Best Way To Win Big In Blackjack

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How To Play Blackjack And Win
Best Way To Win Big In Blackjack Card Game
How To Win Casino Blackjack
Win Blackjack Every Time

I analyze all sorts of blackjack strategies and rank them for your fun and profit.

From how to handle yourself in the casino to understanding the best way to play every hand, a few tips will help you reduce the casino's edge. Learn Basic Blackjack Strategy Before you even hit the casino floor, brush up and study the basic strategies of blackjack. Find out as I cover different ways that you can win big through this game. 1- Blackjack Progressive Jackpots. The most realistic way for the average blackjack player to win $1 million is by hitting a huge progressive jackpot. Winning a blackjack jackpot involves playing a game that offers a progressive payout on the side.

In every single movie about Las Vegas and the gangsters that run it, some character says to another character, “The house always wins.”

Yet that doesn’t stop all of us from trying to beat the casino. Specifically blackjack. We all think we’re better than blackjack.

We’re not, of course. But we think we are. I compiled this list of 11 popular strategies for beating blackjack and ranked them here, starting with the least effective and building toward the most effective.

11 Superstitions

I’ve seen tons of blackjack superstitions. None of these actually do anything — but either do lucky shirts, avoiding black cats, turning off the light switch three times to keep Charlie from dying, or any of the other day-to-day superstitions people swear by.

So it’s not going to change your blackjack fortunes if you violate your superstitions — even if you let new players enter during a shoe… you don’t bother saying “Nice hit” to someone who gets a six on a 15… you wish yourself good luck on your first-card ace… you tap twice instead of scratching the felt to hit… or forget your lucky cowboy hat. Gamblor is immune to superstition.

10 Gut feelings

It seems that most people who sit down at a blackjack table have a rough understanding of textbook blackjack strategy. At least on the most basic level. The “gut feelings” strategy is a mix of playing with basic blackjack strategy but also having feelings. For example: “I’m going to stay on this 16, I just know the next card is a 10.” (I’ve seen my friend Bruce almost attack people for that statement. More than once.)

The problem here, from a mathematical perspective — aka my favorite perspective — is that blackjack strategy is constructed to give you an edge if you adhere to it without deviation and play for a long, long time. It’s like a thousand monkeys on a thousand typewriters — eventually they’re going to write A Tale of Two Cities. But as soon as you deviate from the strategy for a gut feeling, that’s like telling your monkeys that they’re now trying to accidentally write Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue: An American Life.

9 Easy card counting

I have three different levels of card counting on this list, because not all card counting is created equal. Some methods are so basic that you can learn them in 15 minutes. Some take months or years of practice.

Easy card counting might give you a small bump. One strategy like this is called ace/five — that’s where you start with the number zero, add one for every five dealt and subtract one for every ace. If the count is more than two, you double your previous bet. If the count is less than two, you bet the minimum. It’s simple, and marginally effective across a large data set.

Another easy card counting style is the famed “I feel like I’ve seen a lot of big cards” strategy. This is the one where you’re paying like 80 percent attention, but you feel like you’ve seen a lot of big cards come out already so you scale back your bets. This somewhat resembles wearing shorts outside in February because you feel like there have been so many snowy days that some sun is due.

8 Avoiding elderly female Korean dealers

This isn’t necessarily a winning strategy but more of an “avoid losing” strategy. Simply put: If you stand up and walk away every time there’s a dealer switch and an elderly female Korean assassin takes over your table, it will probably save you thousands of dollars in your lifetime.

7 Bet incrementing

Bet incrementing is like card counting without the card counting. It’s more like streak counting. There are different systems but they all basically come down to this: If you’re winning, keep increasing your bet; if you’re losing, don’t increase your bet.

This certainly helps avoid the break-even rut that blackjack can fall into — where you sit there for hours and never swing more than 25 percent or so from your buy-in. With incrementing, you’re either blowing money quickly or raking it in quickly.

But it’s not really a system to beat the house… just one to help you channel your luck. Incrementing coupled with counting can actually increase your winning percentage (or, more accurately, shave a small amount off the house edge). But incrementing without counting is like having sexual relations with multiple people and eschewing condoms until you catch an STD, then going back to condoms again.

6 Cheating

How To Play Blackjack And Win

I put this in the middle of the list because it can go either way. If you spend hours going from casino to casino searching for a rookie dealer who might occasionally expose the very bottom burn card, that’s ineffective and inefficient cheating.

If you hide cards in your sleeve or try to subtlety double your bet when you get a good hand, those are more effective cheating strategies. Sure, you’ll end up getting dragged into a windowless room in the bowels of the casino and getting beat — fittingly — with a blackjack. But you’ll win some serious cash in the process.

5 Shuffle Tracking

In most of the big Vegas casinos you can’t do this anymore — the dealer doesn’t shuffle, he just puts the cards in a machine that automatically shuffles them. (Or, if you’re more of a conspiracy theorist, that sequences them to make sure you all get screwed.)

But if you’re playing blackjack and the dealer is manually shuffling, this actually can be moderately effective. You have to pay detailed attention to the sequence that the cards come out, because you’re looking for clusters. Maybe you try to remember the number and suit of the two cards that lead up to every ace. You expect that, during a human shuffle, some of those clusters will stay together — and you might have a little edge in knowing when the aces are coming.

It requires a lot of concentration, but might actually help you make a better decision on one or two hands every two or three shoes. It’s a long-term play. Continuing the analogy motif of this list, it’s like getting three green shells on the first lap in Mario Kart 64 and holding them indefinitely, hoping that you’ll be in a situation eventually where they’ll benefit you.

4 Basic strategy and time

Basic strategy is the calling card of blackjack — if you play with proper strategy, blackjack gives you the best odds in the casino over time. (People forget the “over time” aspect. We’re a culture that freaks out over small sample sizes. They’re the only thing keeping Around the Horn on the air.)

And over time, basic strategy really can make a difference — infinite computer simulations have proven it. But you need to have the discipline to hit 12 and 13 against a 2… hit soft 18 against a 9, 10 or ace… split 8s against a 10 even if you’re on a cold streak… and refuse to take even money for blackjacks. Every single time you play, with no exceptions, for your entire life.

3 Medium-difficulty card counting

This is the kind of card counting that the common man can learn and try to employ. You don’t need an entire team of MIT-educated math geniuses to work as spotters and helpers and trainers to make it work. (It’d be hard to get that team together anyway, what with them knowing they’d be whitewashed if a movie was made about your adventures.)

These medium strategies are more advanced than the counting strategies I talked about earlier. Here you might try something like the current “hot” counting style, called the Zen Count. (You subtract one for an ace; add one for a 2, 3 or 7; add two for a 4, 5 or 6; and subtract two for a ten.) This requires practice and concentration, *might* get you kicked out of a casino but probably not, and will give you more of an advantage than you’re used to.

Of course, if you’re doing this, you can’t really drink — so that’s a $6-$32 per hour loss, depending on the efficiency of your waitress and your willingness to consume Long Island iced teas in the middle of the afternoon. So make sure to factor that in.

2 Hard card counting team effort

These are the card counting systems you would see in movies like 21 and others. (No, I can’t actually name others, I just assume there are others.) Basically, you and your genius friends develop an advanced card counting strategy. Then you all watch and card count different tables and signal each other when a table is about to start paying off. The money guy goes to that table, bets a ton, then gets the hell out as soon as the pit bosses start whispering to each other and casting furtive glances in your direction.

On the downside, this is the kind of thing that casinos are on the lookout for and that might only exist in fantasy at this point. On the upside, if you do choose this method, you get to wear cool disguises and play different characters at the table! So if you and your friends from differential calculus class started an improv troupe, you were born for this.

(Side note: I bet that improv troupe would have a kitschy name like “RDRR” or “Nothing Derivative” or “Kristen Cavalieri’s Principle.”)

1 Autistic brother

Show me the money! Feel the need for speed! I want the truth! You’re glib!

—

Best Way To Win Big In Blackjack Card Game

1- Blackjack Progressive Jackpots

The most realistic way for the average blackjack player to win $1 million is by hitting a huge progressive jackpot.

Winning a blackjack jackpot involves playing a game that offers a progressive payout on the side. Side bets require between a $1 and $5 wager.

The rules for how you win the jackpot vary based on the exact variation you’re playing. But the general theme is that you need to combine certain card values and suits between your first two cards and the dealer’s up-card.

For example, you may need an ace, king, and queen of diamonds (a.k.a. royal flush) between the dealer’s upcard and your first two cards.

This is how one man hit a jackpot worth $1,044,822 at Caesars Windsor casino in October 2018.

The man, whose first name is Peter, made a $5 side bet and got a diamond blackjack royal flush. This specific hand delivered 100% of the progressive jackpot to Peter.

This brings me to another point in that blackjack progressive jackpots can deliver varying amounts of the prize based on your hand.

For example, you may win 10% of a jackpot if you get a royal flush in another suit. But you have to get a royal in a specific suit to earn 100% of the prize.

The advantage to playing for progressive blackjack prizes is that you don’t need any skill to win. Instead, you simply make the require side bet and hope that luck favors you.

The downside is that your odds of winning a big jackpot are very slim. Progressive prizes are essentially the slot machines of table games.

I’m not saying that you should completely avoid blackjack progressive jackpots—especially when there’s a seven-figure prize on the line. But don’t expect to win any time soon.

2- Card Counting

Card counting is perhaps the most famous advantage play method in all of casino gambling. This technique has been featured in plenty of movies, including 21, Holly Rollers, Rain Man, and The Hangover.

These films make it seem like anybody who knows how to count cards can make a killing. But the truth is that most card counters only earn above the average salary.

That said, you need to grind for years in order to make $1 million through card counting. But if you have patience and are willing to learn the craft, then you can make a nice living until you hit a lofty goal.

The first thing you need to consider before counting cards is your bankroll size. The more money you start with, the less chance that you’ll lose your funds and have to start over.

Ideally, you’ll begin with at least a $25,000 bankroll as a solo counter. Blackjack card counting teams should have closer to $50,000 in order to be saved.

But some people have experienced success when starting out with $10,000 or less.

The next step is to actually learn how to count cards. You can use a variety of systems to keep an accurate count.

But the Hi-Lo is one of the best card counting strategies in terms of both accuracy and ease of use. Here’s a quick overview of how the Hi-Lo strategy works:

How To Win Casino Blackjack

You assign a point value to cards.
2-6 = +1
7-9 = neutral
10-A = -1
You add up the point values by watching every card that’s dealt.
You continue counting until the shoe is reshuffled.
You bet more with a positive count, because you’re more likely to get a blackjack thanks to extra aces and 10s.

Next, you want to know when the count is favorable enough to increase your bets. The “true count” and number of decks (in multi-shoe games) are the two factors that help you make these decisions.

The “running count” is your total count without considering how many decks are remaining. The true count does factor in the number of decks.

Here’s an example of coming up with a true count:

Your running count is +8.
There are 2 decks remaining.
8/2 = +4 true count

The difficulty here is estimating exactly how many decks are remaining before calculating your true count. After all, casinos don’t give you any indication on how many decks are left in the shoe.

You instead need to visually monitor the shoe and make an educated guess. You’ll become better at figuring this out the longer you play and continue counting cards.

It’s also important to consider deck penetration or the percentage of decks that are dealt before the dealer reshuffles. The more deck penetration there is, the more confident you can be in a favorable true count.

It’s best to look for games where the casino allows at least 70% deck penetration before reshuffling the shoe. But you can still be successful if you have at least 65% penetration in a 6-deck shoe.

The final step of using the Hi-Lo is knowing how much to increase your bet by based on the true count. This is referred to as bet spreading, which measures the distance between the table’s minimum bet and your highest wager during a favorable count.

If you bet $75 on a $5 blackjack table, for example, you’re spread is 1-15. The 15 amount comes from multiplying 75 by 5.

Now that I’ve covered the basics, here’s an example on how you can calculate optimal bets:

Determine a unit size (e.g. $25).
Figure out your true count (e.g. +4).
Subtract 1 from the true count (4 – 1 = 3).
Multiply this number by your unit size (25 x 3 = 75).
Your bet should be 3 units, or $75 (i.e. 1-15 spread on a $5 table).

The great thing about card counting is that it’s a completely legitimate technique that’s been tested and proven over time. As long as you have strong card counting skills, you can make guaranteed profits.

The downside is that you’ll only gain between a 0.5%and 1.5% edge over the house when counting. This means that you’ll experience plenty of volatile swings, making it hard to predict when you’ll profit.

Another drawback is that counting cards is a grind. Therefore, it may take you 10 years or longer to accumulate $1 million in card counting profits.

Also, note that casinos have gotten very good at catching counters based on their bet spread. You need to avoid having crazy bet spreads (e.g. 1-30) and find lenient casinos in order to avoid getting kicked out.

3- Hole Carding

Blackjack dealers in American casinos deal themselves one face-up (upcard) and one face-down card (hole card).

These dealers also peak at their hole card whenever their upcard is an ace or 10 value. They do this to check for a natural blackjack, which would automatically end the round.

You’re not supposed to see the dealer’s hole card when they peek. Therefore, you’re making decisions based on incomplete information.

But what if you could see the dealer’s hole card? This is the idea behind hole carding, where you try to get a glimpse of the dealer’s face-down card.

The exciting thing about hole carding is that it can offer you up to a 13% advantage. This crushes the 0.5% to 1.5% edge that card counting offers.

Another good thing about hole carding is that it’s easy in theory. All you’re trying to do is see the dealer’s hole card value.

The difficult part, though, is finding a dealer who consistently reveals their face-down card’s value. These dealers, who are referred to as the “flashers,” are usually new, poorly trained, or just don’t care about their jobs.

Once you find a flasher, you want to sit at either first base (first seat to dealer’s left) or second base (first seat to dealer’s right). These are the only seats that give you a realistic chance to see the dealer’s hole card when peeking.

The seat should depend upon whether the dealer is right or left-handed. First base offers you an easier chance to see a right-handed dealer’s hole card, while third base gives you the best chance to see a left-handed dealer’s card.

You also want to sit at a natural angle that still allows you to be more level to the table felt. In contrast, slouching or leaning makes it more obvious that you’re trying to see the dealer’s hole card.

Some advantage players also try to avoid making any play that’s obviously bad from a strategy perspective (e.g. doubling down on 7 against a dealer’s 10). Such plays make it easier for casinos to tell what’s going on and determine that one of their dealers is a flasher.

The last thing you want is to lose a vulnerable dealer because they’re difficult to find. I’ve seen estimates that suggest only one out of every 200 dealers is a flasher.

The best place to practice hole carding is in Las Vegas, considering how difficult it is to find these dealers. Sin City gives you access to over 100 casinos and three different shifts per venue, giving you plenty of opportunities to find the right dealers.

Considering the huge advantage that hole carding can offer, this is one of the best ways to earn $1 million through blackjack. Therefore, you can theoretically collect seven figures with this technique in just a few years.

The problem, though, is that you’ll spend far more time searching for flashers than actually playing the game and making big profits.

4- Shuffle Tracking

Vegas casinos used to be full of single-deck blackjack tables with good rules, which are perfect for card counting. But they began switching to multi-deck shoes in the 1970safter seeing how many card counters were beating them.

Shuffle-tracking, which refers to tracking specific cards during shuffles, was born during this era. This advantage play technique refers to monitoring and guessing where 10-value cards (high cards) will be in the ensuing round.

Just like card counting, the goal of shuffle tracking is to bet more when the shoe has more high cards. This strategy is much more effective than counting, though, when used correctly.

The premise behind shuffle tracking is that shuffles aren’t as random as they appear. Dealers— in a hurry to keep games moving so the casino profits more— don’t shuffle shoes perfectly.

Many blackjack dealers use a “zero shuffle,” where cards are separated into piles. The shuffling is done between the piles (i.e. the dealer grabs each pile and riffles them).

Your mission is to track different 10-value cards from the discard tray to the shuffle. Being able to guess which pile the king of hearts is in, for example, allows you to make larger bets in anticipation of getting a natural blackjack.

Card counting comes into the equation when trying to figure out what card values remain based on your count. When you add shuffle tracking to a positive count, you can more precisely guess when certain high cards will be dealt.

The main problem with shuffle tracking is that it’s harder to execute than counting. You have to be great at watching the cards as they’re shuffled and know card counting on top of this.

It’s already challenging to count cards and keep up with the speed of the dealer/game. It’s only more difficult when you’re also visually tracking cards.

Expert shuffle trackers spend countless hours developing their craft. They need to be expert cards counters, then take things further by also being great at tracking high cards.

The payoff is great, though, because great shuffle trackers can gain anywhere from a 10% to 50% advantage.

The latter range makes this strategy even better than hole carding in terms of trying to win $1 million. Assuming you become an amazing shuffle tracker, you could make $1 million in as little as 2-3 years.

5- Ace Sequencing

Ace sequencing is a card tracking technique that begins with memorizing what cards are on top of the ace in the discard pile.

You place bigger bets when you see these cards come out in anticipation of an ace being dealt soon. This is another strategy where you’re looking to bet more in hopes of getting a natural blackjack, or at least aces that give you an edge in regular hands.

The biggest skill to ace tracking is being able to remember card sequences in each shoe. Top players can remember a large number of card sequences.

Here’s a synopsis on how you can use this strategy to win big:

Watch discards so that you can guess where card clumps surrounding an ace will appear after a shuffle.
Watch where aces go into the discard tray.
Remember 2-3 cards that are placed on top of the ace (a.k.a. “key cards”) in the discard tray.
Increase your bet size when you see key cards come out in the next round.

The biggest downside to ace sequencing is that it’s perhaps the hardest advantage play technique to learn. It doesn’t help matters that this is one of the least-discussed blackjack strategies.

However, knowing when an ace will be dealt gives you up to a 50% edge over the casino. Therefore, ace sequencing can be just as good as shuffle tracking when trying to win $1 million.

6- Playing High Stakes with Great Rules

One more way to win seven figures through blackjack is playing for high stakes with great rules involved.

High stakes allow you to quickly profit on a hot streak. Getting the best rules in your favor lowers the house edge even further and boosts your chances of winning.

Win Blackjack Every Time

Casinos, of course, want to maintain their edge in any situation, because this is how they make their money. But they’re willing to negotiate more with high rollers.

Don Johnson is the ultimate example of a high roller using his leverage to whittle down the house edge. During the early 2010s, Johnson negotiated for such favorable rules that he actually gained a long-term edge over casinos.

A 20% loss rebate and free bets after dealer mistakes were key elements that helped Johnson overcome the house advantage.

He was so good at these negotiations and mathematics that casinos didn’t know what hit them. Johnson won a combined $15 million from several casinos before the industry caught on.

No other high roller has ever pulled off what Johnson did. Therefore, I don’t expect any whale to negotiate for such great rules that they actually have the edge.

However, you can at least drop the blackjack house edge below 0.3% if you bet big enough and work out a favorable deal. This puts you on a near-even footing with the casino, meaning you only need a little luck to win big.

Conclusion

Winning $1 million through blackjack is certainly no easy feat. In fact, it’s essentially impossible if you’re playing low stakes and relying on basic strategy.

But certain techniques and formats do give you an opportunity to win seven figures through this game.

Progressive jackpots are the most practical way to win big in blackjack. I say “practical” lightly because your odds are very low of winning a jackpot.

But the good thing about blackjack jackpots is that they’re easy to play for. You merely make your side bet and hope that you get the right card combination.

High rollers also have an easier path to $1 million. They can combine an extremely low house edge with big bets to earn large profits.

The drawback to high roller play is that you’re still at a long-term disadvantage. But the upside is that you can realistically win a fortune on a hot streak.

Card counting is the easiest way to make guaranteed profits in blackjack. But counting also takes the longest of any advantage play technique with regard to making a million.

Ace sequencing, hole carding, and shuffle tracking all give you a far greater edge than card counting. But each of these advantage techniques is much more difficult to master.

In the end, there’s no easy way to earn a $1 million blackjack profit. But the nice thing is that you at least have different options if you’re serious about this goal.

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