Blackjack Odds

Blackjack, one of the most popular card games enjoyed by millions of casino buffs, is a game where the choices a player makes will affect the house edge. In a blackjack game, the dealer cannot make any choices. All the choices are made by the box holders (blackjack players). The success of a blackjack player depends on the choices they make.

Blackjack is believed to have the best odds for its players. However, this depends on the rules of the game as well as the skills of a blackjack player. A single deck blackjack with Las Vegas Strip rules and double after splitting allows the player a 0.1% advantage. Of course, to obtain the best advantage the player needs to utilize the correct blackjack basic strategy.

House’s Advantage

However, most casinos tend to change the blackjack odds in favor of the house. That is the rules of blackjack game will be structured so as to ensure the house's advantage (also referred as the house edge).

The house edge comes from the fact that the dealer’s hand is played last. That is, the blackjack players have to complete their hands before the dealer does. If the players hand goes bust (exceeds 21 points) then they lose immediately. If both the player and the dealer go bust then the house wins. However, the player can change this benefit away from the house and into their favor, with certain basic strategies and card counting techniques.

Doubling Down

If the player is dealt with a favorable hand he/she has the option to double the wager. For instance, if the player gets a 5 or a 6, then this is a good hand for doubling down. The main idea behind this is that if the player obtains a total of 11 and his/her odds of drawing a 9, 10, or a face card are high, then it is always a good idea for the player to use the doubling down option. This helps you to

Splitting Pairs

If the blackjack player obtains a pair then he can use the option to spit it and create two hands. According to the general blackjack rule, the player will always split aces and eights, but never split 5’s and 10s. This is because a 5 value card is considered as an obvious weak first card. While the reason for not splitting a 10 value card is that a 10 value card is considered as a strong hand and can only be beaten by a blackjack.

By following the basic strategies of blackjack a player can easily reduce the house edge and can change the blackjack odds in favor of him/her.