  Advantage play in short.

The casino is always going to look after themselves first with their house edge.  If you do some research and find out which are the best casino games you can play to reduce the house edge and then what tricks to turn the advantage to you.

I know I sound like some cheesy salesman… but that’s what you have to do if you want to reduce the edge.

Easy aint it???

One of the newer online gambling platforms starting to gain some traction, is live casino gambling.  And as a perennial casino favorite, blackjack was one of the first games to be rolled out in the live online format.

The difference between live blackjack and RNG blackjack, is that rather than playing against a machine with game outcomes determined by random number generators, you are being dealt by a real dealer.  You sit at home on your PC and watch a live video feed of a real dealer, dealing real cards via a betting interface that allows you to place bets and chat to the dealer as you play.

It’s a novel solution to the skepticism surrounding fairness or true randomness of traditional RNG games, but one that is not without its own shortcomings.  Chief among these are the quality of the vision and deal speed.  Despite all the leaps in webcasting technology, the quality of the feed provided, will be severely hampered if your connection isn’t fast enough.  And, its probably not a great format for impatient players.

Unlike RNG blackjack, when you can call the deal when you want it, live blackjack deals are set to a fixed timer to allow all participating players ample time to place their bets.  This can be anywhere from 40 to 15 seconds depending on the provider.

I’m going to play in an online blackjack tourney this weekend.  Can’t wait!!

Where can you play online blackjack tourneys?  Well most online casino sites will offer you options to play blackjack, but to find a tourney you should do a search for one and find a recognised gambling site to play at.  There are loads of blackjack tourneys available 24/7 you just have to find them.

Why do you like playing in a tournament?  I enjoy the thrill of trying to beat other gamblers and not just the dealer or the casino.  For me its a true test of my blackjack skills, am I good enough? 

How to win at blackjack tourneys – Its all about out-lasting and out-smarting the other players and I think I’m good enough to do that.  Some like the quick thrill, I like to apply my strategies and use my stamina and patience to win at blackjack tourneys.  Its steady consistent play that will get you there in the end.

Card counting in blackjack will help you reduce or better the house edge, so its worth learning how to do card counting.  Most experienced gamblers will already know how to count cards as they apply the skill to other casino games.

People learning how to master blackjack always ask is it difficult to master the art of card counting?  Do you have to be a mathematical genius or have aphotographic memory?  No, you don’t.  But you do have to learn to card count and then you have to practice it a lot, in order for the skill to become second nature.

There is a lot of mystery around card counting, but when you get down to the basics of it, then it is just a skill that you learn and apply whilst playing card games.  People think that card counters always win in the casino and that they have certain powers to beat the system.  But the truth is that they also lose often, but they do reduce the casino odds by selective play and betting.

There is so much to cover on this subject that I am not possibly going to cover it all in one go, but over the next few weeks I’ll try and reveal more that I know about blackjack card counting, to show you how to master blackjack!!!

So many times I have seen people get flustered at the blackjack table and start doing crazy things to try and beat the dealer.  Don’t!! It is best to stick to the plan, stick to your blackjack strategy, to play consistent and to be steadfast.  Boring, I know but it is the best way to play blackjack.  That way you play with the best odds of beating the dealer and winning.

There are many casino games that you can play that rely on intuition and guessing what will come up, if that is what you like doing, then rather play them than blackjack. Even if you are having a bad run of luck and despite following the guidelines your stack is dwindling, don’t start to do crazy things because your stack will disappear even faster.  If they guy next to you is doing crazy things and winning hands down, don’t try and do the same.

Luck comes and goes, play consistent and your turn will come.

“William, what do I do when I get 16?”

“Well dear do you use the blackjack strategy chart and what does it tell you to do?”

“The what?”

(oh dear this is going to take a while….)

“A blackjack strategy chart tells you exactly what to do.  The best decision, that will give you the best probability of winning at blackjack, is written down on the chart for every possible scenario of cards that you could get.  All you have to do is follow the chart”

“Where do I find a blackjack strategy chart?”

“Go online, use a search engine to find a strategy chart from a blackjack site that you can trust, print it and use it… should be self explanatory”.

Its as simple as that – making sure you make the decision that will have the highest probability of beating the dealer – What more is there to blackjack?

Just use the blackjack strategy chart and you stand a chance of beating the casino.  All the hard work has been done for you.