Have you ever played in an online blackjack tournament?

Its all very well sitting in the comfort of your home and playing blackjack against the computer, when you’ve had enough you log out and go and do something different… like maybe putting your feet up, cracking open a beer and catching up on your favorite game.

But when you play an online blackjack tournament you have to have a good strategy and most importantly stamina.  You can’t just cruise in and out of the game when you want to, or when you are tired  and have had enough.

To give an example to put it into context… an online blackjack tournament is like running a marathon.  Sprint off in the beginning and you won’t finish the race – you have to pace yourself.  Do enough in the beginning to keep up with your opponents, examine their play and strategy, test them and then out sprint them at the end. 

Pacing yourself is key to winning.  Take the betting steady in the beginning and then up the pace at the right time to get ahead and drop the other runners behind.  Knowing when to do this will come with time and experience.

For those of you that have played blackjack tournaments what would you say is important for success?

If you just want to have fun playing blackjack online and you are happy to blast your money away – then take chances.  But be warned that you are more likely to make some of your money back and improve your return on investment, if you play roulette or slots.

Careless and rash decisions whilst playing blackjack will cost you.  Casinos have a house edge that will tip in their favor when you bet loosely.  It is best to have a specific, tight blackjack strategy when playing to ensure you minimise your loss and reduce the house edge.

Keeping discipline and knowing exactly when to hit (get dealt another card), stand (stick with the cards that you have) and double down are vital.  When I play online blackjack I always use a blackjack strategy chart that guides me with my betting decisions.  And this helps me to control my emotions and make a calculated decision or bet instead of making loose decisions.

Search for a good blackjack strategy chart now, download it or print it so that you always have it nearby when you are playing.  The strategy chart tells you exactly what to do, either to hit, stand, double down or split.  Someone has already done all the hard work and worked out what the best winning odds are for each scenario.

And its amazing because once you have used the chart a lot, then you start to get a feel of what to do.  So when you go into a live casino then you can improve the odds of winning.

Want to play online blackjack? What are you waiting for? Online blackjack can provide hours of casino gaming entertainment and with a little luck you can win big.

Don’t know how to play online blackjack? Don’t worry, it’s easy to learn. Don’t know where to play? We will guide you.

Let’s start with the second question

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Now over to the actual game…

The Deal in Online Blackjack

To start, you and the dealer will both receive two cards. Your two are exposed — one of his is concealed. Your cards represent a point total in which each card is its face value, face cards are worth 10 and aces can be one or 11. If you can get your point total closer to 21 than the dealer’s without going over, you win.

Options in Online Blackjack

To get close to 21, you may “hit,” adding an additional card to your first two. You may hit as much as you want until you are satisfied or until you exceed 21, at which point you bust and lose automatically regardless of the dealer’s total.

When you are satisfied, you “stand.” For an additional bet, you may double, adding a single card to your initial two card hand. Or, if your two cards are the same, you can split them, receiving a new card on each for two new hands.

Winning Online Blackjack

Once you are satisfied with your total, the dealer turns over his second card. If he has 16 or less he must hit, 17 or more he must stand. If he has a soft 17, meaning an ace and a six, so he can safely hit without busting, the House rules determine whether he must hit or stand.

If the dealer busts and you have not busted already, you win. If he finishes with a lower point total than you, you win. Otherwise, the dealer wins.

Getting Blackjack

All bets pay even money except blackjack. Blackjack occurs when you get 21 on your first two cards. This pays 3-to-2 unless the dealer also has blackjack, in which case it is a tie.

If the dealer has an ace showing, you have the option to take insurance, a bet that the dealer has blackjack. If you also have blackjack, you will be offered “even money,” meaning you win 1-to-1 rather than 3-to-2 whether the dealer has blackjack or not. If you do not have blackjack and take insurance, you lose half a bet in addition to whatever happens in the hand if the dealer does not have blackjack and break even on the hand if he does.

Online blackjack distinguishes from other online casino games in that employing correct strategy can significantly control the outcome. While there are correct approaches to many online casino games, few games allow you the ability to control the outcome that online blackjack does.

To be successful in blackjack, you will foremost have to follow basic strategy. You can get a basic strategy chart that will tell you the correct plays to make in any situation that should arise. Beyond basic strategy, however, keep the following blackjack strategies in mind to help you keep the House edge down.

Never Take Insurance

When the dealer is showing an ace, you will receive an opportunity to take insurance. Insurance is a 2-to-1 wager that the dealer has blackjack. You take insurance by betting an amount equal to half your original wager.

If you take insurance and the dealer’s bottom card is a ten point card, you win 2-to-1 on the insurance bet and lose your regular bet. Essentially, you break even for the hand.

If the dealer does not have a blackjack, you lose the insurance bet and play the hand as normal. The ratio of non-ten point cards to ten point cards is 36-16, or 2.25-to-1. In other words, you get 2-to-1 on at best a 2.25-to-1 shot no matter the circumstances.

This is always a bad bet. If you have blackjack, you can take “even money.” This means that when you take insurance, you will either win the insurance bet and tie on the regular bet or lose the insurance bet and win 3-to-2 on the regular bet. Both have a net gain of one unit.

Although guaranteed money sounds tempting, insurance is still a bad bet that you should avoid. Remember that you are playing for the long haul, not to win one individual hand.

Don’t Count on It

Blackjack is notorious for card counting. Card counting involves calculating how rich the deck is in ten point cards, something that is advantageous to the player.

In online blackjack, a random number generator determines the cards. It can represent eight or even more decks of cards, making counting difficult if not impossible. You should not expect to gain an advantage card counting in online blackjack.

Aces and Eights

You should always split aces or eights. Splitting two aces makes it likely that you will get two very powerful hands, possibly even two twenty-ones if two ten point cards should hit. Two eights is 16, the worst hand in blackjack. You have nothing to lose by splitting it up to try to make two stronger hands.

Blackjack can be mastered on two levels. The first step is to learn the basic strategy – how to make the mathematically correct decisions in every possible situation. In doing so, you can reduce the house edge to below one percent. However, you’ll never beat the house in the long run by just deploying the basic blackjack strategy. The house advantage will take a small cut out of your bankroll on every bet you make.

But if you count cards and know how to exploit that skill, you can actually get an edge in the long haul. The key is to know when the deck is in the players’ favor and then raise the stakes. Sometimes online-casino bonuses can give players an advantage. To find a bonus with positive expectation (+EV) you must compare the house edge and the bonus value.

In this blog, I’ll give you tips on how to master blackjack and where to find the favorable percentages both online and offline.