Blackjack is one of the best games to play in an online casino because it is easy to understand, great fun and (best of all) has a very low house edge (the casino’s profit margin on the game). Depending on the exact rules of the variant of blackjack you are playing the house edge can be as little as 0.5%, or even less, meaning that if you played 100 hands at $10 a hand you would expect, on average, to be just $5 down. Obviously with a little luck or a generous casino bonus you could be up, but that would be the average expectation, blackjack bonuses aside.
However, to achieve that sort of result you need to be playing according to the mathematically proven rules of basic strategy. In any given situation there is a correct call, whether it is to hit, split, stand, double down or whatever. These “rules” are fairly easy but memorizing every call can be quite tricky. Obviously playing blackjack online there is no need to memorize it, you can easily have a basic strategy guide on hand but even so, many players prefer to use their own simpler strategies. Use our blackjack strategy chart to know when to hit, stand, split etc. to make sure you are playing with the best odds in your favor.
One such method of playing blackjack, which is very, easy is to simply follow the dealer. That is to say, always hit on 16 or lower and always stand on 17 (including soft 17) and higher, without ever doubling or splitting. While this is a simple way of playing and won’t require any charts or guides, it also has a fairly catastrophic impact on the casino’s house edge (from the player’s point of view). Playing this way puts the house edge up to around 5.5% – more than 10 times higher than playing basic strategy.
Another option that some players favour for its simplicity is to make sure they never bust and so always have a chance of winning. This means standing on any “hard” hand of 12 or higher and fares marginally better (assuming other calls employ basic strategy) but the casino’s advantage still rises significantly to around 4%.
The message is clear though – if you’re going to play blackjack online, make sure you play at a casino with a generous bonus, good loyalty scheme and, most of all make sure you play the optimum strategy and follow the strategy chart. The Diamond VIP and Grand Parker Casinos have great blackjack bonuses and both allow USA players for USA online blackjack. See our Diamond VIP review and claim up to $10,000 in bonuses for blackjack.
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