We’ve divided most of our blackjack pages into 3 categories:

1. Basic Blackjack Betting Strategy
2. Best Betting System For Blackjack
3. Blackjack Advanced Strategy Card
4. Blackjack Betting Strategy Chart
5. Advanced Blackjack Strategy Chart

1. Blackjack for Advanced Players

In the section for beginners, we covered the basics of how to play, some of
the simpler strategy ideas, and definitions of terms used in the game.

In the section for intermediate players, we covered what a player should
learn next: complete basic strategy, game selection, and the basics of counting
cards.

Blackjack Martingale Strategy. The Martingale Strategy is a betting system that uses a negative progression to recoup lost bets. This is one of the more popular betting systems around and is used by many gamblers. Its super simple to learn, and even easier to use. To start the Martingale system, you pick a base amount to be bet and work from this point on. Learn about the different types of Betting Systems by taking a look at CasinoTop10’s Money Management and Betting Systems Page. Remember that although using a blackjack betting system whilst playing the table game might sound like a good idea, not all that glitters is gold as implementing such a strategy carries its risks.

Now, in this section, we cover more advanced topics. These include advantage
play techniques like card counting and shuffle tracking. We also cover dealer
tells.

We think it’s a good goal for a beginner to work toward lowering the house
edge to 1% or so. We think it’s a good goal for an intermediate player to get
the house edge as low as possible (to 0% if possible).

But our goal for advanced players is for them to be able to play at a
significant advantage over the casino.

And the only way to do that is to learn at least one, and preferably
multiple, advantage play techniques.

Advantage Play in Blackjack

Advantage play is a means of getting an edge when gambling. It’s distinct
from cheating, because advantage play doesn’t involve changing the conditions of
the game. Advantage players just use better strategies than the average gambler.

Most casino games don’t have a means for you to get an edge. Some games might
or might not have a means for you to get an edge. Blackjack is one game where
you certainly can get an edge, but let’s talk about some other games and why you
can or cannot get an edge playing them.

A Roulette Example

We like to start such discussions with roulette, because the math is easy to
understand. An American roulette wheel has 38 numbers on it. Almost half of them
(18) are red. Almost half are black (18). And 2 of them are green.

When you spin the ball in a roulette game, the probability of the ball
landing in any particular slot is the same: 1/38. The probability of the ball
landing on a black number is 18/38. These probabilities don’t change based on
what happened on the previous spin.

Every spin, the same 38 possibilities are there.

The way the house gets its edge is clear.

Suppose you bet $100 on black. 18 times out of 38, you’ll win even money on
such a bet. That’s $1800 in winnings.

But 20 times out of 38, you’ll lose $100. That’s $2000 in losses.

The difference between the $2000 in losses and the $1800 in winnings is the
house edge. Average it out on a per bet basis, and you’re looking at a net loss
of $200 divided by 38 bets. That’s $5.26 per bet on average that you lost.

All the bets at the roulette table have this same house edge. It’s usually
expressed as a percentage-in this case, 5.26%.

But suppose we made a change to the game.

Suppose every time the ball landed in a spot, it was eliminated as a
possibility on future spins.

The probability would change on subsequent spins based on what happened
previously.

You’re playing roulette, and the ball lands on black 3 times in a row. Each
of those black numbers has been eliminated from the game.

Now you have 35 possible results. 15 of them are black. 18 of them are red. 2
of them are green.

The probability of a black result has changed to 15/35, or 42.89%. The
probability of a red result is now 51.43%.

A bet on red is now clearly the smart play.

This is what happens when you’re playing blackjack, isn’t it?

Once a card is dealt, it’s no longer in the deck, so the probability of
getting a certain combination changes.

It’s not likely.

The only legitimate advantage technique related to roulette that we know of
is finding a biased wheel.

Since a roulette wheel is a mechanical, not electronic, device, it might have
some mechanical flaws. It might be slightly warped, which means that certain
parts of the wheel might have a slightly higher chance of being a result than
others.

Such an imperfection would be invisible to the naked eye.

The only way to find such an imperfection would be to “clock” the wheel. In
other words, you’d have to record the results of thousands of spins. Based on
those results, you’d be able to detect any imperfections or bias.

Basic Blackjack Betting Strategy

We don’t think this is a practical advantage play technique.

Here’s why:

First, you might spend hours clocking a wheel only to find that it has no
bias at all. Not all-or even most-roulette wheels have a bias.

Second, casinos don’t leave roulette wheels in the same place forever. You’ll
eventually have to go home and get some sleep. At various times, the casinos
move these wheels from table to table.

You might spend 16 hours clocking a table’s results only to have that wheel
get moved to another table in the middle of the night.

How about Slot Machines?

Slot machines are an example of a game where you can’t get an edge.

Here’s a simplified version of how the probability of a slot machine game
works:

You have a game with 3 reels, and on each wheel, you have 10 symbols. Each
symbol has the same probability of coming up.

The probability of getting a particular symbol come up on each wheel is 1/10
X 1/10 X 1/10, or 1/1000.

But the jackpot for that symbol is programmed to pay off at less than 1000 to
1-usually significantly less. You might get a payoff of 800 to 1 for one
symbols, a payoff of 80 to 1 for another symbol, and a payoff of 8 to 1 for
another symbol.

It’s easy to see how in the long run the casino is going to come out ahead.

You have no way of affecting those probabilities on a slot machine without
cheating. Remember, you can’t change the conditions of the game. This means you
can’t use any kind of electronic or mechanical device to affect the outcome.

Which Games CAN You Get an Edge Playing?

In fact, only a handful of gambling activities have advantage techniques
available. These include:

• Blackjack
• Poker
• Sports betting
• Video poker

You can get an edge at poker by playing better than the other players.

But it’s not enough to be just a little bit better than the other players.
The house takes 5% of each pot as a rake, so you have to be so much better than
the other players that you can beat the rake.

You can get an edge at sports betting by being better at estimating the odds
and handicapping the games than the sports books are. This is unlikely, as the
Vegas books use state of the art software and expert handicappers to set the
lines.

And, like poker, you have to get enough of an edge to overcome the rake. Only
in sports betting, it’s not called the rake-it’s called “vig”. When you place a
bet on a sporting event, you usually have to bet $110 to win $100. So you have
to win your bets more than 53% of the time to get even a small edge over the
book.

With video poker, you have to find a game with a pay table that enables you
to get an edge over the casino. These are unusual, but they’re not impossible to
find.

But that’s not all. You also have to be able to play that game using perfect
strategy.

And even if you do, most video poker games with such pay tables are played
for such low stakes that it wouldn’t be worth your time, anyway.

Suppose you find a full pay Deuces Wild game. You have an edge of 0.76% over
the house, assuming you’re playing perfectly.

But the game is only available as a quarter machine. Which means you’re
betting $1.25 per hand.

An average player places 600 bets per hour at a video poker game. That means
you’re putting $750 per hour into action.

0.76% of $750 is $5.70 per hour.

No one’s going to become a professional video poker player making $5.70 per
hour.

Let’s assume that you’re good enough at your various advantage play
techniques to get a consistent 1% edge over the house.

And let’s assume you have a large enough bankroll that you can bet $50 per
hand on average.

You stick with tables where there are other players, but not a lot of other
players, so you’re averaging 80 bets per hour.

That’s $4000 per hour you’re putting into action. With a 1% edge, you’re
expected to win $40 per hour.

That’s a little more interesting than $5 or $6 per hour.

But if you get a large enough bankroll to withstand the swings of fortune,
you could play for an average of $100 per hand or even $200 per hand.

Now you’re looking at $80/hour in expected winnings or $160/hour in expected
winnings.

That’s a more attractive prospect.

Counting cards is the most obvious way, but pros have multiple means of
getting an edge.

We cover the basics of the most popular advantage play techniques in
blackjack below, but some of them are covered in excruciating detail in their
own subsections on our site.

Counting Cards

The premise behind counting cards isn’t as complicated as you might think.
Card counting works because of 2 things:

1. You get paid off 3 to 2 if you get a natural.
2. The deck has a memory.

These 2 factors are so closely related that it’s hard to talk about one
without talking about the other.

Here’s the thing about a natural:

There are only 2 cards which can make a natural-the ace and the 10. (Of
course, there are 4 different cards worth 10 in the deck-the 10, J, Q, and K.)

The deck has a memory, too-at least most of them do. There are exceptions,
though.

If you’re playing in a blackjack game with an automatic shuffler that’s going
continuously, you’re playing from a fresh deck every hand. You can’t get an edge
at such a game.

But if you’re playing in a game dealt by hand or from a shoe, the composition
of the deck changes based on which cards have already been dealt. This can
increase or decrease your probability of being dealt a blackjack.

Suppose you’re playing in a single-deck game, and all 4 aces have already
been dealt. Your probability of getting a blackjack is now 0%.

It’s impossible to get a blackjack if there are no aces left in the deck.

On the other hand, if half the deck has been dealt, and none of the aces have
appeared yet, and lots of low cards are already gone (like the 5s and 6s), your
probability of getting a natural goes up.

Now let’s suppose you raise the size of your bets when your probability of
getting that 3 to 2 payout goes up, and you lower the size of your bets when
your probability of getting a blackjack is lower.

If you’re betting $100 when the deck has a proportionally higher amount of
aces and 10s in it, and you’re betting $10 when the deck has a proportionally
lower number of aces and 10s in it, you’re going to win more money, right?

It’s similar to how tight-aggressive poker players manage their poker hands.
When they have a hand which is more likely to win, they bet and raise
aggressively. When they have a hand which is more likely to lose, they’ll check
and fold.

Bet more money when you have an edge. Bet less money when you don’t.

That’s a surefire way of getting an edge at gambling.

That’s where the various card counting systems come in. All card counting
systems share the same goal:

They try to estimate how much of an edge you have.

They do this by assigning a value to each card. You add or subtract that
value from the count, and you raise and lower your bets according to that count.

Here’s one of the most basic examples of such a card counting system. Every
time you see a 5, add 1 to the count. Every time you see an ace, subtract 1 from
the count.

When the count is 0 or negative, bet 1 unit.

When the count is positive, bet 1 unit + the count.

So if the count is -4, you’d bet a single unit. If the count is +4, you’d bet
5 units.

Best Betting System For Blackjack

If you’re playing for $100 on average per hand, you’d bet $100 if the count
is -4, but you’d bet $500 if the count is +4.

A more accurate count is the hi-lo count, which is one of the most-used and
long-standing counts. Here are the values for that one:

• All aces and 10s are -1.
• 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s are +1.
• 7s, 8s, and 9s count as 0.

This is a little more complicated but a lot more accurate. It’s an example of
a balanced card counting system-you have just as many cards valued at +1 as you
do at -1, so if you count through an entire deck, you’ll end where you
started-at 0.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Card counting systems are aimed at single deck games. When you get more decks
into the mix, the effect of a card being gone from the deck is lessened.

Think about it this way.

If you’re playing in a single deck game, and 4 aces have been dealt, the
probability of getting an ace as your next card is 0.

If you’re playing in an 8-deck game, and 4 aces have been dealt, the
probability of getting an ace is lower, but it’s far from 0. After all, you
started with 32 aces (4 in each deck). You still have 28 aces left.

To compensate for this dilution effect, card counters take the “running
count” and convert it into a “true count”. They do this by dividing the running
count by the estimated number of decks left in the shoe.

They increase and lower their bets by using the true count.

Let’s assume you’re playing in an 8-deck game, and the running count is +3.
You’re not going to raise your bet until the count is +1 or higher. There are 6
decks left in the shoe, so the true count is 3/6, or +0.5. You continue to flat
bet until the count improves some more.

As you can see, with more decks in play, it’s harder to get an edge. Since
you’ll have an edge less often, you’ll probably need to increase your betting
range (the amount of your high bets compared to your low bets) to compensate.

A dizzying array of card counting systems are available. Each offers
something different. Some provide a more accurate gauge of how much of an edge
you have over the casino. Others provide you with a better gauge of how you
should change your strategy. Some are easier to implement than others.

The goal is to find a card counting system that works for you. You might not
be interested in adjusting your basic strategy decisions based on the count. You
might just want to get your edge by increasing the size of your bets.

If that’s the case, you’ll want to find a simple system that does a good job
of estimating your edge over the house.

We cover various card counting systems in detail on this site. Some of the
more popular card counting systems we cover in detail include:

• The Ace Five Count
• The Red Seven Count

We cover dozens more.

But counting cards is only one tool in the advantage player’s arsenal.

Blackjack Advanced Strategy Card

Shuffle Tracking

Sometimes cards clump into sequence or packs in a deck even after they’re
shuffled. If you can track these groups of cards throughout the game, you can
get an edge over the casino. The simpler the shuffle, the easier it is to keep
up with these groups.

The reason shuffle tracking works is because shuffling is an imperfect,
inexact way of mixing up the cards. It’s a mechanical process. You can’t use
shuffle tracking with an online casino, for example, because the random number
generator really does randomize the cards. You’d have to hand shuffle a deck
many times before approaching true randomness.

What a shuffle tracker does is combine card counting with “zones” of cards.
Think of these zones as miniature decks within a deck. When the cards get
shuffled, these zones tend to stay together. If you identify a zone that has a
lot of 10s and aces in it, you can raise your bets when that zone comes into
play.

Dealer Tells

If you know anything about poker, you’ve heard of “tells”. These are
nonverbal cues that give you a hint at what cards your opponent is holding. For
example, in poker, if a player’s hands tremble when he bets, he probably has a
strong hand. This varies based on the individual, though, and reading other
players is one piece of a poker player’s strategy.

In blackjack, you can pay attention to the dealer’s behavior as he looks at
his hole card. This gives you a hint as to what he’s holding. You can adjust
your playing strategy accordingly.

In fact, some dealers are sloppy enough to expose their hole card when
they’re checking for blackjack. That provides an obvious clear advantage to the
player.

Conclusion

Becoming an advanced blackjack player means learning enough about the game
and how to play that you consistently have an advantage over the casino. This
might involve becoming an expert card counter, but it can also mean taking
advantage of other advantage play techniques like shuffle tracking and dealer
tells.

Losing at Blackjack generally leaves most blackjack players fuming at the ears. This is especially true if you’ve opted to place huge bets whilst playing the semi-circular casino classic. Yet, you can always try to decrease your potential losses and turn them into phenomenal wins instead by learning Blackjack’s Basic Strategy. You’ll be glad to know that CasinoTop10 has worked hard in order to provide all you avid blackjack players with that bit extra that will ultimately serve you as a factor in determining whether you manage to make it or break it! Take a look at the Advanced Blackjack Strategy below in order to find out more and build on the basics in the fundamental strategy page and start hitting, standing, doubling and splitting at one of our Best Blackjack Casinos today!

Don’t be left outgunned – Learn Blackjack Strategy Today!

CasinoTop10’s Blackjack experts are of the opinion that simply relying on your intuition whilst playing blackjack is definitely not worth the time and energy involved in playing the game and can ultimately leave you undoubtedly disappointed. Nevertheless, there’s a fantastic solution to this that could potentially keep your inner demons at bay and leave you in the running to potentially win a handsome amount of cash. The secret is simply using Basic Blackjack Strategy.

Blackjack Betting Systems – Are they worth using?

Betting Systems can be applied to various casino games, one of which is the famous table game; Blackjack. If you find yourself drawn to a structured way of betting, you should give betting strategies a shot! Learn about the different types of Betting Systems by taking a look at CasinoTop10’s Money Management and Betting Systems Page.

Remember that although using a blackjack betting system whilst playing the table game might sound like a good idea, not all that glitters is gold as implementing such a strategy carries its risks. You as a blackjack player should definitely keep in mind that there’s always a risk of losing more than you gain when using betting systems. Especially if the betting system you’re using is a negative progressive one. Hence, we urge you to use a positive progressive betting system instead! Moreover, if you opt to use one of these, you should have a rather large bankroll in order to be able to compensate for any losses whilst playing the game.

Card Counting

Counting Cards is a great way to gain an edge over the house; however, it’s definitely not for players who have only just begun to play blackjack. It involves keeping a running count on all the cards which have been drawn and given out by the dealer in order to determine whether the next hand of cards given out will be of value or not. Whilst many Blackjack Guides out there will tell you that it’s very quick and easy to learn, CasinoTop10’s expert blackjack players certainly differ on the matter. Hence, we’ve gone ahead and written up a marvellous card counting strategy guide which will aid you in learning the strategy.

Taking Insurance - Should you take a chance on it?

Despite the fact that most blackjack strategy guides you’ll find out there will tell you to completely ignore insurance, in some instances taking out insurance it can definitely prove to be beneficial. For instance, if you find yourself playing a Blackjack game in which a single deck of cards is used, you can benefit from taking out insurance. This inherently has nothing to do with whether or not you have a good or bad hand, but more to do with if you know something covert about the remaining cards.

The chart below highlights the single deck opportunities for profitable insurance betting for blackjack players who consider themselves to be card counters.

Composition-Sensitive Hands

Although most Blackjack buffs will agree that basic Blackjack strategy will definitely help you play the game well, the problem with it is that the chart does not differentiate between ‘multi-card’ holdings and ‘two-card’ starting hands! For example, a typical basic blackjack strategy chart would suggest that if you have a 16 against an Ace, you should ‘hit’ rather than ‘stand’. This is due to the fact that the odds of winning will be approximately 24 times out of a total of 100 times (this also applies to pushes as half wins half losses) , whereas 17 out of a 100, if you choose to stand instead.

Nonetheless, there are a couple of hand situations which appear to be very borderline when it comes down to which manoeuver you should use. So, in retrospect the best thing to do is play the hand depending on the cards which were ‘killed’ (removed from the deck) to make up the hand. For instance, take the two hands below into consideration.

Hand 1 Hand 2

Whilst the player’s hand (Hand 1) consists of a Queen and a 6, the dealer's hand consists of a face up card, which displays ‘10’, and a hole card. In this case, if you choose to ‘hit’, you’d probably win 23 ½ times. However, provided that you decide to look the other way and ‘stand’ instead, you’ll still be able to win 23 out of 100. So in essence, whether you hit or stand shouldn’t make much of a difference.What you should notice in this case is that, if these cards were available they’d probably make you go ‘bust’. However, since they have already been removed from the deck and handed out to players, your chances of going ‘bust’ are slimmer. This is why the probability of you winning provided you had to ‘hit’ is 0.5 times higher than if you were to stand.

Blackjack Betting Strategy Chart

The ‘Rule of 45’

Even though it’s quite possible for you to acquire a 10/6, much of the time you’ll find that you will acquire a 16 which is ‘built up’ by 3 or more cards. Sometimes you’ll find yourself in the troublesome situation where you’re against a 10 and even if you manage to hit on your ‘16’ hand and obtain an additional count of 2, you’ll probably still lose in the end. In this case, what you’re after is a 4 or even a 5 card in order to gain a score which is equal to ‘21’ or close to. Yet, if your hand of 16 already has any 4s or 5s, then you’ve killed one/two of the key cards you need to gain a higher score. Thus, your chances of doing a bit better are quite slim in this case. Hence, in this case it would be far better to stand than to hit. If you’d like to use the ‘Rule of 45’, you should note that this only applies when a dealer’s hand contains a face up ’10’ card. So, in essence this rule should not be applied to when the dealer has any other high-up cards that are not 10s.

The ‘Doctor Pepper Rule’

Another situation in which you might find yourself confused is when you’re dealt a hand with a total count of 12 and the dealer has a 4. In this particular situation, your odds of winning if you stand are 40 out of 100 times and 39 ¾ if you hit. However, the problem is that you can end up with a count of 12 by being dealt one of 4 hand options. These are 10/2, 9/3, 8/4 and 7/5.

You’ll notice that there is a profound difference between a 12 which is made up of a 10 and a 2 and a hand which is made up of a 7 and a 5. Whilst holding a 7/5 hand, you’ll be able to catch a 10 which would bust you. The bottom line to the doctor pepper rule is that you should essentially hit a 10/2 hand against a 4 up, but stand with any other kind of hard 12.

Advanced Blackjack Strategy Tips

As a battle-scarred blackjack player you’re in possession of crucial experience which clearly differentiates you from less skilled players who haven’t been playing the semi-circular table game for long. CasinoTop10’s Advanced Blackjack Strategy Tips aims to give you as a blackjack veteran a few wise words of advice which will surely help you better how well you play. Nonetheless, even if you do consider yourself to be a newbie at blackjack, you should still take a look at our tips below provided that you’ve learnt how to use the Basic Blackjack Strategy.

1) Sit in a seat which proves to be advantageous to You

You should always try to aim to sit in the Anchor seat, which is the last seat at a blackjack table, in order to see what cards have already been drawn by the dealer and given out to the rest of the players in order to determine the probability of receiving a low card or a high card.

2) Use more than one Betting System

If you’ve used betting strategies before whilst playing blackjack, you’re probably aware that incorporating one into your gameplay, even if the betting system is a positive progressive system, doesn’t necessarily work in guaranteeing you to win big. However, if you know the differences between negative and positive betting strategies well enough, you might be able to benefit from meshing two together whilst you’re playing a Blackjack online game. Try it out by using our Blackjack Trainer to test out if it actually work’s for you, after all the proof is in the pudding!

3) Pay attention to the Odds

Even if you’re a blackjack veteran and know the basic blackjack strategy by heart, you’ll definitely come across situations in which you’ll be left huffing and puffing or even pounding at the table. Hence, it’s best to have a look at your odds of winning and losing by having a look at CasinoTop10’s table below.

Advanced Blackjack Strategy – CasinoTop10’s Verdict

Advanced Blackjack Strategy Chart

If you’re playing Blackjack online, you better be quick on the trigger in order to acquire the handsome sum of money in the pot. When it actually comes down to playing the game, half the battle is actually learning about the strategies involved, whilst the other part is executing it successfully. When you’ve learnt about the basic strategy and the advanced blackjack strategy, you should try out what you’ve learnt by using our Blackjack Trainer or our Free Blackjack game. Once you finally feel content with how you’re playing, you can go ahead and sign up to one of CasinoTop10’s ‘Best Blackjack Casinos’ above.