Best Blackjack Strategy & Tips to Win More at Blackjack

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Aug 16, 2020 17 min read Last updated Jan 11, 2024

Are you looking for the best blackjack strategy to maximize your winning odds when you play online? Then you'll love these Blackjack Strategy Tips!

Finding a way to get higher chances to win playing online blackjack shouldn't be so hard.

The basic strategy is the best way to play blackjack games — and when you combine it with some tips on bankroll management and what to do after you win, you have really reached the maximum you can.

In other words, if you are looking for the best blackjack betting strategy to increase your chances to win playing blackjack games, you'll love this guide.

Find the Best Strategy to Play Blackjack

In our Blackjack Strategy Guide you will find:

We also put together a collection of the best bonuses to play online. This way, you can use those freebies to test the blackjack basic strategy and all the tips in this article.

What this guide is NOT...

• A collection of tips to win at blackjack tables
• A list of systems that promise to make blackjack profitable
• An in-depth look at card counting

The illusion that you can beat the game or the casinos's house edge

Blackjack is a gambling game where the casino has an advantage. It doesn't matter what approach you take for single deck blackjack, what side bets you make or what blackjack game you follow. In the long run, the house edge means that the casino always wins.

Why Follow a Blackjack Betting Strategy?

Let's face it - we have all been there. We have all looked for the best and the most effective strategy to win at a blackjack game after we lost our first hands online.

With the right blackjack strategy it's possible to mitigate the house edge and increase your winning chances, and that's because blackjack isn't a gambling game like roulette, video poker, or slots. You can use a basic blackjack strategy chart to knowing the best odds before you make a start.

If you follow the basic betting strategy and learn how to use the information you have at your disposal, you can reach the optimal strategy for giving yourself the best chances to win included in the game.

Professional players have worked hard to 'solve' the game of blackjack and find how to play each hand dealt blackjack to get the best winning odds.

They analyzed how the number of decks in play per single deck affects your chances to win and how you can make the best decision based on the cards you see on the table.

That's what they call the 'blackjack basic strategy'. A list of dos and don'ts where you find exactly how you are supposed to play each and every hand you are dealt.

This is the best strategy for blackjack - both online and in live dealer blackjack games.

The goal of the blackjack basic strategy isn't to help you win at blackjack every time you play. That's impossible. Instead, it is to help you maximize your winning chances and to minimize your losses.

That's also the goal of this guide. We don't list all the strategies for blackjack out there. Instead, we focus only on the best blackjack strategies that are known to work and should help you get better results when you play.

Starting from the tips and tricks included in our cheat sheet (you can also find basic strategy charts to use when playing online).

Choose Your Blackjack Strategy

Let's take a closer look at some of the main blackjack strategies you might come across. Hit the links below to find out more:

What Is the Blackjack Basic Strategy?

Knowing how to manage your money is as important in a classic blackjack game as it is in all gambling games. A correct 'bankroll management' as well as knowledge of house edge is essential when you play — regardless of the blackjack strategies you apply to your games.

Knowing how to bet (and how much) and how to select the right game when you play online blackjack for real money is extremely important.

Once you have those basics covered, you can move into the basic blackjack rules and learn how you are supposed to invest your money once the first dealer's upcard gives you the initial two cards.

As soon as the cards reach you and the dealer opens one of their cards, you have to make your first choice. In a game of blackjack, that means you need to consider the dealer's hand, and pick one of these options:

• Stand
• Hit
• Double
• Split
• Surrender

Do you know why the basic blackjack strategy is also considered to be the best way to discover how to win at blackjack? Because it uses basic logic.

Would you hit if your first two cards gave you 20 points? Of course not.

Would you stand if your starting hand was worth five points? Not a chance.

While these choices are very simple on hands like the ones I use in my example, things get (a lot) more complicated with different cards on the table.

Let me give you a few examples:

• How do you play soft 17 in blackjack?
• When do you hit on a 16?
• What to do with 15 in blackjack?
• What to do when the dealer hits on 17?

This is where the basic blackjack strategy comes in to help you get the best chances to win.

This collection of tips shows you the optimal play for every blackjack hands, calculating your winning odds in combination with the dealer's open card.

The basic strategy to win at blackjack has nothing to do with concepts like card counting or any of those tricks some 'clever' players adopt to beat the house.

This is a simple-to-use guideline that shows you exactly how you are supposed to play every possible hand of blackjack. Use it to know when it is recommended to hit, to stand, or to do something else.

Key:
S = Stand
H = Hit
Dh = Double (if not allowed, then hit)
Ds = Double (if not allowed, then stand)
SP = Split
SU = Surrender (if not allowed, then hit)

What is an insurance bet in blackjack?

This is a blackjack side bet that a player can make if the dealer's upcard is an ace. Here, you're betting that the dealer has a blackjack (a hand containing an ace and a ten-value card). If the dealer does have a blackjack, this bet pays 2:1.

To make an insurance bet, the player must place a side bet equal to half of their original bet in the relevant betting area on the table. If the dealer has a blackjack, the player wins their bet and loses their original bet. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, the player loses their bet and the hand continues as normal.

The insurance bet is a good bet to make if the player is concerned about the dealer having a blackjack. However, it is important to note that the house edge on this bet is 7.07%, which is higher than the house edge on the basic strategy of blackjack (0.5%). This means that the player is more likely to lose money over time by making insurance bets.

A Blackjack Cheat Sheet

To make things even easier for you and help you follow the best betting strategy whenever you play blackjack, we created a quick Blackjack Cheat Sheet with the basic strategy explained in full.

Download the blackjack cheat sheet (it's free) and print it or save it on your mobile phone to keep it always with you when you play.

The blackjack basic strategy cheat-sheet is 100% legal and you can use it both when you play online and at a brick-and-mortar casino.

A Conservative Blackjack Strategy

Don't play high-stakes games unless you feel ready for them and you have enough money to spend on online games. If you are reading this blackjack strategy guide and you are a beginner, you should be afraid of high-stakes games.

When you spend too much money on your games, you risk getting the opposite of what you want. You play to have fun and to find out how to get more chances to win at blackjack - and you end broke and frustrated. Understanding the house advantage is critical here.

The best way to play classic blackjack is to start with what I call a conservative approach. Because finding the right way to handle betting in blackjack is key to long-term fun.

Like many blackjack strategies suggest, you should increase the stakes only when things go well and any potential losses are compensated by the money you have already won, not the one you might win if you get lucky.

In other words, raise even money on your bet every time you win.

Many players believe wins and losses come in streaks. They think you might lose five or six times in a row — but when you win…you are not going to do it just once.

Obviously, that's not true.

Blackjack is a gambling game and there are no patterns for you to exploit or streaks that you can use to win more money every time you play.

There are, however, smart betting strategies like the basic blackjack strategy that can help you increase the chances of a victory.

With that in mind, a conservative blackjack strategy works like this:

• Start from the lowest bet (e.g. $1)
• Increase your bet by 1 unit only after you win
• Go back to the original bet after you lose

When you use this blackjack strategy, you need to go back to the original bet as soon as you lose one hand. This is the best way to be in control of your money and end a gaming session in the black.

All you need to do is to make the right choices (use the basic strategy) and raise your stakes little by little - but only when you win.

An Aggressive Approach to Blackjack: the Martingale Strategy

The Martingale betting strategy (sometimes called the 'Martingale System') sits at the opposite side of the spectrum. This is the perfect blackjack strategy for those players who:

• Play blackjack to win a lot of money
• Can afford to lose a lot of money
• Don't fear the swing of big losses

In other words, this is the perfect blackjack strategy for big spenders, but isn't one that you should try if you are still a beginner who is looking for ways to learn how to play blackjack (remember to check out our beginners blackjack guide first).

The Martingale blackjack strategy is expensive. This blackjack system will help you win often - but only when you have sufficient money to invest in your games.

If you can't spend at least $500 on your games - the Martingale System is not the best blackjack strategy for you.

But if you do — continue reading to discover how to use this betting strategy to make side bets and increase your chances to win.

In short:

The Martingale Strategy is the exact opposite of the conservative approach to betting in blackjack we have just seen.

When you follow this strategy, you need to double your bet every time you lose. Which, in case of a losing streak, can become very expensive very quickly.

The rationale of this audacious blackjack betting strategy is that you will need only one win to go back to square one and recoup all your losses in one hand.

The caveat is: your bankroll needs to be deep enough for you to play and play until that one win comes.

Again, this isn't a betting strategy for beginners. If you decide to try it, make sure your bankroll covers at least 10 consecutive losses from hand #1.

What is the 1-3-2-6 Blackjack Betting System?

The 1-3-2-6 Blackjack Betting System is a progressive betting system that can be used in blackjack. It is a simple system to understand, but it can be very risky if not used correctly.

The basic idea behind the 1-3-2-6 Blackjack Betting System is to start with a bet of 1 unit and increase your bet by 2 units after each win. If you lose a hand, you go back to betting 1 unit. The system gets its name from the fact that the betting sequence is 1, 3, 2, and 6 units.

The 1-3-2-6 blackjack betting strategy is not as exciting as the Martingale strategy, and that's a good thing. This betting strategy doesn't require a huge bankroll and is a lot more suitable for players looking for a way to have better chances to win at blackjack without investing a fortune in the game.

The numbers in the strategy's name indicate the way you should bet after you win a hand of blackjack.

Your first winning is the trigger that starts the sequence while your first losing hand is the one that ends everything.

This blackjack betting strategy is built to get the most value out of winning streaks. If you are lucky enough to use it at the beginning of a four-hand winning streak, you are in for a treat.

Find the Best Blackjack Strategy to Win: A Few Important Tips

We all want to win at blackjack every time we play, but we also know that's impossible.

What is possible, however, is to maximise your chances to win and get better winning odds when you play blackjack online. All it takes a few simple tips.

Follow them carefully, as these blackjack tips are as important as the best blackjack betting strategy:

Don't spend money on the 'insurance' 
Although it's important to know about the insurance bet it can be confusing for beginners. All the best blackjack strategies fail to mention is for one simple reason: most blackjack players won't spend their money on it.

Think about the house edge
Like we said when we went through some of the game's best betting strategies, you can't expect to win at blackjack every time you play.

Like all other casino games, the house edge is what makes sure that the casino has an advantage over the players in the long run. With that in mind, the next of our blackjack tips is one that can make a great difference for you.

Set a budget and abide to that
Experienced blackjack players know that you need to set a losing and a winning limit before the first hand is dealt. Stop playing as soon as you hit one of them. If you lose and hit your lower limit, remember responsible gambling, and take a break, and end your session.

If you win and you hit your highest limit, collects your winnings and leave the table. You can continue to play if you want, but you'll need to set a new bankroll and establish new limits first.

Don't miss the rules sheet
Trust me, there are more blackjack variations that you will ever play. All of them are based on the same core gameplay — but adopt rules that could break you if you aren't ready for them, so get to know the basic rules well.

One of the best parts of playing at online casinos is that the rules are always available at the table. If you are not sure you know everything about the game you want to play, click on the 'info' icon and read the rules.

Choose 3:2 over 6:5 payout
Different casinos have different payout policies - and not all of them are great for you.

Make sure you read the payout table before you begin to play a hand of real money blackjack, and always choose the games with the 'regular' 3:2 payout. These are a much smarter choice compared to the 6:5 payout blackjack games you find at some online casino sites.

Find the Right Blackjack Game to Use Your Strategy

Once you are familiar with the basic blackjack strategy (and some of the more advanced blackjack betting systems), it's time to decide on the best blackjack game to try out your chosen method.

Single Deck Blackjack
Single Deck Blackjack is a variation of blackjack that is played with a single deck of 52 cards. This makes it easier for players to count cards and track the remaining cards in the deck, which can give them a significant advantage over the house.

European Blackjack
This type of blackjack is similar to classic blackjack, but there are a few key differences. European blackjack is played with two decks of cards, and the dealer hits on soft 17. Additionally, players are only allowed to double down on a hard 9, 10, or 11.

Surrender Blackjack
Surrender Blackjack is a blackjack game that includes a rule to allow a player to forfeit half of their bet and end the hand before the dealer checks for a blackjack. Usually, this option is only possible after the player has seen their first two cards and the dealer's upcard.

To surrender, the player simply needs to gesture to the dealer or say "surrender." The dealer will then take half of the player's bet and end the hand. This can be useful if yuo're looking to minimize your losses.

Spanish 21 Blackjack
Spanish 21 blackjack is played with a single deck of cards that has all of the 10s removed. This gives the player a slight advantage over the house. Spanish 21 also has many other unique rules, such as a 'double after split' rule and a 'super bonus 21' rule.

Use Bonuses to Find Your Favorite Blackjack Strategy

Now that you know what are the best blackjack strategies, there is only one thing left: play a few games online to find out which one works best for you.

Here's what you should do to get the best results:

1. Base all your decisions on the basic blackjack strategy.
2. Pick the betting strategy that suits your bankroll.
3. Follow all the blackjack strategy tips above to maximise your chances to win.

To help you find the right games and the right betting strategy, we created a list of the best blackjack bonuses on the market.

All the sites you find in the list are licensed, pay winnings fast, and offer lots of blackjack games. Pick the ones with the best offers, register an account (it's always free), and sit at the blackjack table to start an epic battle with the dealer!

Blackjack Strategy FAQs

_{This article was first published in August 2020. Last updated: October 17th, 2023.}

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