Blackjack tips: 12 habits, each with its price
No tip changes the cards. If you play, good habits keep the house edge as low as your table allows, and each one has a price you can measure. Here are 12 blackjack tips, each with what ignoring it costs, worked out by our engine.
- The price list
- 12 habits that lower the house edge
- Mistakes that cost less than you think
- How to win at blackjack: the honest answer
- Questions
01The price list
Each habit below comes with its price: how much the house edge goes up if you ignore it. The prices are worked out by our engine, not guessed.
| # | Habit | What ignoring it costs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Play every hand by the strategy chart | +5.28 percentage points if you play like the dealer |
| 2 | Check the blackjack payout: 3:2, not 6:5 | +1.36 percentage points at a 6:5 table |
| 3 | Skip the side bets | 3.24% to 6.11% of each side bet |
| 4 | Say no to insurance and even money | +0.28 percentage points if you always take it |
| 5 | Double down when the chart says double | +1.54 percentage points if you never double |
| 6 | Split aces and 8s | +0.34 percentage points if you never split them |
| 7 | Hit (or double) soft 17 | +0.35 percentage points if you stand on A,6 |
| 8 | Never split 10s | +0.37 percentage points if you split them against a 5 or 6 |
| 9 | Hit stiff hands against a 7 to an ace | +3.24 percentage points if you never risk a bust |
| 10 | Read the table rules before the first hand | +0.21 percentage points for “dealer hits soft 17”, +0.14 for no double after split |
| 11 | Use surrender when the table offers it | +0.09 percentage points if you skip it where it is offered |
| 12 | Use the chart made for your game | +0.06 percentage points for a US chart at a European table |
Percentage points added to the house edge of your whole game, 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, 3:2 unless the habit is about that rule. The bar is drawn on a square-root scale.
0212 habits that lower the house edge
1Play every hand by the strategy chart
Price: +5.28 percentage points if you play like the dealerThe chart gives the move that loses least for every hand against every dealer card. With it, the house keeps about 0.62% of each bet. If you copy the dealer instead (hit to 17, never double or split), it keeps 5.89%.
Learn the chart for your table's rules before you play, and practice it without money in the trainer.
2Check the blackjack payout: 3:2, not 6:5
Price: +1.36 percentage points at a 6:5 tablePAYS 3:2+15on a 10 betPAYS 6:5+12on a 10 betPAYS 1:1+10on a 10 betA 6:5 payout takes 3 from every blackjack on a 10 bet. With otherwise standard rules the house edge goes from 0.62% to 1.98%. More on 6 to 5 blackjack.
3Skip the side bets
Price: 3.24% to 6.11% of each side betSide bets such as 21+3 and Perfect Pairs are separate bets with their own pay tables. Per dollar, they cost about 5 to 10 times as much as the main game.
Bet (6 decks) House edge Main game, basic strategy 0.62% 21+3 Classic 9 to 1 3.24% 21+3 Five-tier 4.62% Perfect Pairs 25/12/6 6.11% Perfect Pairs 30/10/5 5.79% Pay tables and odds for each: blackjack side bets.
4Say no to insurance and even money
Price: +0.28 percentage points if you always take itDEALERA♥♥Insurance is a side bet of up to half your bet when the dealer shows an ace. It pays 2:1, and the house keeps about 7.4% of it on average.
Taking half-bet insurance every time the dealer shows an ace adds 0.28 percentage points to the house edge of your whole game. Even money is the same bet when you hold blackjack. See blackjack insurance.
5Double down when the chart says double
Price: +1.54 percentage points if you never doubleYOUR HANDvs6♠♠5♥♥Hard 11DEALER SHOWS6♣♣6Doubling puts more money on the table when you are ahead on average. With 11 against a 6, doubling averages +0.674 per first bet, hitting only +0.337.
Never doubling adds 1.54 percentage points to the house edge; hitting 11 instead of doubling it, 0.83. More on doubling down.
6Split aces and 8s
Price: +0.34 percentage points if you never split themYOUR HANDvs8♠♠8♥♥Hard 16DEALER SHOWS10♣♣10Two 8s make a hard 16, a stiff hand; two aces make a soft 12. Split, each card becomes the start of a new hand. Against a 10, splitting 8s averages −0.475 per first bet, hitting the 16 −0.535.
Never splitting aces or 8s adds 0.34 percentage points to the house edge. More on when to split.
7Hit (or double) soft 17
Price: +0.35 percentage points if you stand on A,6Soft 17 (A,6) – the chart's play against each dealer up card (6 decks, dealer hits soft 17) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A H D D D D H H H H H A soft 17 (an ace and a 6) cannot bust on the next card, and 17 wins only when the dealer busts. The chart never stands on it: against a 7, hitting averages +0.055 per bet, standing −0.104.
8Never split 10s
Price: +0.37 percentage points if you split them against a 5 or 6YOUR HANDvsK♠♠Q♥♥Hard 20DEALER SHOWS6♣♣6Two ten-value cards make 20, one of the strongest hands. Against a 6, standing averages +0.677 per bet and splitting +0.457 per first bet – with twice the money on the table.
9Hit stiff hands against a 7 to an ace
Price: +3.24 percentage points if you never risk a bustHard 14 – the chart's play against each dealer up card (6 decks, dealer hits soft 17) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A S S S S S H H H H H Standing on every hard 12 to 16 “because the dealer might bust” sounds safe. Against a 7 or higher it loses more than hitting. The numbers: no bust blackjack strategy.
10Read the table rules before the first hand
Price: +0.21 percentage points for “dealer hits soft 17”, +0.14 for no double after splitA few lines in the rules screen move the house edge more than many playing mistakes:
- Dealer hits soft 17: +0.21 percentage points against “dealer stands on soft 17”.
- No double after a split: +0.14.
- Decks: with the same rules, 1 deck 0.04%, 6 decks 0.62%, 8 decks 0.65%.
Every rule and its price: blackjack house edge.
11Use surrender when the table offers it
Price: +0.09 percentage points if you skip it where it is offeredLate surrender lets you give up half your bet after the dealer checks for blackjack. Used only where the chart says (for example hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace), it lowers the house edge by 0.09 percentage points.
Not every table offers it. See blackjack surrender.
12Use the chart made for your game
Price: +0.06 percentage points for a US chart at a European tableA European table (no hole card) needs its own chart: it doubles and splits less against a 10 or an ace. Using the US chart there adds 0.06 percentage points.
Free Bet Blackjack, Spanish 21 and the other special games have their own charts too. Find yours under types of blackjack.
03Mistakes that cost less than you think
Some decisions are close calls: the two moves average almost the same, like 16 against a 10. Getting them wrong costs very little. The big prices are in the rules, the side bets and in leaving out whole parts of the chart.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
| Mistake | Each time, per $10 bet | If you always do it |
|---|---|---|
| Stand on hard 16 against a 10 | $0.05 | +0.007 |
| Stand on hard 12 against a 2 or 3 | $0.34 / $0.14 | +0.037 |
| Hit 8,8 against a 10 instead of splitting | $0.60 | +0.010 |
| Stand on soft 18 (A,7) against 9, 10 or ace | $0.84 / $0.37 / $0.65 | +0.038 |
Each time: how much less the mistake averages than the chart's move for a two-card hand, per $10 bet (several numbers = one per dealer card). If you always do it: percentage points added to the house edge. 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17.
Learn the big moves first: doubles, splits, soft hands, and hitting stiff hands against 7 to ace. Then the close calls.
04How to win at blackjack: the honest answer
In these games basic strategy lowers the house edge but cannot remove it, so over many hands you lose on average. Online games dealt by software usually reshuffle every round, so the cards left in the shoe give no extra information.
Some sessions still end ahead. That is the spread of results around the average, not a method:
| Hands played (basic strategy, $10 a hand) | Chance of being ahead | Average result |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 48% | −$6.17 |
| 1,000 | 43% | −$61.75 |
| 10,000 | 30% | −$617.49 |
6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, 3:2; normal approximation with a standard deviation of 1.16 bets per hand from our simulator.
What you can control:
- The table: 3:2, dealer stands on soft 17, double after split, surrender.
- Your moves: the chart for that table, every hand.
- The extras: no side bets, no insurance.
- How much and how long: a bet size and a time limit you decide before the first hand.
Bet size does not change the house edge, and no betting system does: raising bets after a loss changes how wins and losses are spread, not the average (betting systems). What changes your cost is how much and how long you play: at $10 a hand the average loss is $6.17 per 100 hands.
Card counting tries to use the cards left in the shoe; the card counting page explains why it rarely applies online.
Set a money limit and a time limit before you start, and stop when you reach either, ahead or behind. The responsible gambling page lists free help lines.
Questions people ask
What is the most important blackjack tip?
Play every hand by the strategy chart for your table. Playing like the dealer instead raises the house edge from 0.62% to 5.89%. After that, check that blackjack pays 3:2.
How do you win at blackjack?
You cannot win in the long run with basic strategy: it lowers the house edge to about 0.62% with standard rules, but does not remove it. Single sessions can end ahead; after 1,000 hands the chance is about 43%.
Are there tricks to win at blackjack?
No. Betting systems, “never bust” and following hunches all keep or raise the house edge. What works is choosing good rules, using the chart and skipping side bets and insurance.
What should you never do in blackjack?
Do not take insurance, do not split 10s, do not stand on soft 17, and check that blackjack pays 3:2 rather than 6:5. Each of these has a price in the list above.
Does betting more after a loss help?
No. Each bet has the same house edge whatever happened before. Raising bets after losses puts more money on the table without changing the average result.
How the numbers are worked out
Rule prices come from our exact engine (the one behind the strategy charts) for 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, dealer checks for blackjack and 3:2 unless a rule is named. The cost of a playing habit is the change in the house edge when the chart is changed in those cells and the whole game is worked out again exactly; the fixed strategies were also checked by an independent simulator of our own over 1,000,000,000 rounds each. Side bets: exact enumeration of the pay tables. Insurance: half the bet, every time the dealer shows an ace, with your own two cards removed from the shoe. Chances of being ahead use a normal approximation.