Advanced Blackjack Betting Strategies
There are several advanced blackjack strategies that expert and professional players utilize at the tables. Some of them may work for you and some may be too complex for your current level of ability. Either way, we’re including them in this list for your consideration. Become a pro of the basic strategies before you venture into advanced approaches to the game.
There are a few qualities that separate basic blackjack strategies from advanced strategies. For instance, a basic blackjack strategy can be followed using a chart, advanced strategies cannot. These basic strategies are also easy to memorize for specific variations of the game. Advanced strategies are more complex and take time to memorize.
Insurance
As a rule, insurance is rarely advantageous for players. Especially in instances where the dealer is showing an Ace. There are only a select few instances where it works out to your benefit and the action is best left alone until the most opportune time. The Insurance action is best suited for live casino play, because it is easier to make out what cards remain in the deck and which have been played. For this reason, you may want to avoid purchasing insurance unless you are certain there are several 10-value cards remaining in the deck for a dealer to take advantage of.
Multi-Card Hands
While we’ve touched on what it means to have a strong or weak hand. We have not touched on what to do if you have a strong or weak hand consisting of several cards, say four or more. This will directly influence your confidence in the hand as multi-card hands consisting of several low-value cards translates into more high-value cards in the deck for a dealer to draw. This can mean a more likely bust on the part of the House and earn you a win. The same is true for you as the player, too. If you have a hand of 16 points made up of 4, 4, 4, 4, it would be a sketchy bet to draw another card in hopes of getting another 4, because there are so few 4’s left in the deck.
You can however take advantage of this situation when Aces are involved. If you’re dealt and Ace 2 to a dealer showing 10-card, you’re in a bit of a pickle. Your best bet is to hit. Anther low card will elicit another hit. If you’ve caught an Ace, well you have no choice but to hit, as the house edge increases by 0.33% for every point if you stand with this hand at a soft 18 or lower.
Multi-Hand Play
There are some online blackjack variations that allow you to play multiple positions on the table. In many cases 7 seats is the max a single player can occupy. This can be a real advantage for you as a player. Why? The answer is simple. With more cards visible to the player, the better understanding they have of what remains in the deck. In order for this approach to make any sense, you need to know how many decks are used in the version of blackjack being played. Then you can deduce how many of each card is potentially in play during any given hand. Be careful utilizing this strategy to its maximum potential, because playing 7 hands at once means you have to bet on every hand to play. This can increase even further with bets required for splitting and doubling down on strong hands.
Card Counting
While we couldn’t make an advanced blackjack strategy resource for players without mentioning card counting, this strategy can only really be leveraged in certain live casino scenarios. This is because online blackjack games utilize a continuous shuffle. There is one exception. Live dealer online blackjack games that don’t utilize continuous shuffle machines, but rather a mid-deck shuffle leave open the window for card counting strategy to be employed. If you can find a game that fits this description at an online casino, then card counting can be utilized. That said, the level of advantage is still minimal and the system is especially technical for the returns it will yield.
The Martingale System
This system is one that has been around for ages and is applicable to many casino games, not only Blackjack. The system has its roots in Roulette, but has been applied to several other casino games since its founding in the 18th century. The system revolves around the theory that players can minimize losses at the tables by double wagers after a loss to recoup their bankroll. The systems receives a lot of criticism due to the fact that a series of successive losses can result in players running out of money fast. However, all systems come with inherent risk and it is up to you to decide whether or not the Martingale is one strategy you choose to employ.
Oscar’s Grind
This betting strategy also has roots in another casino table game, Craps. The strategy itself can be implemented easily. It is a progressive betting system and begins with making the minimum wager for the table. If the player’s first hand results in a win the wager remain the same. If the first hand is a loss, the wager remains the same. If the player’s second hand wins, then the next wager is doubled. Each winning hand that follows in succession will see the wager increased further. This line of play and wagering continues until the player achieves a profit of one betting unit (i.e. the table minimum bet of $1, $5, etc.). Once achieved, the progression begins anew.
This system is popular since it allows players to utilize their bankroll over very long periods of time. In this case, the key to success is patience and you can see where the name comes from with its slow methodical progression.
These are only a few of the many blackjack betting strategies you can employ at online blackjack tables. All that’s left is for you to utilize our other resources in finding the best promotions and online casinos featuring blackjack games online.
