Happy to Stay with 12 or 13｜Win City
If the starting hand is 12 or 13, most blackjack novice players will switch to another card. But this is a very basic mistake.
You must understand that blackjack is a game of known quantities. Although you know your hand – 12 or 13 in this case – you only know the dealer’s one card, his top card. Given that his face down hand is most likely a 10, since 10, J, Q and K are all such values, we can guess that he is the most likely starting hand.
Suppose the dealer shows a 4, 5 or 6. Now, we can assume that his hand is 14, 15 or 16 and he will be forced to take another card, which is likely to bust him.
Armed with this information, players are wise to maintain a hand as low as 12. Why risk taking a card and destroying the edge? What do bookmakers do when this is a reasonable assumption?
Of course, sometimes the dealer won’t go over 21 and you will lose the hand, but in the long run the correct play is to stand on any hand over 11 when the dealer is weak. The exception to this rule is if you have a pair. Split all pairs except 10 pairs that should be stopped and 5 pairs that should be doubled.
Bet within Your Bankroll and Stay Calm｜Win City
It’s not about blackjack tricks, it’s about common sense that can improve your overall game. This is important for all your games or betting in general, always put where you can afford it.
If you only have $1,000 left to gamble for the foreseeable future, don’t bet $200 on blackjack. The natural volatility of the game means you can lose money quickly.
However, if you bet $10 per hand, you can afford a string of bad luck without risking all your cash. Once you start accumulating your bankroll, you can slowly raise your stakes.
Finally, keep calm. One of the best blackjack tricks is to accept early that it’s a game of luck.
Never Buy Insurance｜Win City
At some online blackjack tables, if the dealer shows an ace, you will get a blackjack insurance bet. The idea is that if the dealer hits blackjack, this bet will offset your losses.
While this sounds like a good idea, it’s not. Not in the long run anyway. The odds of the dealer getting blackjack do not justify the price and insurance return you have to pay.
If You Have 11, Double Bet｜Win City
Another way to increase your stack when the time is right is to double bet. This means that after receiving two cards, you can double down and get a third card before continuing.
When your starting hand is 11, double whatever the dealer shows, unless he has an ace. With an 11, your next card is more likely to be a 10, so you’ll end up with a 21. Perfect. Even if you get an 8 or 9, you will end up with 19 or 20 hands.
There are other starting hand combinations that you can double down, depending on the dealer’s hand.
No Tens｜Win City
One of the basic techniques for winning blackjack in the long run is that when you feel the dealer is weaker, you can get more money at the table and you can add more chips. One way is to take apart when you have a pair.
Beginners may always tend to split 10s because of the potential for blackjack or at least two high closing hands. While it is possible and you have double the money on the table, you should never divide by ten.
Don’t split a 10 even if the dealer has a weak hand like a 5. You already have a strong hand, 20, so why risk more money to lose all of it if the dealer continues to get lucky? Chances are you’ve already won, so be it.
