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Blackjack is one of the simplest and most popular types of online casino games out there. Even though there are a few different variations of the game, the basics are more or less the same.

There are a lot of different strategies used by players, but everybody has their own style of playing. Whether you?re a newcomer to online blackjack or a seasoned pro, there are some tips that might help you out.

• Learn the rules of all the online blackjack games you?re going to play. You should then practice and play for free before you?re comfortable with the idea of playing for real money.
• You should come up with a playing limit or budget and make sure you stick with it. You?re going to have good days and bad days so know when to call it a day.
• Check out all of the online tournaments, promotions, and bonuses that are offered at various online casinos. This will help you get the most out of your money.
• It?s important that you don?t give out any of your personal account information to anybody that you don?t know and trust.
• Try to learn all of the terms related to the online blackjack games so you understand what?s happening during the action.
• Withdraw at least half of your winnings after you win a big amount. This will help stop you from playing it right away and you?ll leave the game with some winnings.
• Try to get your cards as close to 21 as possible instead of trying to beat the dealer. If the dealer has a high card showing don?t let it distract you.
• Don?t forget about betting cycles in online blackjack. You should bet more when you?re winning and less when you?re losing.
• Remember, online blackjack favours the dealer. If you both go over 21, you lose.
• If the dealer has to take a card on hands that are 16 and lower, you won?t win with less than 17 unless the dealer goes over 21.
• Remember that an ace can be used as either one point or 11 points.
• If your cards total 10 or lower you should take another card as you won?t be in jeopardy of busting. The most you can get is an ace to total 21, which of course is what you?re aiming to do.

Written by Alex, a blackjack aficionado who enjoys blogging about her casino experiences. She loves detailing her wins and losses for the amusement and entertainment of others!

Many inexperienced players have a misconception about card counters as mathematical geniuses who can keep track of every card in a multiple decks of cards. While there may very well be people who can do this kind of thing, card counting is not about keeping track of every card. The idea behind counting cards is to keep track of the players statistical likelihood of winning a hand and then adjusting betting and playing accordingly.
The idea behind card counting is simple gambling strategy. Any professional gambler will tell you that the way to win at gambling is to bet more when you have the advantage and bet less (or not at all) when you do not. It is that simple. In black-jack, certain cards remaining in the deck are good for the player and certain ones are not. If you “count” these cards, you will always know when you have the advantage.
Edward O. Thorp’s work confirmed that 10’s and A’s remaining in the deck were good for the player, while 5’s and 6’s remaining in the deck were bad for the player. He worked out the circumstances under which particular combinations of cards remaining in the deck gave the player and advantage over the house. He also presented the first two card-counting systems, Thorp’s five-count and Thorp’s ten-count. The latter, which is more powerful, was based on determining the ration between 10’s and non-10’s remaining in the deck. Card counting was born from irrefutable logic: Keep track of the cards: make small bets when the deck favors the house and large bets when it favors the players.
Thorp’s analysis was later improved upon by the work of many others, notably Julian Braun, Lawrence Revere, Peter Griffin, Stanford Wong, Ken Uston, Arnold Snyder, and Lance Humble. Today the game is understood at a rather deep level, and sophisticated systems exist that give the knowledgeable player a distinct edge over the house.
Which Cards Matter?
The object of card counting is to keep track of cards that are advantageous to the player. The simple question is, then, “which cards matter?”
The card most beneficial to the player is the 10. 10’s are ad-vantages to the player for several reasons. One, they will cause the dealer to bust since he is required to take cards based on the rules of play. He may not take other factors into account while playing (like you do!). Two, they turn hands that you double down on into very strong hands (which is why you double down on those hands, by the way). Three, they are used to create blackjacks. Remember that blackjacks are more beneficial to the player since getting one pays 3 to 2 but losing to one only costs the original bet! Another important card for the player is the A. Aces present soft doubling (and hitting) opportunities and they create blackjacks. Remember – blackjack is more important to the player than the house!
The worst cards for the player are the 5 and the 6 (and 2, 3, and 4 to a lesser degree). The reason these are not good for the player is simple – they are beneficial to the house. Since the house is forced by the rules of play to take cards on any hand lower than 17, the 5 and the six present the possibility of very strong hands for the dealer (remember that 10’s are not advantageous to the dealer since they make “busts” of these hands).
Before we begin to learn how to count we should talk about how this will help us. You should remember that the purpose of counting is to know when the player has an advantage and when he does not. This knowledge will do nothing for you unless you do something with it. What you want to do is adjust your betting and your play based on your advantage.
Adjusting Your Bets
Adjusting your bets is very straightforward. When the composition of the deck is in your favor, you bet more. When it is not, you bet less. Very simple. Learning just this can give you as much as a 2% advantage against the house. If that advantage does not sound like much, keep in mind that many casino slot machines only produce a 2 – 3% advantage for the casino and that is enough to make billions of dollars of profit for the casino. Granted, this is at a much higher volume than you will play at but remember that bet sizes are much smaller.
Adjusting Your Play
Learning to adjust your play based on deck composition is not an easy task, but the rewards are phenomenal. Taking this step can increase your advantage by another 2% for a total of 4% against the house. The good news is that you can learn this with a lot of practice. The principles are simple but mastering this level of play takes many hours of practice.
An expert card counter will adjust play in many different ways depending on the composition of the deck. It is common for an expert card counter to do things that “break the rules” of basic strategy like:
1. Standing earlier if the deck is very 10 rich — if the dealer can bust, so can you!
2. Standing later if the deck is very 10 poor.
3. Splitting 10’s when the deck is extremely 10 rich.
4. Doubling down on A, 9 when the deck is extremely 10 rich.
Of course, the most important play adjustment can be deciding when to start playing at a table and when to stop.