Blackjack is part skill, part strategy, and part luck. Knowing when to hit, stand, or double down can drastically improve your chances of winning whether you have been playing for a while or have only recently started.
This article will detail these crucial decisions and a few tips to help you in mastering them. Now, let us examine some strategies that can give you the upper hand at the blackjack table.
Blackjack strategy 101
Before we get into specific moves, you should familiarize yourself with basic blackjack strategy. The strategy is, in general, all about statistical probabilities and those decisions that it will minimize.
Basically, the probability you have of winning can be determined from the current total of your hand and what card the dealer has face up. From here, you can extrapolate which action is preferable to take.
By mastering basic strategy, the house edge can be reduced to around 0.5% – which is one of the lowest edges of any casino game.
Although it’s called basic, this strategy it actually encodes every card in the 312 card deck and every possibility of your hands and the dealer’s to ensure you know when to hit, stand, or split.
This means that to be an expert in blackjack you have to learn this strategy and spend a lot time on practicing it. Legalbet updated its lists of new casinos in the UK so you can practice what you learn here in any of them.
However, let’s try to summarize some of the basics here!
When to hit in blackjack
Hitting in blackjack is the act of requesting an extra card which, if drawn well, can possibly better your hand. In some cases, it is pretty clear when we should hit, but, in others, it could be a little challenging.
In general, whenever your hand total is between 12 and 16, and the dealer is showing a strong up card like 7, 8, 9, 10, or Ace, you should hit.
When to stand
When standing, you are rejecting the opportunity to get another card because you think that your hand can win as it is. So, when your hand is somewhere in the vicinity of 17 or more, standing is often the best move.
This is not the most context-reliant advice; for example, the most common move is to stand on a hard 17, but this is typically not the case for a soft 17.
The dealer’s up card is one of the vital elements to trigger the decision to stand in a hand. For example, with a weak dealer up card (2 through 6), the dealer is more likely to bust. Here, standing on a minimum hard total can be a good strategy, as the risk of going over 21 with another card is greater than the reward.
The art of doubling down
Doubling down – a heart-pounding play where you double your starting wager in exchange for getting just one more card. It is a tremendous force multiplier, if implemented correctly; but an extremely risky maneuver otherwise, and a move that’s seen as desperate in most contexts.
In general, you should double down on a total of 10 or 11, if the dealer has a weak up card (2 through 6).
Since these situations have a good chance of giving you a good card to increase your hand, the idea in doubling down is to get a 10 value card. For example, if you have a hand total of 11, any 10-value card will provide you with a 21, which is as good as it gets. At the same time, if the dealer has a weak up card, then they have more chance of busting.
The critical elements of doubling down are timing and intuition. Part of it is being confident but also cautious because there is a lot of upside to winning big, but the risk is also substantial. Yet, when done with the odds on your side, doubling down can be a total game-changer.
Practice makes perfect
Blackjack, often perceived as less reliant on skill, can actually be mastered with dedication and practice. Mastery of the game is achievable through continuous learning and consistent play, which enhances and expands your skill set.
By studying basic strategies, applying advanced techniques judiciously, and managing your bankroll effectively, you’ll gain the knowledge necessary to make strategic decisions regarding when to hit, stand, or double down. This refined approach will surely improve your chances of success at the blackjack table.
