The Definitive Blackjack Cheat Sheet
While blackjack didn’t blow up the way poker did, it does hold considerable popularity among players and even the world’s most famous people, for example: Ben Affleck’s blackjack skills made headlines in 2014 when he was asked to leave the blackjack table because his winning strike was running too long! He was even accused of counting cards, which isn’t illegal and sadly not useful in online blackjack but is frowned upon.
Affleck later attributed his blackjack winning strike to spending a great deal of time on learning blackjack strategy. Affleck’s love for the card game is overshadowed by rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent, who created and released a blackjack app in 2012! Join the famous, combine your passion and strategy with Jackpot Wheel Casino’s blackjack cheat sheet and hit big in blackjack.
Blackjack To The Basics
Did you know that blackjack tops the list of casino games with a low house edge? Or that blackjack is among the casino games that require actual skill and decision making? This means your ability to make decisions coupled with a bit of lady luck’s magic and a low house edge could have your bankroll rolling out of control! Ready to hit? Great!
Let’s understand what the Blackjack Card Values are first. All card values are their actual values with the exception of face cards which are valued at 10 and Ace cards which are valued at either 1 or 11.The objective of blackjack is commonly known as achieving 21 or as close to 21 as possible but change the objective to beating the dealer’s hand and the game shifts. This is illustrated in the following the basic rules or typical sequence to playing blackjack:
- Place your bet
- You will get dealt two cards and the dealer will take two cards, one up and one down
- Based on the card values we mentioned above, you will decide whether to hit, stand, double down or surrender.
- If the dealer gets 16 or less, a hit is likely but if the dealer’s hand amounts to 17 and greater, a stand is a sure play.
- If the dealer goes bust and your hand totals less than 21 you win, another win is when your hand totals 21.
- You lose if you go bust or when your hand totals less than the dealer’s hand.
- Should your hand match the dealers the round is a tie and you retain your bet.
From the above you can see that there are two ways to beat the dealer – a hand that exceeds that dealer’s total but not over 21 or a hand that is lower than the dealers and the dealer’s hand is over 21 i.e, the dealer’s hand is bust. If the different terms confused you, no worries we’ve got you covered.
Quick Terminology!
| Hit | When your hand totals 16 or lower, hit means to request another card |
| Stand | This happens when you are happy with your total |
| Surrender | Results in a forfeiture of the game, you lose half of your original bet |
| Split | If you are dealt two cards of the same value, you can opt to split |
| Double Down | Allows you to double your initial wager if you receive another card |
| Bust | When you or the dealer’s hand totals more than 21 |
| Even Money | When the dealer goes bust and you win, the payout is 1:1 |
| Insurance | A side bet when the dealers up card is an Ace |
Be A Blackjack Ace
By now, you would have seen how important the Ace card is in a game of blackjack. In fact, the Ace is integral to our blackjack cheat sheet! The ace card is a determining factor in a soft or a hard hand. A hand without an ace card or when the ace equals 1 is a hard hand and in contrast a soft hand is a hand that contains an ace card. Soft hands typically allow for you to hit and eventually convert your hand into a hard hand. Knowing when you have a soft or hard hand determines your next play.
1, 2, 3 Blackjack!
Earlier we mentioned card counting in relation to Ben Affleck’s blackjack winning streak and established that card counting isn’t illegal but wouldn’t be of any help when playing online blackjack real money at Jackpot Wheel Casino. While you can’t employ card counting in online blackjack you can make use of the blackjack chart! The blackjack chart is essentially the blackjack cheat sheet and outlines what you should do i.e. hit, stand, split, double down or surrender, based on the dealer’s card and your hand. Card counting is useful when used in conjunction with the blackjack chart but requires a sharp memory and addition and subtraction skills of epic levels! Do you have that? Well, you can get there! Here’s a simply way to do it, begin at 0 then follow these steps:
- Add 1 to your count when you get dealt a positive card
- Minus 1 from your count when your dealt a negative card
- A neutral card won’t affect your card count
- Place higher bets when your card count is at +2
- Reduce your bets when your card count is negative
Blackjack to the Feature at Jackpot Wheel Casino
Ready to put this blackjack cheat sheet to the test? Our casino games lobby has several blackjack versions for you to try. Remember to play a version with more favorable rules, try to remember the blackchart – it will help you decide what move is best.
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