How to Win at Blackjack without Counting cards?
The card counting strategy is a popular strategy many gamblers use to increase their chances of winning when playing blackjack. A skilled card counter can have an advantage play of 0.5% to 1.5% house edge, which is profitable in the long run. The card counting strategy is so popular, but that isn’t the only basic strategy to beat blackjack. Here are two basic strategies you can use to beat the dealer and always win in blackjack without counting cards.
Hole Carding
As you already know on the blackjack table, one of the dealer’s card is usually facing down called the hole card. The dealer, however, peeks at the hole card to determine if she has a blackjack. Now, the hole carding is a strategy, where you identify what the dealer’s hole card is and adjust your plan accordingly.
Determining the hole card is at times tedious; this is because the dealers have been trained extensively to hide the hold card. Players often, peek at the hole card by paying attention to the dealer’s hand when she checks the hold card. Sitting at the right side of the table also helps. After seeing the hole card and you notice your chance of winning is high you can raise your bet to win more. However, if you can determine the hole card, you can use the following basic strategy in the chart below:
|
Dealer’s hand
|
Hit Until Sof
|
Hit Until Hard
|
Double Down
|
split
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hard 20
|
20
|
20
|
-
|
-
|
|
Hard 19
|
19
|
19
|
-
|
9
|
|
Hard 18
|
18
|
19
|
-
|
2, 3, 7, 8, 9*
|
|
Hard 17
|
17
|
18
|
-
|
2, 3, 5, 7, 8
|
|
Hard 16,15,14
|
12
|
18
|
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 ACE-2, ACE-3, ACE-4, ACE-5
|
All pair except 5-5
|
|
Hard 13
|
12
|
18
|
7, 8, 9,10,11 ACE-2: ACE-9
|
All pair except 5-5
|
|
Hard 12
|
12
|
18
|
8, 9, 10, 11 ACE-2:ACE-9
|
All pair except 5-5
|
|
Hard 11
|
15
|
18
|
-
|
ACE
|
|
Hard 10
|
16
|
19
|
11
|
ACE*
|
|
Hard 9
|
17
|
19
|
10,11
|
ACE, 8, 9
|
|
Hard 8
|
17
|
18
|
10,11
|
ACE, 7, 8, 9
|
|
Hard 7
|
17
|
18
|
10,11
|
ACE, 2, 3, 7, 8
|
|
Hard 6
|
12
|
18
|
9,10,11
|
ACE, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9*
|
|
Hard 5
|
13
|
18
|
10, 11, ACE-2:ACE-8
|
ACE, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
|
|
Hard 4
|
14
|
18
|
10, 11, ACE-6:ACE-7
|
ACE, 7, 8
|
|
Ace 9
|
20
|
20
|
-
|
-
|
|
Ace 8
|
19
|
19
|
-
|
9
|
|
Ace 7
|
18
|
19
|
-
|
2, 3, 7, 8, 9
|
|
Ace 6
|
17
|
18
|
-
|
2, 3, 7, 8, 9
|
|
Ace 5
|
13
|
18
|
9, 10, 11, ACE-6, ACE-7
|
ACE, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9
|
|
Ace 4
|
13
|
18
|
10,11
|
ACE, 7, 8
|
|
Ace 3
|
14
|
18
|
10,11
|
ACE, 7, 8
|
|
Ace 2
|
15
|
18
|
10,11
|
ACE, 7, 8
|
|
ACE-ACE
|
16
|
18
|
11
|
ACE, 8
|
Front Loading
Front loading is another essential strategy players can use to have an advantage play in live blackjack. In the front loading strategy, the dealer exposes the hole card while trying to slide it underneath the top card, or while pulling the card out of the deck.
There is a mathematical strategy of how to optimally play your cards after using the front-loading approach. However, there’s no need to cloud your minds with too many numbers. The idea of it all is to hit if the next card doesn’t burst you, and stand if it does. The whole ball game becomes a bit more complicated, especially when you have a split or double hands. However, stick to the standard defined strategy.
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