• Live Dealer Blackjack Strategy Games
• Live Dealer Blackjack Strategy For Real
• Live Dealer Blackjack Strategy Tactics

One of the most appealing aspects of blackjack is that there’s some element of skill involved. With many casino games, you are entirely reliant on luck, but with blackjack your actions affect the outcomes of hands.

Blackjack is still a game of chance; it’s just that luck isn’t the only factor that determines whether or not you win or lose.

What this means in practice is that you can actually improve your chances of winning. More accurately, in fact, it means that you can decrease your chances of losing.

Every decision you make, such as whether to hit or to stand, will have a direct impact on the result of a hand.

If you consistently make the correct decisions, you can reduce the house edge to a level where the casino’s advantage is almost obsolete.

Wherever possible, players should try to find live blackjack tables that abide by the US-style “peek” rule of checking blackjack. In most US online and land-based casinos, the dealer will peek at their face-down card before players are given any cards. Live dealer blackjack is one of the most played games online and for those that are new, the game may seem confusing. Live dealer blackjack is actually a standard form of blackjack and the only difference between playing this version and one in an online casino is the ability to enjoy a live dealer and interaction at the table. How Live Blackjack Works When you sit down at a live blackjack table online, you will be greeted by the dealer and play will begin almost immediately. Contrary to what some people believe, bets are made with 2-dimensional, digital chips and not with real live chips handled by the dealer.

On this page we explain how basic blackjack strategy can help you make correct decisions each and every time you play.

We explain how it works, how to use it, and we provide a sample strategy chart. We also look at a few blackjack strategies that don’t work.

How Blackjack Strategy Works

You have some information to work with every time you have a decision to make at the blackjack table. You know what cards you have, and you can see one of the dealer’s cards. Based on this information, it’s possible to work out the probabilities of what could happen next.

This is because there’s a fixed number of cards in the decks, and a fixed probability for each of those cards being dealt.

This is done by comparing the probabilities of all the possible combinations of cards that could be dealt, and determining how these combinations would impact the final outcome of the hand.

Once you know how the different actions you can take will affect your chances of winning, you can then choose the optimal one. There’s always a correct mathematical decision to make, and taking it enables you to keep the house edge to the absolute minimum.

That is essentially the whole point of blackjack strategy.

The problem with basic blackjack strategy is that it’s not always easy to establish the correct decision accurately. There are some complicated mathematical calculations required.

Unless you’re a genius, there’s a very small chance of you being able to make those calculations every time you play a hand. Thankfully, you don’t have to make any calculations.

These rules tell you exactly what action you should take in any given situation, based on the cards in your hand and the exposed dealer card.

By following them, you can apply basic blackjack strategy without using any math at all. All you have to do is learn the rules.

Given that there are hundreds of different situations you can find yourself in at the blackjack table, learning the rules for what to do in each one isn’t necessarily easy.

It might be pretty obvious that you should stand if you have 20 and the dealer is showing an eight, but situations such as having 12 when the dealer is showing a three are perhaps not so clear.

If you want to apply basic blackjack strategy perfectly, then you need to know what to do in every possible situation. This is where the use of strategy charts comes in handy.

A blackjack strategy chart is a matrix that shows all the possible combinations of your hand and the dealer’s exposed card. It shows the action you should take when facing each combination.

These charts are based on the correct rules for employing basic strategy, so if you do what the chart says, you’ll be making the right decision every time.

The following is an example of how a strategy chart looks. Along the top you have the dealer’s card, and down the side is your hand. Each individual cell shows what action you should take for the relevant combination.

The chart includes a key for the action each symbol in the cells represents.

You’ll notice that some of the actions are dependent on certain rules. For example, splitting is the right decision in some situations only if you are allowed to double after a split. This is because there are variants of blackjack where some of the rules are different.

The perfect strategy will vary depending on the exact rules of the blackjack variant you are playing. The chart shown above is the correct strategy for playing an eight deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17.

A few decisions would be slightly different if you were playing another game. These differences are, however, very marginal. If you follow the above chart for any variant, you will still play close to perfect hand.

Therefore, you stand a much better chance of winning more hands than you lose during a single session.

There are a few blackjack strategies that, for some reason, are popular among players even though they don’t work. These are as follows:

• Mimic the Dealer
• Never Bust
• Assume a Ten
• Progressive Betting

Mimic the dealer is a simple strategy where you simply act in the same way as a dealer would in any situation. You would never split, double, or surrender, because these options aren’t available to the dealer.

Basically, you would just hit on less than 17 and stand on 17 or higher, regardless of the dealer’s exposed card. This isn’t a good strategy at all, because splitting and doubling can be very advantageous to the player in the right situations.

Never bust is an equally simple strategy.

You just never hit if there’s a risk of going bust, so you always stand on 12 or higher. While this might seem like a safe approach, it actually increases the house edge.

A ten strategy works on the basis that you assume the next card will always be a ten, and that the dealer’s unexposed is a ten. Players often work on this assumption due to the fact that cards valued at ten make up around 30% of the deck (remember jacks, queens, and kings are all valued at ten).

However, 70% of the cards aren’t valued at ten, so you are still more likely not to get a ten. As such, this strategy doesn’t really work and increases the house edge.

Progressive betting is increasing or decreasing your bet size based on the result of your previous bet. This is a strategy that can be used in any form of betting, and there are several different progressive betting systems in existence.

They don’t have any effect on the house edge, because your chances of winning or losing a hand don’t change based on how much you bet.

They can also be very dangerous, particularly when aligned with systems such as the Martingale where you keep increasing your stake after a loss. One bad run can result in the loss of your entire bankroll.

Oct 26, 2018

Live dealer blackjack is slowly but surely overtaking classic online blackjack games. Yes, the goal is to win regardless of the version you play. However, there are more and more players who want to win in-style even if playing from home. After all, we are living in the era of aesthetics.

For some, Flash or HTML5 blackjack games are missing the cool-factor, which is a valid point. That’s where live dealer blackjack enters the picture. Popularized by influential YouTubers like Sodapoppin, live blackjack is here to conquer the world. But, before you click play, read this short guide so you can start with an advantage.

What differentiates live blackjack from online blackjack?

• live blackjack is interactive
• a professional live dealer leads the game
• it is a real table with real players, streamed from a real casino floor

Live dealer blackjack basics for beginners

Like other casino games, live dealer blackjack is available from different software developers. Generally speaking, the game is an interactive stream. This means that players can interact with each other and the dealer in real-time. The blackjack tables are set-up in a studio that is just like a casino floor with the addition of cameras. At each table stands a professional dealer who conducts the game.

You can watch the stream and bet without being physically present, from all Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS devices. There’s no need to download any app: all you need is internet connection and a browser.

Keep in mind: there are differences between blackjack from X-developer to blackjack from Y-developer. Some streams are better quality, some dealers are more professional and some sets are fancier than the others. Usually, well-established online casinos provide better quality in all the above fields. Currently the most popular software are Evolution Gaming and NetEnt.

Rules don’t change at live tables

The general blackjack rules are set in stone: you are playing against the dealer to achieve the higher valued hand that doesn’t exceed 21. The strongest hand is a blackjack, formed by an ace and a 10-valued card.

Live blackjack RTPs (Return to Player):

• Blackjack bet: 99,28%
• 21+3 side bet: 96,30%
• Perfect Pairs side bet: 95,90%

However, there might be slight differences from one online casino platform to another. For example, in 888casino’s version of the game the shoe has 8 decks of cards. Cards between 2-10 have their nominal value. Aces can be valued at 1 or 11 while Jacks, Kings and Queens are all counted as 10. You can double, split, and take insurance. The labels on the table clarify that the dealer has to stand on all 17s and draw only until 16.

Live Blackjack side bets bring a twist

Side bets are optional bets that you can make on different possible scenarios in blackjack. Two of the most common side bets are 21+3 and Perfect Pairs. The outcome of the side bets is separate from the main bet (21). However, you cannot make a side bet without the main bet. Let’s take a closer look at two of the most popular live dealer blackjack side bets:

21+3 Side Bet – five winning scenarios

This side bet is calculated from your first two cards and the dealer’s up-card. The winning combinations are:

• Flush:

• Three cards of the same suite (spade, heart, etc.)

• Straight:

• A sequence of three cards from any suite
• Example: 8, 9, 10 of any suite

• Straight Flush:

• A sequence of three cards from the same suite
• Example: 8, 9, 10 of Hearts

• Three of a Kind:

• Cards of the same kind (aces, kings, jacks, 8s, etc.)
• Example: Ace of Heart, Ace of Spades, and Ace of Diamonds

• Suited Trips:

• Three identical cards (3 queens of spades)

Perfect Pairs Side Bet – three winning scenarios

The Perfect Pairs side bet is available on your first two cards. The bet wins if the two cards form a

• Colored Pair:

• Two cards of the same color
• Example: 8 of diamonds and 6 of hearts

• Mixed Pair:

• Two of cards of the exact same value or face but with different color
• Example: Jack of diamonds and a Jack of Spades

Live Dealer Blackjack Strategy Games

• Perfect Pair:

• Two identical cards
• Example: Two 9s of diamonds.

Beginner live dealer blackjack strategy

The most important strategy for a beginner is table choice. Choose a blackjack table that suits your bet range and offers the side bets and rules that you are looking for. Since the general rules are the same as in any other blackjack, a good starting point would be to use basic blackjack strategy.

Last but not least, do not forget to have fun! There are hundreds of strategy books and charts out there and it’s easy to get lost in them. However, at the end of the day, none of them guarantee winning. Therefore, instead of stressing about all the advanced techniques just sit back and enjoy the game.

Tags: 21+3, live blackjack, live dealer blackjack, Perfect Pairs, side bets

Live Dealer Blackjack Strategy For Real

Live Dealer Blackjack Strategy Tactics

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