The popularity of online casino games is on the rise with sporting events either cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, this poses a major challenge to the dedicated online gamblers as iGaming differs from your average sports betting environment.

If you’re an amateur iGamer looking to kill time in quarantine, we’ve listed five key blackjack skills to help your get started on a new journey. Although the thought of signing up for card games can be daunting at first, blackjack is an amateur-friendly game. If you want to try your hands at popular iGames, visit online casinos in PA.

Five Blackjack Tips to Help Amateurs Get Started

1.    Figure Out the Number of Decks Being Used – Counting cards is illegal. Let’s get that out of the way! However, it’s crucial to figure out the number of decks being used to help identify patterns and correctly predict the next hand. Not all casinos will use the same number of decks, which is another parameter to consider while trying to navigate your way around the situation.

2.    Look for the Right Casino – Although there’s no single casino that meets everybody’s requirements, make a list of the top operators in your area and settle down for the one you believe checks all the right boxes. This sounds complicated than it is and can be solved by studying user reviews and comments. Generally, look for online casinos offering the highest rewards and the least number of clauses.

3.    Keep Your Strategy Card Handy – Players must follow a strategy card in blackjack. These cards help identify situations when to hit or stay depending on the dealer’s cards. Pick a strategy card that suits your gaming style as some strategies tend to be on the more aggressive side of the spectrum. As you get used to the game, you won’t rely on a cheat sheet as much.

4.    Practice Your Game – Before deciding to play against any real opponents for real cash, it’s a good idea to practice your game on bots. This offers a better opportunity to master your strategies and moves in advance and avoid getting overwhelmed by a live table.

5.    Have an Insurance Strategy – The house offers players insurance when the dealer shows an Ace. Players have the option of betting half their wager to protect their hand from a blackjack. Before getting engrossed in the details, it’s a great idea to figure out whether to accept or decline the insurance policy if the situation arises. The same strategy applies during splitting hands. While some players prefer splitting their hands, others settle for a single guaranteed win. Due to the numerous options on the table, players are advised to work on a strategy and stick to it through the game. Signing up for a reputed blackjack dealer is crucial to securing a genuine win. Look for the most trusted operators in your area for the best results

If you want to walk into a casino and have a snowball’s chance in hell at keeping your money out of the house’s hands – other than random, blind luck– then there are only a couple of options.

The first and foremost is sticking to Blackjack and executing perfect basic strategy.

Now, let’s clear the air and state that this doesn’t mean you need to be able to count cards. Although if you can count cards, you could put the house advantage in the negative and tilt it in your favor. That said, without being a math-wiz, you can simply follow situational rules to a ‘t’ and reduce the house edge to around 1%. What this means is, you’ll be able to play all night on one bankroll and have a great time. Perhaps, you’ll end up winning a decent amount of money.

Where to Start

For starters, you’ll want to start your blackjack journey at a low-minimum table. If you can find a $1 or  $2 table, you can build your chops without breaking the bank. In that same vein, you can learn to play blackjack on trustworthy sportsbooks like Bovada that offers free tables or low-bet tables.

Secondly, you’ll need to do a little bit of reading on basic strategy. There are plenty of online resources and heck, you can go to your library and check out any of the handful of great blackjack strategy books. We are not going to go fully into the strategy in this article, but we’ll go over a couple of things to get you started so you aren’t a complete dummy when you grab your first strategy book – probably Blackjack for Dummies.

One thing to note: you should start out by focusing on strategy rather than worrying about the number of decks.

Occasionally you can find single-deck and two-deck games. But they are few and far between because they are extremely easy to count cards on. However, while at a casino, you are most likely going to run into 6-deck and 8-deck games. Meaning, they shuffle as many as eight card decks in the shoe to limit your ability to keep track of the cards that have been pulled out. So, if you are not counting cards. It doesn’t really matter how many decks there are. Just focus on understanding the rules and trying to make the right call for each situation.

Master the Art of Surrender

Knowing when to surrender is critical for managing your bankroll and minimizing loss.

There are two types of surrender, early and late. And don’t be put off by the term. It’s actually probably psychologically designed with a negative connotation. Surrendering feels wrong because you’re trying to win. But over the course of the game, learning when to give up some ground is the best course of action, and can be the difference between profiting and losing your hard-earned money.

In a nutshell, it works like this: once you see your two-card hand and the dealers ‘up’ card you can make an educated guess as to your probability of winning the hand. After analyzing the situation, if you feel like your chances are not that great, you can give up and only lose half your bet amount. To do so, simply say the word, ‘surrender’, or drag your pointer-finger across the felt in a line from left to right.

Early surrender is not common in the United States.  That said if early surrender is allowed, you can surrender before a dealer sees their hole card – which you might want to do if it is an Ace or 10-value card. Early surrender to an Ace reduces the house probability by .39% and against tens, it’s around .24.  So, over the long run, you can minimize your losses by .63 simply by knowing when to hold’em and when to fold ‘em.

Late surrender is when you surrender your hand only after the dealer looks at their hole card – the one facedown. If the dealer has an Ace facing in 4,6,or 8-deck games, you pretty much always want to surrender, except in rare cases that you have spit 7s.

One of the first things you should master in blackjack to be successful is all the situations in which you should surrender. So, we recommend you scour that section of you How to Play Blackjack book!

When it comes to playing at the casino, there are plenty of different games available that provide great fun and entertainment depending on what you fancy.

Of course, we all have our personal favourites, but one of the most popular games is blackjack and it’s easy to see why. Many believed it originated from French casinos in the early 1700s, and whilst there have been adaptations over the years, it’s still a game that attracts a lot of players.

Even though each hand can be over in a matter of seconds, there’s a lot more to the game than some may realise. It requires sharp thinking, bold decision making and, of course, there’s the element of luck needed if you are to be successful.

Whether you are playing at one of the largest casinos on the planet or are loading up the game from your phone, the thrill and speed of blackjack makes it particularly interesting to play. Here we explore the different approaches that you should always consider when playing.

When to split

The first aspect we look at is when to split. The opportunity to split comes if you are given two cards of the same value on the initial deal, such as two 5s, 8s or cards worth ten like Jack and King.

By splitting, you double your initial wager and are given two further cards, meaning you will take on the dealer with two hands in that game. The obvious risk to this is that if you lose, you can end up losing double what you had initially planned, but it does give you the chance to win. Therefore, if used correctly, it can increase your chances.

It should be pretty clear in some cases that you wouldn’t benefit from splitting. For example, having a pair of 10s is one, and that’s because having 20 is a very good hand, and it’s going to be hard to better that from splitting.

Another pair that you should avoid splitting at all costs is 5s. That’s because it’s a tricky position to get close to 21 from, with a high next card leaving you in a position where you could be on 15, which is tough to win from. Plus, sticking with ten from your two 5s mean you are only potentially one card away from a win.

However, that’s not to say splitting should be avoided at all costs – and players should always split 8s and Aces.

Firstly, with 8s. Some may be sceptical about that as starting with 8 isn’t ideal, which is true. But, 16 is a very difficult number to win from, and hitting from that position can often mean you go bust. Therefore, in the long run, you will always benefit from splitting 8s if you consistently adopt that strategy.

Thankfully, splitting Aces is clear cut. Landing a ten on either of the next two cards will ensure you hit 21, and sticking with them means you are on 12 or 2, so it’s not a tough decision at all.

The one hand you must double down on

“Counting cards at the blackjack table” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by SanFranAnnie

Another factor that the player must consider is when to double down. This gives the player a chance to place another wager up the amount you originally staked, but the catch is that you are only given one more card – so it should only be used when you are feeling confident.

And, perhaps the best opportunity to double down comes when you are given a hard 11, which means 11 without an ace. Whilst there are obvious risks attached to it, it’s a good position to be in as a ten will ensure you hit 21, and there are many cards out there to the value of ten.

This is an approach that you need to be careful with and not something to use frequently. Plus, doubling down on anything over 11 means you run the risk of going bust whilst the fact you get just one card should put you off doubling down on anything too low.

Considering when to stand or hit

In most cases in blackjack, the player will have a decision to make to stand or hit after the initial hands are dealt, and a lot depends on the upcard the dealer has. That needs to come into your thinking immediately as it has a big bearing on what you should do.

Essentially, you need to quickly assess what chance they have of winning in comparison to your hand. So, if the upcard is a ten and you are working with a hand that’s up to 15, the reality is you need to take the risk and hit. Yet, if their upcard is low, you can take the chance that they will have to hit and they could go bust themselves.

There are four times as many ten value cards as any other in the deck, so that is a factor. If you’re on 17 and the dealer has a low value, you know the ten won’t make a big impact if it’s pulled out, whereas if they do have a high-value card on show, you may have to prepare to take a risk.

“blackjack” (CC BY 2.0) by Andreasgh

Ultimately, the beauty of blackjack is its unpredictability, and nothing we can say here will ever take that away. Part of the fun is the excitement and thrill as you wait to see what card is revealed or what the dealer has, whether it’s within the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas or online. Having said that though, there are ways you can help yourself, and this insight should ensure you go into the next game prepared and with a greater understanding of how to win.

If you are new to the game of blackjack, you might hear terms mentioned and wonder what on earth people are talking about. There is always an assumption that everyone knows so you are unlikely to find people explaining themselves, so whichcasino.com has put together a quick glossary of some of the more common blackjack terms.

Ace: The ace card in blackjack can be counted as both high or low, which is a value of 11 or 1.

Bust: The aim of the game is to get to 21 or as close as possible. Going above the value of 21 is classed as bust, and you are then out.

Bust Card: The offending card that causes the hand to go over 21 and therefore bust.

Card Counting: This is a strategy used in blackjack that players use to try and get an edge. It is a method of tracking the cards to see which high and low cards have already been played. Once they see cards that change the favourable odds, they then increase their bets. There is some school of thought that suggests it is ineffective whereas others swear by it.

First Base: The player sat on the far left of the dealer; this is the first person to be dealt their card every time.

Hard Hand: This refers to a hand without an Ace, or if the ace is being used as the value of one.

Hard Hand: This refers to the actual total of cards in a hand where the aces are counted as a value of one.

Hit: Once the cards have been dealt each player can decide whether to ask for another card or stand where they are. When they ask for another card, this is classed as a hit.

Preferential Shuffle: This is where the casino allows a shuffle whenever they decide which destroys any edge the player might have. It is usually done when bets are placed.

Round: Each round starts with an empty table of no cards. The player must place their bets, and then the dealer will deal a hand of cards to every player. The round will then be classed as finished when the hand has been played, and all the bets are paid out.

Soft Hand: When there is an ace in the hand which can double as 11 or 1, therefore if you hit you cannot bust.

Stand: Once the hand has been dealt the player can add the value of their cards and decide whether to hit or stand, which means that they keep the cards they have. If you have 21 or close to 21, it would be sensible to stand as the chances of going bust with another card are quite high. You can also win if you are the closest to 21 anyway.

Two-Round: A directive from the casino to the dealer. They are told to deal just two rounds and then shuffle the cards. This destroys any player edge.