You can also use it as a beginner’s guide to playing blackjack if you need help getting to the table for the first time. If you are an experienced blackjack player, this advice sounds simple. One of the problems experienced players face is that they forget things that beginners don’t know. You just need to try to put yourself in the shoes of the beginner and start from zero.
When you make things as easy as possible, you don’t risk confusing new players with too much information.
Here are five simple steps for your first blackjack experience.
1 – Find a good table
It’s easy to get bogged down trying to figure out all the different variations of the blackjack rules and how they change the casino edge. But when you’re trying to figure out the best way to start, you need to keep it simple.
Playing at a blackjack table that pays 3 to 2
Playing on a table where the dealer stands on a soft 17. If you can’t find a table where the dealer stands on a soft 17, you can ignore that rule.
I know that if you want to play with as low a house edge as possible, you need to find other good rules. They include surrender, doubling after a split, doubling as many times as possible, and multiple splits. But all of these can quickly become confusing to new players.
If your time is very limited, you can pass up the second rule and just make sure you get 3 to 2 on natural blackjack. when the payout drops to 6 to 5, the house edge goes up so much that you shouldn’t even play.
The difference between the house hitting a soft 17 and standing between a soft 17 is not as big as the casino edge. Therefore, it is not as important. Many casinos with several blackjack tables have at least a few tables that pay 3 to 2 and have a dealer that abides by the Soft 17 rule.
Once you have gained some experience at the blackjack tables, I recommend that you learn the other rules. This will help your long term results. The best way to get started is to find a 3 to 2 table and start playing.
2 – Never buy insurance
Some dealers call insurance bets money. Because the casino wants you to believe that you will break even when you bet. The problem is that the only time you break even is when the dealer has a natural blackjack. When the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack, you still place the original bet and lose the insurance bet.
In fact, insurance is not part of the regular blackjack game. It’s just a quirky way for casinos to add profitable side bets to the base game.
When a casino offers you blackjack insurance, the bet is actually on whether the dealer’s ante card is a 10-point value. The insurance pays 2 to 1, but the set has nine cards that are not worth 10 and four cards that are not worth 10. This is a 9 to 4 ratio, which is worse than a 2 to 1 payout, making insurance a poor choice.
3 – No Side Bet
Insurance is the most common blackjack side bet, but many casinos have other bets as well. As a general rule, all side bets offered at a casino should be avoided. This is also true for all of the most common blackjack side bets. Insist on a basic blackjack game that pays 3 to 2 and never make any side bets, including insurance.
4 – Strategy Cards
Blackjack is one of the games available in the casino where you can use strategy to change the edge of the casino. Some of the games are easy to figure out. But when it comes to the best strategy, many of them are hard to figure out.
The good news is that you can simply use strategy cards at the table. Sometimes, other players are dismissive of players who use strategy cards at the table. But as long as you don’t slow down the game too much, the casino won’t mind. Once you learn how to use strategy cards, you will soon see the best way to play.
After you have been using blackjack strategy cards for a while, you begin to memorize the most common games. This will help you make faster decisions about games.
Sometimes Blackjack dealers will give you advice. If this advice is about the rules and how to play, you should listen to them. But if the dealer tries to tell you how to play a hand that doesn’t match your strategy card. You should politely decline and follow the best strategy.
5 – Make a minimum bet
Basic blackjack has a casino edge for casinos, unless you know some of the edge games, such as card counting. The longer you play, the higher the risk and the more you lose.
This is why you need to make minimum bets at the table and stay with it. Many blackjack players up the bets when they bet, essentially chasing their losses. While this sometimes works in the short term, in the long run it just means they will lose more money. The better way to play longer is to bet the least amount possible with the lowest possible casino edge.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you can maintain a lower casino edge and make your money last longer. These steps also give you a chance to win your first blackjack game. The odds are still against you. In the long run, unless you learn to play with some edge, you will lose. But this simple system does give you a chance to win some games.