Using a blackjack strategy, you can reduce the house edge to just 1%. As a matter of fact, online blackjack Australia is one of the best casino games you can play at Wazamba: https://wazamba.com/au/live-casino/blackjack.
Using strategies is essential If you want to improve your chances of winning. Besides, you won’t have to waste much time learning, because they are very easy to use.
In this article, you will find all the most popular blackjack strategies and how to properly use them.
Contents
Blackjack Odds
First, let’s talk about the blackjack odds.
- In a deck of 52 cards, there are 16 cards worth 10 points.
- Both the player and dealer have an 8% chance to exceed 21 at the same time.
- The house edge in blackjack is 3-5% if you don’t apply any strategies.
- The dealer’s average non-breaking hand, excluding blackjack, is 18.84.
What Blackjack Strategies are There?
Online blackjack Australia is a game that dates back to the end of the 18th century and many strategies have emerged since.
The most common ones are listed below.
The Basic Strategy
The basic strategy is very easy to implement. Depending on your hand:
- Never take insurance: statistically, it always benefits the casino.
- If the hand has a value below 11: always draw.
- If your hand is 10 or 11, and it is higher than the dealer’s: double.
- With a hand of 18, never draw.
With an Ace counted as 1:
- If the hand has a value of 17 or more: no more draws.
- If your hand is 12 to 16 and the dealer’s first card is higher than 7: Hit.
With an Ace counted as 11:
If the hand has a value of 18 or more: no more draws.
If the hand has a value of 17 or less, draw.
By following these simple tips, you will significantly increase your chances of winning.
Now let’s have a look at another common blackjack strategy that involves card counting.
Card Counting
Card counting is certainly the most popular online blackjack Australia strategy. It consists of identifying the value cards that remain in the shoe to bet accordingly.
The Hi-Lo is the simplest and most common card-counting technique. With a little practice, it is perfectly possible to use it in both traditional casinos and online casinos.
According to this system, you need to spot the highest cards in the deck (the logs) as they give the best advantage. For this, you need to try to guess how many high cards remain in the dealer’s shoe.
That’s why this technique is so simple: it only focuses on values of 10.
A pack of 52 cards is considered to have a value of 0. Each card drawn will modify this value according to this system:
- All logs count as -1.
- Cards from 2 to 6 count as +1.
- 7 / 8 / 9 cards count as 0.
You need to start counting as soon as the cards are shuffled and simply add or subtract 1 from the initial zero.
For instance, if the total value is 17, it means that there are still a lot of weak cards in the shoe, so you have less risk of drawing.
If the value is 2, it means that the deck is full of high cards: drawing a card is too risky, since you can go over 21.
Other Hi-Lo Systems
There are other online blackjack Australia techniques you can use to count cards. It’s up to you to choose the one you like best.
Halve system
Here, the 2 and 7 counts as +0.5. The 5 is worth +1.5. The 9 is worth – 0.5.
Knockout system
The 7 is worth +1.
Omega II system
Logs are worth -2, Ace is worth 0.
True Count
This method is also used with Hi-Lo. The dealer always has several decks of cards in the shoe. The true count allows you to have a more precise count that takes into account the number of cards.
Simply divide your game count by the number of card packs left in the shoe.
For example, if the game value is +10 and there are only two packets left in the shoe, the true count is +5 (10 / 2).
