This article discusses the best blackjack tips & techniques that players should employ when they are playing online blackjack, and which all players should keep in mind whenever they are participating in a game of blackjack, online or offline.
1. Always use the basic strategy
It is highly recommended that you always use the Blackjack Basic Strategy. If you do not use this strategy you can not hope to be a long-term successful blackjack player. The Blackjack Basic Strategy should be mastered before a player even approaches a blackjack table.
2. Familiarise yourself with the table and the players.
It is fervently advised that you familiarise yourself with all the rules of a blackjack table, and with the players, before you chose which table to play at. Observe with attention and select with caution the table of your choice. You do not want to find yourself at a table with drunken players, or slow players, etc.
3. Never take the insurance option, unless you are also counting cards.
It is simple, never accept the insurance option in a game of blackjack unless you are counting cards, and you are mastered in the art of card counting. Taking the insurance is only beneficial to the casino, and inexperienced players will lose the insurance that they are offered- and thus your money so avoid the insurance if you do not want to lose.
4. Manage your money carefully.
It is very important to manage your money carefully…in effect, the probabilities of the game are such that if you play for a long enough period of time, the difference in advantages between the player and the casino are relatively weak (but slightly less advantageous to the player than the casino). It is advised to have a bankroll of around 40x the value of your base wagers. For example, you are playing on a table where the minimum limit is £5; this means you need at least £200 worth of chip before you even sit down. And, most importantly, you need to be prepared for the eventuality that you may lose it.
5. Only wager the amount that you are prepared to lose.
In a casino such as those found on the internet, the rule is as follows; the player must consider as already lost all the money that they have or are going to wager. Blackjack is an entertainment that comes at a price, like other forms of entertainment such as the cinema. You must never be in a position where you come to regret your bets, and never chase your loses by doubling your bets. The experienced blackjack player should neither feel upset with their loses, nor euphoric with their wins.
6. Avoid the tilt.
Tilting, in gambling, means that you are playing a completely disjointed, disorderly and disorganised fashion, and you have lost your cool. For example, you are slowly losing more and more over the course of the game, and all of a sudden you decide, under the guide of your heightened emotions, to put half your chips on the table to try and recuperate your losses in one swoop. This is clearly a huge gumballs to make. In blackjack, patience is the word…word-up!
7. Play progressively.
On the spur of the moment, when a player is on a losing streak, they may feel like they want to bet increasingly larger amounts in order to recuperate their losses straight away. WRONG!!! In these negative sessions the player must wager less and less and wait until the wind changes direction, then start wagering more. It is not a very interesting way to progress, but it is the only solution in order to counter act a tilt and save you from wasting your money. The player who losses his full payroll can not return to the game for that session and so they will not recuperate their losses in that session.
The only preoccupation you should have is to try to stay in the game a sufficiently long time in order to run the risks so that all the waves (positive and negative) are ridden out. Leave to chance the chance for you to be chanceful!!
Therefore, in negative sessions you need to completely abandon the idea of making a ‘come back’ in one go, or you will lose everything.
Inversely, in the positive sessions you are no longer playing with your bankroll, buy with your winnings, in other words, you never have anything to lose; this is where you need to play large. In a sense you are playing with money that is not really in your possession as long as you are sat at the table.
Personally, in a positive run I will normally double my wagers; either I will attain very quickly the desired result, or I just return to what I had in the first place. If the latter is the case I will begin, once again, to bet the minimum table amount in order to protect my bankroll. This is what is known as a Progressive Betting System.
8. Manage yourself.
The successful blackjack player is a player who has more positive sessions than negative sessions. Once they reach their winning objectives they stop playing, remove themselves from the table and start doing something else. It is essential that you learn how to manage yourself so that you do not go into a tilt.
The frustrations which accompany a loss can produce a tilt and the dilapidation of the bankroll can, pure and simply, stop you from playing any more blackjack.
Even after a run of winning sessions with your objectives achieved within 10 minutes, the best players will get up and walk away.
Inversely, I never leave the table until I have won, even if that means betting 40x the minimum wager- I feel that hitting rock bottom in order to build a steady foundation is better than walking away.
9. Give the croupier a tip.
The majority of players do not realise that it is customary to give the croupier a tip. I recommend leaving a tip in order to make the game more amicable, regardless of whether they dealt you good or bad hands.
Keep the faith that the croupier has no influence, whatsoever, on the outcome of the game and the distribution of cards. Many croupiers receive low wages and count on the tips to get by. If you’re a tight person then you will be happy to know that there is no tipping online, not even on the live dealer tables – you don’t even have to smile!
10. Train yourself on your computer.
You can play at many online casinos free of charge and this will be good practice for real life situations or when you decide to make a deposit.
Rhonda Wilson
Blackjack & Betting Expert