European Blackjack: how to play and where to play it in the UK

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2. Understand blackjack strategy so you can keep the odds are on your side

There’s a simplified strategy guide that can help you define your best move in any situation, if you’re playing to win then it’s best that you study and memorise this and learn how to get the odds on your side!

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The Martingale Blackjack Betting System

One of the oldest betting systems around, originating in 18th century France, is the Martingale. The original theory stated that a player who is considerably wealthy could prevent a loss in even money bets by doubling each bet every time he lost. It was originally used for roulette, but it has since been used for other games like Blackjack, as well as stock market trading.

It’s a common strategy to see on blackjack tables, with players doubling each bet after each loss. In theory, this betting strategy is considered solid and one which could help recover all your losses with a single win.

However, if you run into a bad streak of cards, you could end up losing a lot of money. Unless you are a high roller, it might be worth sticking to other tactics.

Game

Blackjack starts with a bet. You enter the game with this bet. After determining your bet,push the Deal button to deal cards. Two face-up cards are dealt to you and two cards – to the Dealer.One of the Dealer’s cards is faced-up and one is hidden.

• Hit – click the Hit button to receive a next card and add its points to your score.
• Stand – click the Stand button to show that you need no extra cards and stop playing.It is next player’s or Dealer’s turn.
• Double – click the Double button to double the bet; you receive only one more card andfinish the game. It is next player’s or Dealer’s turn.

The four horsemen of blackjack

Roger Baldwin, a private in the US Army and a mathematics graduate, joined forces with three of his colleagues at the Aberdeen Proving Ground: Wilbert Canley, another maths grad, Herbert Maisel, who would go on to become a professor at Georgetown University, and James McDermott, who had a maths Masters degree.

Together, they penned the book Playing Blackjack to Win, which is still revered to this day. One chapter involved an introduction to card counting, which has become the casino's Achilles heel to this day!

Set Up

Quite simply, the game is set up with everyone at the table being dealt two cards. The people that are playing at the table and challenging the dealer have both of their cards dealt face up while the dealer has one of their cards dealt face down and one of their cards dealt face up. The card that is dealt face up is referred to as the dealer’s door card, while the card that is dealt face down is referred to as the dealer’s hole card.

Before any dealing is done however, each player needs to bet on the hand. A player must bet in order to receive a hand, although they do have the choice of sitting one or more hands out if they want to take a break. The bet must be somewhere in between the maximum and minimum allowable bets as defined by the table you are at.

How to Play Online Blackjack

Online blackjack is a fan-favourite at casinos across the globe because of the challenges it presents. No two hands of blackjack are the same, making it unpredictable and exciting! Depending on the cards they deal you, you can either split your hand, buy insurance, or even double your wager for one more card - if you are feeling confident.

To win a hand in blackjack, you need to have a higher score than the dealer without going over 21. If you draw with the dealer, then it is a push, and you get your ante back. Whenever you end up with a total greater than 21, you have busted and can’t possibly win your main bet. If the dealer busts, then all players with a score of 21 or under win.

The fundamentals of blackjack revolve around probability. If you have a total score of 17, then four cards that can help you get closer to 21. This means there are nine cards that will cause you to overshoot and bust. However, as with most things in life, nothing is guaranteed!

In blackjack, when they deal you a pair, you have a choice of whether to split your cards. If you choose to split, then you will need to place down another ante, identical to your original wager. After this, you get to play two hands and they are entirely separate from each other.

Another situation you may face while playing some types of casino blackjack is insurance. While you can classify insurance as a side bet, it is used to help protect you from the dealer having a blackjack from the deal. Having a “Blackjack” is where they deal you two cards with a total of 21. For insurance to be offered to players, the dealer’s upcard must be an ace. The insurance will cost you exactly half your ante and will pay out at 2:1. If the dealer’s face-down card is a ten, king, queen, or jack, then you have won the side bet.

Playing blackjack

How to use the online blackjack strategy calculator?

Firstly set the rules of your Blackjack game:

In the help section of a Blackjack game, it will tell you whether Surrender is allowed, and whether a Dealer stands or hits on Soft 17.

If you can't find the rules then assume Surrenders are NOT allowed and the Dealer will STAND on Soft 17 (this will almost always be the case).

Next set the card that the Dealer has, this will be the card at the top of the screen. Click the + under 'Dealer' and then choose the card they have.

Now input your hand. Click the + under 'Card 1' to choose your first card, and then the + under 'Card 2' to choose your second card.

The calculator will then state the best strategy action to take (the one that will minimise the house edge).

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How to play

Now that you know your goal let’s start.

The game begins with a regular deck minus the jokers. All numbered cards score their face value. Picture cards, J, Q, and K, count as ten. The ace can represent one or eleven, depending on which gives you a more decisive hand.

Players and the dealer get two cards at the start of every round. You can ‘stand,’ meaning you don’t take another one if you think you have a winning hand. Or you can ‘hit,’ which is to ask for an additional card to strengthen your position.

If you get an ace and a card that’s worth ten points, you win. The term is blackjack and is the most valuable hand any player can have.

Now, let’s look at some strategies that’ll give you a better winning chance.

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PLAYING RULES

This game is available with single-, double-, six-, and eight-deck games. Rules vary but the most popular version has these rules: Six-deck, h17, das, resplits up to four hands, including aces, no surrender, and a blackjack pays 3-2. The twist in the rules, compared to a traditional blackjack game, is Free Doubles and Free Splits.

They work as follows:

• Free Doubles means on hard totals of 9, 10, and 11, the player’s original wager is matched with a “free bet” token, and the player receives one draw card to complete the hand.

• If the dealer wins, the player loses only his original bet
• If the hand pushes (or ties), the player will get back his original bet
• If the player’s hand beats the dealer’s hand, the player is paid for his original wager plus an amount equal to the original bet

For example, if your original wager was, say, $10 and you doubled on a hard 11, with the “Free Double” you win $20 if your hand beats the dealer’s hand. With the Free Double, you risked $10 on the hand with the opportunity to win $20.

Note: Free Doubles are not in effect for any hand that contains an ace (meaning any soft hand, like A-6). You can still double down on a soft hand only you don’t get the Free Double.

• Free Splits means your original pair is separated into two hands, the original wager is placed on the first hand, and the free bet token is placed on the second hand. (Note: Free Splits is not available on 10s). You play each hand one at a time. If in the course of playing out either hand, you can double down or resplit (up to four hands), each resplit and double is allowed a Free Bet. Every time a hand wins, the “free bet token” is paid with real casino chips (and the token is removed by the dealer). Similarly, if a player loses or pushes, the free bet token is removed by the dealer.

With free bets available to resplits and double downs after splitting, it’s possible (although slim) that a player could end up with a total of eight bets while only paying for one of them (the other seven would be free).

Note: Players can split and double on all other hands that don’t qualify for a “free bet” using regular casino chips (as you would in a traditional blackjack game.)

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The goal of blackjack is to hold a hand whose card value total is as close as possible to 21, while exceeding the card value of the hand held by the dealer. The easiest way to achieve this objective is by drawing a blackjack, that is an ace and a ten, which together make 21 and give you an automatic win with the maximum payoff at 3/2 on your bet.

Each card in a hand has a point value that is added up to calculate the total of the hand. The face cards: King (K), Queen (Q), and Jack (J) are worth 10 points each, while the number cards 2 through 10 are worth their pip value. The Ace (A) can either count as 1 or 11, this makes the difference between a “soft” and a “hard” hand, and the method of calculating the value of an ace depends on the rest of the hand.

Other ways to win at blackjack is to have a hand that exceeds the dealer’s total or by letting the dealer go “bust”, that is going over 21 while you remain under the limit. However, if you’re the one who goes bust by having a count that exceeds 21, then you’ll automatically lose your bet.

Blackjack online follows the same rules as the physical game played in casinos. At the beginning of the round, after making their initial bet, the dealer will deal the player two cards turned up while the dealer also gets a card with its face turned down. There are a few variations to this setup, but the rest of the game revolves around the options to take a hit and add another card, double down and increase the amount of money wagered, or standing on the current hand.

Inexperienced players often wonder how is it possible to win at blackjack in the long term when their probability of winning a hand in a fair game is approximately 44%. Well, one of the main reasons why this is possible is the player’s ability to get more money into action when they hold an advantage against a dealer who is in trouble.

One way to increase your action in favorable situations is to double down, in which case you post an extra bet that should be equal in size to your initial stake. In exchange, you get one additional card and are no longer able to hit your hand. The dealer would either tuck the extra card under your chips in pitched games or place it sideways next to your initial two cards in a multiple-deck game.

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Doubling down can indeed be risky since it involves increasing your bet. This causes clueless or more conservative players to altogether avoid this play out of fear they might end up losing twice as much money on a single hand. Others tend to overdo it, exercising the double down option each time their “intuition” tells them they stand to win a hand.

Yet, doubling down can be one of the most thrilling and profitable moves you can make at the blackjack table, but only on condition you are able to identify the advantageous situations that call for a bet increase. In this article, we tackle doubling down rule variations and give you further insight into some of the key doubling decisions that can help you maximize your profits.