What are Blackjack Odds and how are calculated ?

One of the reasons that blackjack is such a popular casino game is that it offers favourable odds compared to many other casino games. In addition, the low house edge compared to other casino classics and the fact that players can influence the outcome with their skill and knowledge make this game appealing.

What are Blackjack Odds?

To make the most out of a game of blackjack, players need to understand the odds of the game. The odds of blackjack are often in percentage form, and players can use the odds to determine how likely they are to win or go bust in a particular situation.

By knowing your odds of winning or busting, you can make better choices for your hand at the right time. This allows you to apply a strategy to your game better, as, without this information, the chances of you losing more money in the long term are higher.

How are Blackjack Odds Calculated?

Odds and probability is the branch of mathematics that determines how likely an event is to occur. This comes in particularly handy in gambling as it allows players to make better decisions about their activities.

As an example of odds, if you wanted to draw a King of Diamonds from a single deck, the odds that you would draw this card are 51 to 1. There is only 1 King of Diamonds in a deck and 51 cards that are not a King of Diamonds.

Busting

When playing live lackjack, it is good to know the chances of busting any given hand. This allows players to determine what position they are in and decide whether to hit or stand.

If your hand is worth 11 or less, the odds of busting are 0%, as there are no cards in the deck that would give you a total of 22 or more. However, as the total value of your hand increases, so do your chances of busting. For example, a hand with a total value of 12 has a 31% chance of busting, and by the time you get to a value of 19, this has gone up to an 85% chance.

How Can You Reduce the House Edge in Blackjack?

Players can lower the already low house edge of blackjack by using a clever strategy. If players follow even a basic blackjack strategy, the house edge is typically lower than 1%.

If you successfully apply a strategy, you could reduce the house edge to as low as 0.5%. However, players who fail to do this could end up working with a house edge as high as 2%.

Preparing in advance for the different hands you could be dealt with, and situations you could encounter is just the first step in reducing the house edge. The next step is to ensure that you have the discipline to implement this as needed.

Player’s Advantages in Blackjack

The exact strategies that players can use to gain an advantage over the dealer will vary depending on the specifics of the game that they are playing. However, as a rule, players should always split pairs of 8s and aces. Some players will avoid splitting a pair of aces if the dealer’s upcard is a 9, 10 or ace as they believe that they are the underdog. However, players are less of an underdog if they are playing two hands.

In the same way, players should never split pairs of 5s or 10s. Whilst splitting 10s can be a positive strategy, keeping them together as 20 usually offers greater winning potential.

The odds of every game of blackjack can be predicted to some extent. This helps to determine whether a player has respectively better or worse chances of winning. When playing blackjack, players do have the chance to gain an advantage over the casino to win the hand.

By mastering the odds of winning blackjack, players can skew their advantage over the house, giving them a better chance of achieving their long-term goals.

Now that you know how house edge works, you can try and beat the dealer at one of the best casinos for blackjack.