Blackjack Strategy to Help Your Game

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games.  Although its rules seem simple, beating the odds is not as easy as it looks, especially if it’s the dealer of the casino.  The game has garnered popularity throughout the years since it started from France.  Oddly, the game did not start out as blackjack.  The English name was derived from a payout bonus if the player gets a jack and an ace of spades, hence, blackjack.  The name stuck even though the bonus was abolished.

The object of the game is to get a hand equal or close to 21 and beat the dealer’s cards.  This is when the difficulty of the game comes into play, so various players have come up with different strategies to beat the dealer.

Card Counting System

After blackjack gained popularity in America, players have formulated ways to beat the dealer.  The game did not become popular because it is exciting and risky like any other gambling activity, but it became popular due to the fact that there is a way to beat the dealer.  Players are able to calculate the probability of his odds based on the ratio of cards from high to low.  With this method, he will able to find out his advantages over the dealer that will help him win the game.  This technique is called card counting.  It is a very famous blackjack strategy which caused a lot of publicity that further made the game popular.  MIT students were able to beat the dealer in their own way by using the same technique.

Other Strategies

Other strategies to the game is basic, composition dependent and shuffle tracking.  Basic strategy consists of a set of optimal plays.  This reduces the casino’s advantage if used properly.  This strategy has a table that players can adhere to but may vary depending on the casino’s rules and decks.  Composition dependent strategy, on the other hand, depends not only on the information from the basic strategy but also what the player’s hand is composed of.  However, this strategy falls as the number of decks rise.  Shuffle tracking is created by Edward Thorp.  Unfortunately, the book he published and the strategy itself is quite difficult to learn.  It involves tracking a group of cards during the play.  The player has to follow them throughout the shuffle and then bet accordingly when the cards are played.  This requires sharp eyesight.  The best thing about this strategy is that it can fool casino staff monitoring the player during a game.