How to Beat the House Edge in Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games, attracting players who appreciate its intellectual challenge and a real chance at beating the house. It is less complex than poker but more engaging than a slot machine. It is a game of strategy, not luck, and it requires some serious thought to learn. It is one of the few casino games that allows the player to increase his bet in favorable situations and to make decisions based on information he gathers as he plays. Mathematicians have turned this aspect of the game into a solid advantage for the player, and even small bits of information can significantly improve a player’s chances at winning against the dealer.

Before the cards are dealt, each player places a bet. Players may choose to “hit” and receive additional cards, or “stand” and keep the current hand they have. After all bets have been placed, the dealer deals two cards to each player and himself and then decides whether to hit or stand according to predetermined rules. If the player’s hand is closer to 21 than the dealer’s, the player wins and is paid an amount equal to his original bet. If the dealer has a blackjack, the player loses his original bet but wins the $5 insurance bet (an even money payoff). Ties are a push and neither the player nor the dealer wins any money.

While the dealer has a big advantage in that they will bust about 28% of the time, the player also has a big disadvantage: He will win just over 1% of his hands, or less than 2% over the long run, even when using a perfect basic strategy. This loss is due to the fact that a dealer will make 17 or higher about 80 percent of the time, while the player’s average hand value will be under 16.

A blackjack player can dramatically reduce this house edge with a simple, proven card counting system. However, the casinos are aware of this, and some will even kick a skilled card counter out of the casino in order to discourage him.

The game of blackjack has a number of peculiarities that make it unique among casino table games. The first is that the game is symmetrical for the dealer and the player, with a small house edge that depends only on a single deck’s composition and sequence. This makes it possible for a player to calculate his probability of winning at any given moment, unlike other casino games that rely on conditional probability.

While most of the player’s losses in blackjack are due to his own mistakes, some are a result of the house’s edge, which is increased by games that pay 6 to 5 instead of 3 to 2. Aside from this, the game has no other significant disadvantage for the player. Nonetheless, the house edge is still much smaller than those of most other casino games, and it can be eliminated entirely by following a simple and practical card-counting strategy.