How to Play Blackjack
#1 Hitting and Standing:
This may seem like an easy concept to master, but we have seen more players loose money fast because they simply do not understand the basics of when to hit and when to stand. If you follow the basic strategies followed by the pros, you will win more hands - period! A common rule is for the player to hit if they are below 17, although not always the case. If the dealer is holding anything above a 6, and you are not at 17 yet, take a hit. Very important to remember is that because the dealer always has to take a hit on any hand that is less than 16, you want to play that to your advantage. If your hand is above 12 and the dealer shows a 4, 5, or 6, your best play is to stand. Stats show that about 40% of the time, the dealer will bust with those cards. If the dealer busts then all remaining players win.
#2 Splitting:
Splitting your hand has proven to be very profitable, so long as you do it with the correct cards. Splitting your hand means that you double your wager and have each of your first two cards be the first card in a new hand. This option is available only when both cards have the same rank. It can be confusing knowing when to split and when not to, so let us make it simple for you: Always split when you have a pair of A|A and 8|8 , 2|2 and 3|3. Never split 5|5 or 10|10. There are other splitting strategies you may want to consider, but these are the basics that will help you win.
#3 Doubling Down:
If you know how to preperly Doubling Down, then you are going to increase your bank quite quickly. On the flip side, doing so at the wrong time will cost you. The number one rule of doubling down is, always double down any hand totalling 11. Of course there are other times to double down, such as if your hand is 10 and the dealer is showing a 9 or lower, go ahead and double down. When your hand is a 9 or you have a "soft" hand (an ace counted as 11) between 13 and 17 against a dealer's 4, 5 or 6, go ahead and double down. Again, always double down on an 11!
#4 Buying Insurance:
To make it easy on you, Never buy insurance, unless you are an expert Blackjack player and have some great card counting skills. But to explain what buying insurance actually is, let's keep going. Players can buy insurance when the dealer is showing an Ace. You pay half the price of your initial wager for the insurance. There are occasions when it might make sense, but most players do so at the wrong time. We have watched player sbuy insurance when they are holding two 10s for a total of 20. The chances that the dealer is sitting on a 10 is decreased becuase you have taken care of a few of them. We just don't think that it is worth it in most cases.
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