How to Make Real Money and Win at Blackjack by Understanding Odds
As everyone knows, Blackjack is a card game played at no deposit casinos. However, unlike most other casino games, there is an element of strategy associated with blackjack and it's not all just down to pure luck - what this means, is that the gambling house has a comparatively lower edge. What this translates to is greater long-time winnings for players with the correct strategy and understanding of odds. Blackjack is said to be easy to very easy to learn but equally difficult to master. While the rules of the game have remained the same over the years, understanding strategies have evolved so you probably have as good a chance as ever of beating the house now in 2024.
The Rules of Blackjack
The basic rules of blackjack are fairly simple. At its simplest, you will be dealt 2 or more cards and the objective is to get a total value closer to 21 (without going over 21) than the dealer - if you get exactly 21 it's a Blackjack and an instant win! This is how the game progresses:
- You are dealt two cards, while the dealer deals him or herself one (face up). Cards between 2 to 10 have whatever their face value is, while J, Q, and K are worth 10 points. An Ace can be used as either a 1 or an 11.
- You are dealt a Blackjack if you get a total of 21, ie an Ace with one other card worth 10, in which case you win the hand instantly (provided the dealer himself does not get a total of 21 him/herself, in which case the pot his halved), and get a nice bonus too for hitting a blackjack.
- If you are dealt less than 21, you can choose to either Hit (i.e. get dealt one or more cards) or Stand (stay pat and not be dealt anymore because if you go over 21, you 'bust' and lose the hand).
- After you 'Stand' at the closest possible value to 21 (without 'busting' or going over), the dealer then uncovers his original dealt card and keeps adding to it either till he beats your total value or goes bust him/herself. Therefore, your objective should be to get as close to 21 so that the dealer has a higher chance of busting while trying to beat your total.
- If you beat the dealer, your initial stake/bet is doubled by the house, and if not, the casino keeps your stake.
This is the traditional version of blackjack. There are variations and innovations to these basic rules in game variants such as European Blackjack, Atlantic City Blackjack, and so on which tweak the rules a bit to make it different.
Odds and Probabilities of Blackjack
The reason that blackjack no deposit online casinos win in the long run is that the house always has better odds since the player acts first. Since players go bust approximately 1 in 4 times, it means the dealer at a blackjack no deposit online casino does not even have to deal cards for him or herself - they can take down the pot just by being in it. The key point to the odds and probabilities of blackjack is to know when to hit or when to stand. When should you take an extra card? When your total is 11 or lower, you should always take another card as you cannot bust. On the other hand, if y our total is already 18 or 19 then there is a very high chance of busting with another card so you should 'Stand'. Below is a simple probability chart of busting with additional cards given your current total:
- 0 to 11: 0%
- 12: 31%
- 13: 39%
- 14: 55%
- 15: 58%
- 16: 63%
- 17: 69%
- 18: 78%
- 19: 85%
- 20: 93%
- 21: 100%
This gives a basic idea of when to hit or stand. The best way to win at blackjack is to give yourself better odds of winning so that you end up making real money in the long run over a large sample of hands. The other point to note is that your probability of winning also depends on the one card that the dealer has dealt for him/herself - if this is a low card or a high card (such as an Ace or a 10), that increases the chance of your losing. On the flip side, if the dealer has a 4,5 or 6 there is a high chance that the dealer will go bust.
Strategies to Win and Be Profitable With Real Money in Blackjack
The most basic strategy in Blackjack comes down to whether to Hit or Stand in a particular situation. Mathematically, getting dealt a value of 15 or 16 is the worst possible situation because you are caught between a rock and a hard place - this is a total that has good odds of being beaten by the dealer, yet it is also a total in which odds are that you will probably go bust if you take another card. So the most basic strategy is to Hit when you get around 13, 14, or lower and to stand when you get 17 or higher.
There are other strategies such as Double Down which means you can double your initial stake if you are confident that you have a great chance of winning (not all casinos allow this though). It's a good idea to double down when you get dealt an 11.
You can also choose to Split when you are dealt a pair and play each of the two cards as two different standalone blackjack hands - this is useful if you are dealt two 7's or 8's giving you a total of 14 or 16. On the other hand, you should not split 5's or 10's as those totals give you great odds of hitting 21 or a high total. Splitting Aces is always a good idea as an A can be used in two ways, so it maximizes your odds of making a good total.
Another option is to Surrender when you think the odds of losing are high - in this case, you surrender half your initial stake to the casino and the hand ends immediately, and this helps in minimizing losses.
Finally, you can also choose to get an Insurance by paying an additional amount equal to your initial stake to protect yourself against the dealer getting a blackjack - this is particularly helpful when you see that the dealer has an Ace. That said, blackjack insurances, as with all other insurances, is a safety feature and is mathematically losing in the very long run.
Each no deposit blackjack casino might have different rules governing how blackjack is played. For example, one casino might offer a 2 to 1 payout (which means they will double your stake if you win) and this is a far better offer than a 3 to 2 payout, which in turn is better than a 6 to 5 payout. Then there are casinos that use 8 decks instead of 1 or 2 which give a greater house edge, or sites that don't allow doubling down or splitting, both of which also go in favour of the house - if you wish to win and make real-money ensure that the casino you choose has all these features enabled.
In short, you should devise your own blackjack strategy on when to hit/stand, double down, surrender, split and take insurance depending on what cards you are dealt vis-a-vis the dealer's cards. Of course, as with any game, practice is the key so you can hone your strategy by applying it on play money games before wagering real money at a casino. Once you get a good strategy for down for yourself, you can maximize your odds of winning and given the strategy improvements over time, you have as good a chance as ever in 2024 of being able to win some real money.