One way to learn how to play basic strategy blackjack is to have an applicable basic strategy card/chart handy while you’re playing.

Here’s another way that let’s you leave the strategy card in the draw – and it’s perhaps a little more enjoyable.

ViG powered casinos (Celtic, Fairway, Castle) offer a game called Live Blackjack with Early Payout.  It’s dealt from a 6 deck shoe, Blackjack pays 3:2, dealer stands on soft 17, you can Hit, Stand, Double or Split, and you win if you’re closer to 21 than the dealer without busting.  Just like normal blackjack right?

Wrong. There are  a couple of key differences from ‘standard’ blackjack.  The first is that you get an option at each stage of the deal to take an early payout.  The payout amount is automatically calculated based on your stake and the value of your cards relative to the dealer’s up-card (no doubt with a in-built house edge).

The second, and more important difference in the context of learning basic strategy is that at every stage of the deal during this game, the basic strategy play is highlighted to you.  You don’t have to take it, but you are certainly made aware of it as it’s clearly highlighted in blue (see ‘Hit‘ below) each time you are required to make a decision.

In the case of the in-play hand above (spotlighted), the basic strategy play is to ‘Hit‘. While for the in-play hand below, the basic strategy play is to ‘Stand‘.  Again clearly indicated.

Two more aspects of this game that make it a nice little practice session to hone your basic strategy play:

1. You can play 3 hands per deal; and
2. You can play in fun mode.  No depositing or real money is needed.  Play hand after hand after hand for free.

After a few hours playing this game and learning through repetition you’ll start to get a good handle on what the right and wrong plays are in blackjack and with a bit of work you’ll  be able to go into basic-strategy-auto-pilot when you hit other tables.

Just remember that you are learning basic strategy for the particulars of this blackjack variation (6 deck shoe etc) which will be slightly different to other variations (most other live blackjack games are dealt from an 8 deck shoe for starters).

Below is a short recording of a deal at Fairway Casino.

Hope this helps your blackjack game!

LD

• FACT 1: Blackjack (depending on rule variations) played optimally is a small house edge game.
• FACT 2: The above holds true for live blackjack – the majority of  games reviewed on this site have a mathematical house edge of around 0.5% if played optimally.
• FACT 3: The vast majority of blackjack players simply DO NOT play optimally. This is evidenced by audited return to player rates for blackjack games as low as 97%, rather than close to 99.5% (where they should be).
• FACT 4: Playing strict basic strategy (ie optimal playing strategy) is NOT DIFFICULT – particularly playing live online.

Why it’s easy to execute perfect basic strategy play…

Quite simply, the work’s already been done for you.  Blackjack is quite possibly the most analyzed casino game in the world.  For every possible rule variation and shoe size combination offered, experts have already constructed basic strategy cards or charts that tell you exactly what play is best for every possible deal scenario.

You don’t need an in depth knowledge of the game.  You don’t need a photographic memory.  You don’t even need any numeracy skills to speak of.

All you need to be able to do is read the card and make your play accordingly.

And when you’re playing live blackjack this really is quite easy because:

a) no one can see you reading the card;

b) the deals are typically slow, so you have plenty of time.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that you really have NO EXCUSE not to play perfect basic strategy when you’re playing online.

What card do I use?

The card left sets out the BS play for blackjack games where:

- there are 8 decks in the shoe;
- dealer stands on soft 17;
- player can double any 2 cards;
- player can double after split;

This is the correct chart to use for Evolution Gaming , Playtech, Microgaming and CWC Gaming casinos which covers a good proportion of available live blackjack options.

Simply print out this card and have it sitting handy while you are playing the game.

Reading the card

Match the hands dealt in the actual game to those on the card and the intersection is the basic strategy play (key at bottom).

Example:

Your hand:   7, Q = 17

Dealer up-card: 9 = 9

Intersection of ‘Your hand’ 17-20 and ‘Dealer’s face up card’ 9 is S=Stand…so you stand.

Just follow the card (STRICTLY) and you’ll be richer for it!

I used to own a Weimaraner named Sully.

Sully wasn’t a smart dog.  When he ran through the fly-screen door and completely destroyed it as a puppy I laughed it off and thought he’ll live and learn. When he did it for the fourth time I decided it was time to find him a new home.

As it turns out (rather tragically) I never got a chance to find him a new home because he ran away.

You know that trick you pull on dogs when you pretend to throw a stick and they charge off for 50 meters or so before realizing you didn’t throw it, at which point they turn and come back?   I did that with Sully and he just kept on running.  Like Forrest Gump he galloped on and disappeared into the distance and I never saw him again.

Yep, Sully was a very, very dumb dog.  A contender for stupidest mammal ever.

Another contender surfaces in Vegas

Not so says Bill Zender.  Bill is a table games consultant in Las Vegas and he believes that the, “the dumbest mammal on the face of the Earth is a man in lust.”

He’s referring to the growing number of visitors to Vegas who are content to play blackjack on tables paying 6:5 for Blackjack.

According to the Las Vegas Sun almost 25% of tables on the strip now fall into this category and many of them are located in “party pits” – sections of the casino where the dealers are sexy girls wearing very little and some of the tables are set up with a pole rather than chips and cards.

An unfortunate truth is that many players either don’t know, or don’t care that they are being ripped off by the casino.

6-5 blackjack = terrible return to player rate

Hit blackjack with a $100 bet playing a 6-5 game and you get $120.

Hit blackjack on a 3-2 game and that same bet earns you $150.

The implications of this single rule difference on expected return to player are significant.  No longer are you playing a skinny house edge game, but rather a ‘house game’ like American Roulette or slots.  In practice the difference is so significant Zender says that  even with a third the turnover of traditional 3-1 tables the 6-5 sucker tables will make the same money for the casino.

6-5 blackjack is a very silly game to play – especially when there are plenty of 3-2 tables on the strip. It’s a bit like walking into your corner store and ask to pay 20% above retail for a loaf of bread.

But the sucker tables are cleverly packaged by casinos with lower table limits, creating the perception of a low risk option…and the house edge misgivings are of course hidden behind large breasts and long legs wrapped around poles. I guess if the dealer is sexy enough there will always be  numpties out there happy to get even money (or even 2:3 or worse) for blackjack.

Fortunately things are a little bit too competitive online for a live dealer 6-5 blackjack game to survive (until someone introduces naked dealers that is).

Related pages: Live blackjack house edge calculations

Highlighted is the blackjack side bet option offered at Playech powered live casinos

If you play blackjack online at any casino that runs on Playtech’s European live dealer platform, you are offered a few side bet options in addition to your standard blackjack bets.  This begs the question…should you take them?

Conventional casino player wisdom on side bets is this:

They are typically attractive looking (high payout) bets that are simple and easy to place but which offer pretty poor returns.

But there’s always an exception to rule, and you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover..blah blah blah.  So I did  a bit of poking around to see if the conventional wisdom applied here.

First a look at the side bets

Here’s a quick summary of what the bets are and their payouts…

• Red/Black pair: bet on this option and if a red/black pair (first 2 cards) is dealt your payout is 6:1 on your staked amount.  You can bet on a red/black dealer pair or player pair.
• Colored pair: as above, only this time you’re looking for same color pairs.   That is a   pair or a pair.  Payout on staked amount is 12:1.
• Perfect pair: Here you’re looking for an identical match.  Same number/picture and same suit.  Payout is 25:1.

The house psychology here is clever.  In a game that traditionally offers a maximum payout of 3:2 (for blackjack) a payout of 25:1 looks on the face of it like spectacular value.  But its not.

Mathematically calculated house edge

House edge, or return to player rate may be mathematically calculated for any casino game.  If you were to play the above game using basic strategy and avoid the side bets, you’d be looking at at house edge of around 0.5%.  For more on this calculation and house edges across different live platforms, visit our live blackjack house edge page.

Now that’s a pretty skinny house edge – and one that affords a reasonable chance of short term wins over the house. The house edge on the side bet however, is significantly worse.  According to the Wizard of Odds who is the generally accepted oracle when it comes to online casino game maths, the house edge on side bets with the above payouts, and dealt from an 8 deck shoe (as is the case for Playtech’s live blackjack) is 4.1%.

Conclusion

It’s a pretty simple one.

Avoid the side bets and play basic strategy and you are looking at a return to player rate of around 99.5%.

On the side bets, you’re getting around 96%…that’s a house game and one you really don’t want to be playing!

As always, play within your means, and good luck!

Of all the intricate and detailed betting systems that have been devised to beat blackjack, many people still prefer to use the old faithful strategy of flat betting.  Flat betting is done just like it sounds in that you bet the same amount on every hand.  Seeing as how flat betting is such a simple strategy, it’s worth examining whether or not flat betting can compare to the more elaborate blackjack systems by looking at it’s pros and cons.

Pros of Flat Betting

The biggest advantage to flat betting is that it will prevent you from adding insult to injury during losing streaks.  Terrible losing streaks can come at any time, and they only get worse when you increase your bets to change the outcome.  Flat betting can minimize your losses during a losing streak since bets remain constant.

Another big advantage to flat betting is that it’s a simple strategy.  With flat betting, you don’t need to know any fancy equations or betting patterns to perform this strategy.  You just need to make sure that you’re making the same size wagers over and over again.

Cons of Flat Betting

The worst drawback to flat betting is that you minimize profits during a winning steak with this strategy.  Because of the fact that your bets never change, you can never hope to reap greater rewards when lady luck is smiling upon you.

Another problem with flat betting is that it can take a lot of the fun out of blackjack.  If you’re sitting on your computer making the same bet every time, things can get boring really quickly.

How Flat Betting stacks up to Other Systems

Flat betting is used as the measuring stick for all other betting systems.  If somebody wants to test out the success of a betting system, then they use flat betting as the placebo.  And in every test so far, flat betting has proved to be superior to all other blackjack systems (card counting aside).  So if you can stave off the boredom, you should stick to flat betting for optimal blackjack results.

To try flat betting playing live blackjack, visit our live blackjack page.

I came across a really great article the other day written by a guy named Michael R. Hall.  It’s about shuffle tracking, an advanced blackjack strategy that some players use in addition to counting to get maximum advantage over the house.

Below is a summary of some of Michael’s key points, but if you have the time I recommend you read the full article here as it is full of insights and also well written.

So what is shuffle tracking?

Counting cards gives players an advantage because it allows them to gauge, to a certain extent anyway, the composition of the remaining cards to be dealt from a shoe – if these cards are high (ie more tens, pictures), players’ chances of winning improve.  Now while card counting provides a means to gauge shoe composition during the deal, shuffle tracking takes things a step further and gives players a means of keeping track of shoe composition during the shuffle so that they are in an advantage position at the commencement of the next deal.

Underlying the approach is the assumption that most casinos shuffle their shoes in a non-random way.  If you have some idea of card composition pre-shuffle, the picture post-shuffle can be loosely predicted.  Now this all falls down  if the casino uses a machine shuffle, or very thorough manual shuffles.  But for reasons of time management and maximum playing time (therefore profits) more often than not shuffles are quite basic.

A commonly employed casino shuffle, and one that lends itself to shuffle tracking is the ‘zone shuffle’.  You’ve probably seen this one – the shoe is split into manageable piles that are each shuffled in turn.

Do I need to know how to count cards?

Yes – knowledge of counting is a prerequisite, simply because you have to have some idea of shoe composition before the shuffle, and the only way to do this is to employ an effective counting method, like Hi-Lo.   If you are aware, through application of your counting strategy that the cards remaining in the shoe at the end of the deal are low, and you can track that section during the course of the shuffle, then when it comes time to insert the cut card, you can, if possible seek to eliminate this segment of cards from the next deal.

More complicated tracking methods necessitate being aware of the count/composition with regard to multiple, distinct card segments – rather than just at the end of the deal.  If you know the rough composition of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th sections of the shoe, you may then be able to get a good sense of the composition post deal.

What are the essential benefits?

1. knowledge of card composition by region AT THE BEGINNING of the deal; and

2. ammunition to insert the cut card to clear advantage.

Can I shuffle track playing live blackjack?

To some extent you can.  But its effectiveness is limited.  For a start, given most live blackjack games re-shuffle mid shoe, count penetration is difficult.  Secondly, you aren’t physically there to insert the cut card so even if you could form a picture of the cards in each shoe segment, you can’t use this to your advantage with an aggressive cut card insertion.

Generally the dealer will insert the cut card mid shoe, as illustrated below.