Basic strategy is a very common way for players to improve their blackjack game and odds of winning money. Here is a chart of what the basic strategy includes.
Now looking at this chart may seem very confusing if you don't know the rules of black jack. So here are the rules of how to play. First, you must place your bet. Once everyone sitting at the table's bet has been placed, cards will be dealt out. The number of decks a casino uses varies, but normally they use between 4-6 decks per table. Therefore, it is harder to anticipate what cards will be coming out next. Everyone sitting at the table will first get one card faced up along with the dealer receiving the same. Next, another faced up card will be dealt to every player at the table, but the dealer's second card will be faced down. The objective of the game is each participant attempts to beat the dealer by getting a count as close to 21, without going over 21. What is a 21 count you may ask? Well, each card in the deck is given a value. Cards 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 all represent their numerical value, while every "face card" (jack, queen, king) also represent 10. Lastly, aces can represent either 1 or 11 depending on the better value for your hand. Once you have determined your hand's value the next step is to either "hit"(take another card) or "stay"(chose not to receive anymore cards).The order of who is to make this decisions runs from the left of the dealer to the right, in order. For example, lets say you are the second person to make a decision at a table. After the cards are dealt, you have a value of 8. In this position, the best play is to ALWAYS hit. This is because as the objective states, the goal is to try get the closest value to 21 without going over. With the value 8, no card in the deck will cause you to "bust". Busting is when you or the dealer goes over a numerical value of 21. If this occurs to you, you automatically lose and if this happens to the dealer, you automatically win (if you have not already busted). So with the value 8, you hit and receive the next card. Depending on the value of that card, you will either decide to hit or stay again. In this example, we will say you received a card with the value 10. You now have a value of 18. In basic strategy, once you have a value of 17 and above (not higher than 21 obviously) you are supposed to stay. So you would indicate to the dealer you would like to stay at 18. Each player takes their turn. Now it is the dealer's turn. They first must flip their faced down card to indicate their two card score. In this example we will say the dealer was showing a 7 (dealer's faced up card was a 7). In basic strategy you must always assume the next card you and the dealer will receive when "hitting" is a 10 because the majority of cards in the decks value is 10 (all 10s, jacks, queens, kings). The dealer flips their faced down card and as we assumed, the dealers faced down card has a value of 10. The dealer now has a value of 17 and the rules indicate that the dealer must stay on a value of 17 and above. The dealer is essentially playing the basic strategy. Your numerical value of 18 is closer to 21 than the dealers value of 17, therefore you win the hand and receive the amount you bet plus your original bet back. There are two other options to use when it is your turn. They are called "doubling down" and "splitting". In these cases you are doubling your original bet because you believe you have a better chance of winning. Doubling down usually occurs when you have a starting value of 10 or 11 and hope to receive a 10 or 11 on your next card. Splitting occurs when you have two of the same cards and want to split them into two different hands. Lastly, you get "blackjack when your first two cards add up to a value of 21. Blackjack pays 3 to 2. The chart shows the basic strategy and when do utilize your options best.
You are also able to play blackjack online. This blackjack uses a random number generator algorithm to be able to randomly deal cards to its users. Many questions have been risen on how random this algorithm really is. "The program is designed to provide a sequence of numbers that lacks a discernible pattern. The sequence of numbers is so large, often in the billions, which ensures a pattern could never be found without using sophisticated technology and equipment operated by a genius"(legalonlineblackjack.net). The fear is that these online sites manipulate this algorithm in order to ensure they make much more money than they lose. This is evident in the movie "Runner, Runner", which follows a college student to Costa Rica in order to prove he had been cheated by an online gambling site. The difference between online blackjack and casino blackjack is one that has always been debated due to the scepticism of online blackjacks randomness. Both online and casino blackjack are massive gambling outlets and are played by millions of people everyday.
Finally, counting cards has been an issue many casino owners have faced throughout the years. This is a mathematical strategy few people are able to use. It involves mathematical skill and quickness. Each card is given a value of +1, -1 or 0. Depending on the cards that come out, the count will either be positive, or negative. If the count is high (+10), then more face cards will b coming out. If the count is love (-10), low number cards will come out. This is used to determine which cards will be coming out of the deck and can be used to predict your next card as well as the dealers. The movie "21" is a good way to learn about counting cards.
Blackjack is a fun game to play, learn about, and even helps you with quick adding!
Bibliography:
1."How a Basic Strategy Player Can Beat Blackjack - BlackjackInfo.com."BlackjackInfocom. N.p., 30 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
2. "Blackjack – Card Game Rules." Bicycle Playing Cards. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
3. Random Number Generators In Blackjack | How Random Are They?"Random Number Generators In Blackjack | How Random Are They? N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
I just recently learned how to play Blackjack. It is a fun game. I found it hard, when I first started playing not to cheat. I didn’t really know that it was cheating at first, counting cards, but I just did it so naturally. It was really interesting to me that there is an actual strategy that can increase your rate of success. I think that Ryan did a good job at explaining these strategies in a way that everyone can understand. I especially liked how he explained the game so well, and even provided the name of a movie to watch to learn more about counting cards.
ReplyDeleteBlack jack is one of my favorite casino games to play, right after Texas hold'em. I've always known there is a mathematical side behind black jack and I've always been interested in learning it but never had the time to do so. I remember watching a documentary about the MIT black jack team who specialized in card counting and ended up making millions off of their abilities. One thing in that documentary they point out that isn't necessarily mathematical about the strategy is the distractions in the casino. The casino is constantly trying to distract you to keep you from being able to count cards. So when the team would practice they would constantly be making tons of noise to distract the players.
ReplyDeleteBlack jack is one of my favorite casino games to play, right after Texas hold'em. I've always known there is a mathematical side behind black jack and I've always been interested in learning it but never had the time to do so. I remember watching a documentary about the MIT black jack team who specialized in card counting and ended up making millions off of their abilities. One thing in that documentary they point out that isn't necessarily mathematical about the strategy is the distractions in the casino. The casino is constantly trying to distract you to keep you from being able to count cards. So when the team would practice they would constantly be making tons of noise to distract the players.
ReplyDeleteI love playing card games, but I have never been much of a Blackjack player, or any other casino/gambling game. However, this game seems to be very math-oriented, and have a lot of chance to it. The table would make much more sense to others who have played more casino games than I; the double down and splitting ideas are confusing. Without those two concepts however, Blackjack does not seem like such a complex game. The only problem is the factor of chance, which ultimately is what determines the outcome of every game. It’d be interesting to play with the strategy Ryan explained, and see if it really works in the player’s favor.
ReplyDeleteI actually have never played Black Jack before but I have watched my dad play when I was a kid. At that time I found it very confusing and would ask a lot of questions but it would still not get any clearer to me. I didn’t know that counting the cards was cheating being that it is a strategy in other games. I agree that Ryan did a good job of explaining the strategies that players can use. It’s easier to understand but I do have to say that I would probably be the person to play with considering I will have no idea what I am doing.
ReplyDeleteBlackJack has always been a card game difficult for me to understand and I have never actually worked up enough courage to try and play, because I know I will be horrible. This post is very interesting because many people would not understand that there is a lot of mathematics behind this card game. Looking through the chart the first time, I had no idea how to understand that because I did not know the rules of blackjack. After reading the chart made a bit more sense and the chart was very beneficial to the post. I really enjoyed reading this because it is something unknown, and I may have to try to play sometime.
ReplyDeleteI was quite excited seeing a blackjack post since Iv'e played a lot of poker and blackjack with my friends for fun and sometimes a little money! I really like the chart you've provided because it gives a nice visual of what approach you should take to each situation. Iv'e always been curious when you should hit or hold when you have a decently high given hand. I usually play greedy and try to reach 21 even when I have a 16+ hand. I now know there is a specific strategy to reading the dealers hand and your hand to have the best possible results of winning.
ReplyDeleteBlackjack is one of those games that I like to play with my friends but I would never go to a casino and gamble my hard earned money on. Since there is such an unpredictability to what cards you will be dealt to a novice player like me I would practically be giving my money away, plus you are not only playing to try and get your cards up to 21 but you are also competing against the dealer who is also trying to hit 21. I like to play games like Rolette because its all up to chance and I find it more satisfying when my number or color is hit.
ReplyDeleteI find it quite interesting but also a bit frightening how mathematics, statistics in particular, can be utilized and manipulated in a way that can (somewhat) guarantee places like casinos to make profits in the long run. To me, it's kind of like no matter how strategically you play Blackjack, you can't always beat the house just because that fate is predetermined. It's also kind of discouraging to me that you have to place your bet before you even recieve any cards, however I suppose it's slightly fair since everyone else has to bet as well. Counting cards is incredible and very perplexing to me. It's crazy, too, how people can get in trouble for doing this even though it's an amazing talent that requires insane skill. At that point, just let them have it - very few people have that ability anyways!!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up with four boys around me, I’ve known how to play Blackjack since I was five. However, I didn’t know there was a massive mathematical side to the game. I always thought that the game was basic common sense with a little addition in place. I did not know about doubling down or splitting though. Ryan did a very nice job of describing the rules and what all the terms meant, and if it was your first time playing you could get by. I also learned that there is a massive difference between online Blackjack and Blackjack at a casino.
ReplyDeleteI have played blackjack numerous times throughout the years so I am familiar with the game. I wasn't however familiar with the mathematics behind it which I guess is know becoming a common trend. I just looked at the cards I received and go from there and just seen how much leeway I had if I wanted to receive another card and test my luck. It was interesting to see the mathematics behind blackjack because I never thought about it. I believe it is a hard game to just explain, but it is very easy to play once you start it. saying this he did a good job of going through the rules without them being confusing I believe. I liked it when I read the casino keeps trying to keep the people playing distracted to help with the counting cards situation. It would be interesting to be able to learn the technique and test your skills in a casino and see what you are able to do in there. who knows maybe you could when big and could say you learned it from Ryan in a Recreation Math class you took in college.
ReplyDeleteA quick clarification. Counting cards is not cheating. It is frowned upon by the casino because if you do it correctly you beat them. The casino has a right to deny people to play their game, so if they know you can beat them, they don't let you play. So card counters had to hide the fact that they know how to do it, so the casino doesn't kick them out.
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