Play Real Money Blackjack

Blackjack offers the best house edge of all the casino table games. Twenty-one has dozens of popular variants. Most of these versions offer slightly higher or lower expected returns, but also provide some of the best odds you’ll find in a gambling house. That’s why players visiting a casino find so many different tables, often with quite different rules.

If you’re going to play blackjack for real money, it pays to learn the various rule variants. Finding the best blackjack table in the casino saves you a lot of money by the end of a gaming session. Each rule added onto the classic blackjack game changes not only the house edge, but also the strategy gamblers use to optimize their bankroll.

Real Money Blackjack Games

When playing real money blackjack, you’ll need to know the strategies of the game. Games like keno, roulette, and slots have no strategy aspect to them. Any one player is just as good as the next player, whether you’ve played for 30 minutes or 30 years. In blackjack, gamblers make real strategic decisions which affect the odds of winning and losing. That’s why the casino offers a game with such a low house edge, because its management knows that most blackjack gamblers aren’t going to be able to play optimally. When a person doesn’t make the right moves, the house edge rises to the level of other non-strategic table games.

To improve, players need to study basic strategy. Books have been written which explain the fundamentals of basic strategy, such as Edward Thorp’s “Beat the Dealer“. Also, charts and tables exist which people can memorize. When you commit a basic strategy chart to memory, you’ll learn the best single move you can make in every possible scenario. These charts are often color-coded for each possible play. Also, they use initials for easy use (and due to size constraints). They’ll tell you when to hit (H), stand (S), split (SP), and double your bet (D).

21 Game Variations

Of course, blackjack has dozens of variations. For each variant of the game, you’ll need to find the basic strategy chart with which it corresponds. Classic blackjack charts exist for the traditional game. Pontoon charts and Spanish 21 charts each exist, and so on down the line for all other rules. Twenty-one has a lot of versions, so if you decide to play each game, you’ll need to have separate charts for perfect pairs, switch, progressive blackjack, surrender, super fun 21, double exposure, and all other titles you want to master. You can find these tables online and print off these printable basic strategy tables for free, so don’t expect you have to buy a book to find these helpful guides.

When you go to the casino to play blackjack, you want to know the strategy knowledge by heart. This should be burned into your memory, but if you still aren’t comfortable with what you know, consider taking a basic strategy chart to the table with you. It’s legal to refer back to one of these, just as it’s legal to ask the dealer for tips. The only time it’s not allowed is when your tactical questions cause pauses and delays in the game. That hurts the house rake and ruins other players’ enjoyment of the game, so it’s going to be frowned upon.

Keep in mind that basic strategy is not going to give you an advantage over the casino. What it does is minimize the casino’s advantage over you. Basic strategy is the real money blackjack equivalent of shopping at a discount–it stretches your casino dollar as far as it will go. When you gamble for cash, seize every legal advantage you can have. Use the right strategy, take advantage of any comps the casino offers, and use money management to limit the damage when you’re losing.

Card Counting Basics

Gamblers who want an advantage over the casino have to learn card counting. Those who’ve seen the books, videos, and Hollywood movies might think counting cards is an arcane, math-intensive system. In fact, the math is basic and any competent 4th grader could do it. The trick with card counting is you have to do it without being noticed by the casino staff.

That’s hard, because if you seem to be the type that’s sitting and concentrating heavily on counting which cards come out of the dealer’s hands, this is likely to be noticed. A card counter has to vary their betting by large amounts, in order to take advantage of the times when the card arrangement is in their favor. If you’re quiet and cerebral and change your bets from $5 to $100 at various times, you’ll be spotted immediately. While it’s not illegal to count cards, if you’re spotted, then you can be asked to leave or distracted by casino personnel while you play. So you have to be a talkative, gregarious type who absent-mindedly changes your bets from time to time, no doubt because you’re a bored high roller. You can see why it’s considered a hard thing to do, now.

Online Blackjack Real Money

One major difference between land-based blackjack and online twenty-one is the inclusion of a random number generator to produce results. RNGs have been used for land-based video poker machine results for 30 years, so these are safe and tested ways of determining outcomes. But using a computer chip to produce the game gives an online gaming operator certain advantages, namely that they can reshuffle the deck after each hand. Because of this, card counting is useless in online blackjack. Just assume you’ll never be able to count cards online and try to find other ways to get an advantage.

One advantage of betting for real money on online 21 is the player rewards program. Most of these are called “VIP rewards”, but these often apply to blackjack gaming. You probably know that, in brick-and-mortar gaming, twenty-one tables don’t have a nice incentives program like the slots club. In the online casino industry, things are a little more even. While most welcome bonuses favor slots players over the blackjack and video poker gamblers, most sites allow for some bonus points to accrue for 21 gamblers. In the continuing rewards programs, though, it’s often based on the amount of money you gamble, without regard to the game being played. This isn’t always the case, and I recommend you make certain what the VIP incentives are like at a website before playing too much there.

Online Live Dealer Blackjack

Once a favorite pastime of a legendary European statesman and talented military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, blackjack remains a prime source of fun for a high number of Americans, as well as millions of people across the globe. Naturally, A-list celebrities are no exception since this card game is easy to learn and has one of the lowest house edges among casino classics.

Keeping pace with the latest technologies, more and more online gambling platforms offer their visitors the next level of interactive experience nicely blended with an authentic atmosphere of a land-based casino.

Welcomed by professional real dealers trained to engage their guests 24/7, players take advantage of incredibly detailed live footage. Thanks to sophisticated cameras, the table (usually equipped with a manual shoe shuffle) and the dealers are in full view so no single move can slip beneath their radar.

VIP and Credit Card Rewards Programs

In online blackjack, things like comps, cashback, and incentives can help lower the house edge. Also, that you can fund the with your credit card, so make sure to maximize the rewards on your VISA and MasterCard when playing online.

Tips for Real Money Online Blackjack

The idea behind gambling on twenty-one is to find the game with the best house edge in the casino. Take this idea to its logical conclusion once you settle on blackjack as your game. Find the best version of twenty-one in any casino you play. This isn’t always easy, because the rules of the game aren’t always evident at first, like they might be when walking up to a casino table. When you click on a game, before you wager a dime, look through the various payouts and additional rules of the game.

Since you’re on the Internet, you can compare these with a chart of how much each rule affects the house edge. In fact, some sites offer a resource in which you can plug in the complete rules of a game and see what the house edge is. This might take a little time when starting to play at a new casino, but this is an effort you have to make only one time. Once you know the best game at an online casino, make a record on your computer using a simple Notepad file. When it’s time to gamble again, all you have to do is refer to these notes. Keep a list of the best blackjack game in each online casino community on which you’re a member. It might sound dull to play only one version of a game, but if you want to play all of them, then you’re interested in something besides having the best odds. Since your opinion of a blackjack variant is as valid as mine, I’ll let you make that decision for yourself.

Best US Online Blackjack

Now that the states of Nevada have their own legal online casino gambling, you’ll have more options than you have since the UIGEA was enacted in 2006. Besides sites in the Realtime Gaming, Rival Gaming, and Topgame Technology networks, you’ll be able to gamble online at branded sites owned by MGM Entertainment, Caesars Entertainment, the Trump casinos, and so on. Most of the Atlantic City casinos are going to partner with online companies for their own sites. Many Las Vegas Strip casinos are also going to offer products, while the three racetracks in Delaware also offer gambling opportunities.

If you’re a fan of brick and mortar blackjack games, you can find it in some surprising states, including Arkansas, don’t offer blackjack because of laws restricting table games.

Blackjack Questions and Answers

Blackjack has long been a popular casino game due to the challenge that it presents. Many players enjoy using stimulating strategy to lower the house edge and give themselves a better chance to win.

This is especially the case at online casinos, where you’ll have a better chance of winning than at land-based casinos. But why is this the case? Find out as we answer some common questions about blackjack.