Blackjack isn’t typically known for its win potential alone. Instead, it draws many players who want to use strategy to boost their odds of winning.
However, blackjack can deliver big wins under the right circumstances. Even if you don’t collect serious profits, you still have a better chance to beat blackjack than most other casino games.
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The degree to which you win, though, all depends upon the approach you take. This guide covers the different routes that you can take when playing blackjack and the win potential associated with each.
Straight Betting
Straight betting is the most-common strategy used in any type of gambling. It involves placing the same size of wager in each round. If you risk $1 on each online blackjack hand, then you’re straight betting.
Anybody who plays real money blackjack for a significant amount of time usually varies their bets at some point. However, the average player sticks with a certain bet size until they either feel hot or cold.
Here’s an example on how easy bankroll management is with straight betting:
- Your bankroll is worth $1,000.
- You risk $10 on each blackjack hand.
- 1,000 / 10 = 100 units
- You set a stop-loss limit of 10 units for any given session.
Considering that you never raise bets by a significant amount with this strategy, you don’t have to worry about your bankroll wildly fluctuating.
The downside to straight betting, though, is that it doesn’t offer big scores relative to your bets. You’re instead relying on a major hot streak to truly cash in.
As long as you don’t expect to win serious money, though, then straight betting is a relaxing strategy. You still have an outside shot to collect big profits if you do catch a rare hot streak.
Blackjack Systems
Blackjack players have been using casino betting systems for centuries. They enjoy gambling systems for their big win potential.
Plenty of these betting strategies exist. They differ based on their complexity and whether they call on you to raise or lower bets during win streaks.
If a system requires you to raise bets after wins, then it’s known as a positive progression system. Assuming the strategy involves raising wagers after losses, then it’s a negative progression system.
The latter are mainly designed to help you recoup potential losses rather than net big wins. Positive progression strategies, on the other hand, are all about capitalizing on hot runs.
The Paroli is an example of positive progression. It calls on you to flat bet until experiencing a win. At this point, you double your next wager.
Assuming you lose this bet, then you go back to the original starting wager. If you win, then you continue doubling bets. You only reset to the starting wager upon winning three consecutive rounds.
Here’s an example on how the Paroli can help you book big profits:
- You bet $25 and win.
- You bet $50 and win.
- You bet $100 in win.
- Return to the original $25 wager.
- Total profits for this string = $175
The downside to the Paroli, or any other blackjack system, is that they don’t overcome the house edge. Instead, they just manipulate short-term winnings.
You can actually accelerate losses when using a system. But provided you’re okay with this and want to chase big winnings, then systems can still be worth trying.
High Roller Play
High rollers have always had an affinity for blackjack. They love that this game features such a low house edge and, as a result, a great chance to win profits.
Of course, online casinos don’t feature extremely high stakes. However, most gaming sites do let you wager up to $500 per hand.
$500 a hand is definitely high stakes. If you get hot with this amount of money on the line, then you’re looking at a big payday.
The first thing you want to do when preparing to play for high stakes is find the best blackjack odds. Most online blackjack games offer around a 0.5% house edge.
However, you can do even better than this if you look hard enough. Some online blackjack games feature as low as a 0.3% house advantage.
Unfortunately, the casino still holds the edge in such cases. But you’ll nearly be in a coinflip situation with them. If you get just a little luck on your side, then you can win big.
The main thing to worry about, though, is what happens when you experience a downswing. If you’re wagering anywhere from $100 to $500 per hand, then your losses will sting that much more.
I suggest that you have a really large bankroll if you’re going to risk $100 or more per round. You should have at least $5,000 to comfortably play these stakes.
Progressive Jackpots
Online slots draw all the attention when it comes to progressive jackpots. However, progressive online blackjack also exists.
You aren’t going to win millions of dollars when playing for blackjack jackpots. Nevertheless, you can look forward to some very large prizes.
Assuming you’re dealt four suited aces within the same hand, then you’ll collect the jackpot. The odds of this occurrence happening are just 1 in 6,454,650.
You can also win payouts for lesser hands, including the following:
- 3 suited aces = 5,000x the side wager
- 4 mixed aces = 2,500x
- 3 mixed aces = 250x
- 2 suited aces = 100x
- 2 mixed aces = 50x
- 1 ace = 5x
WGS Technology also features a progressive jackpot game with a $1 side bet. Its blackjack jackpot is currently worth almost $68,000 at the time of this post.
You win 100% of the progressive jackpot with four suited aces. You can win 10% of the jackpot by getting four aces of any suit.
Here are the other available payouts:
- 3 suited aces = 2,500x the side wager
- 3 mixed aces = 250x
- 2 suited aces = 50x
- 2 mixed aces = 25x
Online blackjack jackpots aren’t going to let you retire early. But they definitely offer some serious money through both the jackpots and other side payouts.
Chasing Casino Bonuses
Most gaming sites feature online bonuses. Such might be available when you initially deposit (i.e. welcome bonus) and/or when you place subsequent deposits (i.e. reload bonus).
The most-common online blackjack bonus is a deposit deal. These offers match a portion of your deposits up to a certain amount.
Here’s a specific example of how they work:
- An online casino gives an offer of 100% bonus for blackjack worth up to $250.
- Your deposit is in the amount of $100.
- 100 x 1.0 = 100
- You now are qualified for a bonus of $100
The bonus funds will be available immediately for real-money blackjack. You can’t cash out the funds, though, until you’ve met conditions and special terms.
You definitely want to know every term behind the deal. However, you should pay special attention to the rollover (a.k.a. playthrough).
Rollover determines how much you’ll need to wager before the money is actually yours. Low rollover is better because it doesn’t force you to risk as much.
What’s the Best Approach for Winning With Internet Blackjack?
Most gamblers prefer straight betting with slight variations based on their results. Many of the same players increase wagers when they’re really hot in order to capitalize.
Of course, you don’t necessarily need to do what most player gamblers are doing. After all, straight betting doesn’t offer big winnings when small stakes are involved.
Systems provide a nice way to capitalize on hot streaks—especially the positive progression variety. Just keep in mind that they won’t help you overcome the long-term house edge.
High-roller play is worthwhile when you have a large bankroll. It can deliver huge wins if you’re comfortably able to bet $100 per hand or more.
Progressive blackjack is the best way to turn a few dollars into massive payouts. The odds may be against you winning a jackpot, but you at least don’t need to bet much to play.
As you can see, no one route is perfect when trying to win online blackjack profits. You should choose the option that best suits your individual situation and goals.
Conclusion
Outside of card counting in land-based casinos, the house always holds an edge in blackjack. However, this edge is smaller than what’s seen in most other casino games.
That said, you have a solid chance to win in online blackjack with the right strategy and approach. Regarding the latter, you can go with any of the routes discussed above to achieve your desired winnings.
The betting strategies covered throughout this post don’t guarantee profits by any means. Depending upon your choice, though, the right strategy will help you win whatever amount you’re looking for during a hot streak.
Since blackjack is the one casino game where skill truly matters, it’s important for players to test different strategies and start incorporating them into their gameplay. But before you test any of the blackjack systems out there, there’s a simple truth you must realise – every valid blackjack strategy is based on logic and maths. Therefore, the best strategy you can adopt right away would be to leave your superstitions behind, forget about your ‘winning rituals’ and trust only the numbers. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the best tactics you can adopt to help you win at online blackjack every time you play.
Tip #1: Pick the Right Casino
Players often ignore this all-important step, so I decided to start precisely with it. I cannot emphasise enough how big of a factor picking a good casino site is for your future success at beating the game. And that process is not even that hard – the trick is to pick a reputable, well-known casino that features a lot of blackjack games and generous bonuses that you can use on them. Here are three stellar examples:
Blackjack Site | Rating | Highlights | Welcome Bonus | Trusted Site | Terms and Conditions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
888 Casino | 7 RNG Games , 36 Live Tables | Up to £100 + £88 | Get Bonus! | Full T&Cs apply. 1st deposit only • £20 min deposit with code • Valid for selected games only • Bonus wins capped at £500 • 30x wagering – req. vary by game - in 90 days • UK - deposit balance available for withdrawal at any time • Withdrawal terms & T&Cs apply. | |
Ladbrokes Casino | 15 RNG Games, 10 Live Tables | £50 Welcome Bonus | Get Bonus! | Full T&Cs apply. 18+. New Casino players only. Deposit required. Min stake £10 on qualifying games. 40x wager reqs (bonus only) on selected games. 24hrs to accept. Bonus valid for 48hrs. Certain deposit types excluded. Bets covering >70% of Roulette table excluded. | |
Betway | 17 RNG Games, 30 Live Tables | 100% up to £250 | Get Bonus! | Full T&Cs apply. * New customers only. Opt-in required. 100% Match Bonus up to £250 on 1st deposit of £20+. 50x bonus wagering applies as do weighting requirements. Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. Irregular gameplay may invalidate your bonus. This offer is valid for 7 days from your new account being registered. |
But how in fact does your choice of casino impact your winning chances? Truth is that not all online casinos are safe and trustworthy. Moreover, even if you have won fair and square, some of them might refuse to pay out your winnings. By choosing a licensed and regulated casino, such as the ones we recommend, you secure yourself a fair chance at winning and, most importantly, guaranteed payouts.
Tip #2: Pick the Right Blackjack Variant
Picking the right game variant is yet another important part of an all-encompassing blackjack strategy. The most important detail about each game is undoubtedly the house edge – the lower it is, the better. Here is a comparison between the house edges of some of the most popular online blackjack games in the UK:
As you can see, the house edge of these games is already quite low (just for reference, most slot games have a house edge of 4%-6%). Still, this is the first thing you should check before trying a new blackjack game. There are, in fact, some online blackjack games that have a house edge over 1% and even over 2%. If your goal is to win and not just to have fun, then you should definitely stay clear of those.
Tip #3: Know Your Game Inside Out
Not all blackjack games are made from the same mold. In fact, there are hardly any two blackjack variations that have exactly the same rules. Therefore, applying the same basic strategy for different games simply won’t work. Every little detail about the game matters as it affects the house edge. You can learn about the specific rules of each variant from the help section of the game. Here is what information you should be looking for if you want to find the best blackjack strategy for the game you’ve chosen.
- How much does a blackjack pay?
- How many decks are in the shoe?
- Can you double on any two cards or only with specific total?
- When can you split your hand and up to how many times?
- Are you allowed to double after splitting a hand?
- Are you allowed to hit split aces?
- Do you have the option to surrender and in which cases?
- Does the dealer hit a soft seventeen?
- Is there a 5-, 6- or a 7-card Charlie?
Playing Blackjack Online For Money
Another particularity you should be aware of when searching for a suitable online blackjack strategy is that there are some blackjack games that bear the same name but have different rules and, consequently, different house edge. This is due to the fact that the games are provided by different software developers. For example, Classic Blackjack by Microgaming has a house edge of merely 0.13% while the game of the same name developed by NetEnt has a house edge of 0.35%. A big difference, indeed.
Tip #4: Use a Basic Blackjack Strategy Card
Hopefully, you’ve followed our tips for playing blackjack and have already chosen a specific game to play, where to play it and you’ve familiarised yourself with all its rules. Now it’s time to find a basic blackjack strategy card specific to your game of choice which will help you make the right decision in any situation.
Below, you can see an example of a strategy card that’s especially created for Playtech’s Blackjack Pro. The image clearly shows how you should play against any given dealer upcard according to the hand you’re holding. The complete strategy chart for each different blackjack variation should consist of three parts – one for hard hands, one for soft hands and one for pairs.
The easiest way to find an optimal blackjack strategy chart for the game you want to try is to generate it yourself using one of the many blackjack basic strategy calculators you can find online. Using these strategy cards is very suitable for beginners since they are extremely easy to read and at the same time they are math-based. Still, there are some things that these cards don’t cover. They don’t tell you what to do with the side bets, how much to bet and whether card counting could help you. Those are exactly the topics that we’re going to cover next.
The Perfect Blackjack Strategy for Side Bets
As we have already established in the previous paragraphs, strategy cards can be very useful when playing most blackjack games, especially for the beginners. Yet, as you may have noticed, they don’t cover any side bets whatsoever. After all, the perfect blackjack strategy is the one that takes into account all aspects of the game and this includes whether or not to place bonus bets and if yes – how much to bet.
The truth is that blackjack is a casino game with an extremely low house edge. On top of that, skilled players are able to reduce this minimal advantage even further by adopting various blackjack strategies. This is why, in the hopes to increase the house edge and, consequently, the revenues, the casinos started adding extra decks to the different blackjack variations and came up with different side bets. And while these side bets definitely add fun and variety to te game, they make players lose money, slowly but surely.
So, it’s easy to see that the best strategy for blackjack side bets is actually not to place any! Just stick to the strategy cards until you’ve gained enough experience to start testing more advanced tactics.
What About Card Counting?
When most new players hear the words ‘blackjack strategies’, they immediately think of card counting. While this strategy may still be possible in some brick-and-mortar casinos (although, in general, it’s against the house rules or at least it’s frowned upon), it is virtually unfeasible in online casinos where the deck is shuffled after each hand. The only exception to this rule is live dealer blackjack. So, if you want to try some card counting techniques while playing online, your only option is to play live blackjack games.
But what actually is card counting and can it really help you beat the casino? Card counting is a blackjack technique that helps you follow the number of high and low cards in the shoe thus giving you some insight as to what type of card might come next – a bit of knowledge that can, indeed, tip the scales in your direction. The easiest card counting system in blackjack is called Hi-Lo and works like this: for each low card (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) you see you add one point and for each high card (10, J, Q, K, A) you deduct one. The higher the count, the bigger the chances to get 10-valued cards, which are generally considered ‘good’ for the player (and bad for the dealer).
Which Is the Best Blackjack Betting System?
As we have already established, using a blackjack strategy card can help you make the right decision in any given situation, but it doesn’t answer the important question players always ask themselves ‘How much should I bet?’ As you probably already know, there are many betting systems out there, many of which claim to be a sure way to beat any online blackjack game. A huge part of those systems are progressive betting systems which are based on the idea that if you’ve lost a number of times, you’re bound to win soon. This, of course, is not true and is often referred to as gambler’s fallacy – a mistaken notion that has claimed many victims through the ages.
The plain and simple truth is that no betting system on its own can help you beat the house, but some can help you improve your odds even more when combined with other blackjack strategies. For example, when using card counting and basic strategy, you can allow yourself to increase the bet amount when the count is high, as then the strategy cards are considered to be ‘more correct’ and your chances at winning are higher. But, as we already said, this can only work if you’re playing live dealer games. The best betting strategy for RNG games, on the other hand, is to simply bet the same amount over and over again while wagering some convenient casino bonus – a topic that we’re going to discuss a little bit further down the page.
Tip #5: Test in Demo Mode
Now that you have a complete overview of an all-encompassing online blackjack strategy, you probably feel ready to finally start playing. But before you go and bet real money, it’s highly recommended that you first test your skills with play money. Going back to our example with Blackjack Pro by Playtech, we’ve prepared a demo version of the game below that you can try for free. Don’t forget to use the strategy card that we presented to you to secure yourself the best odds.
Something else that you can do while playing in demo mode is to practice your card-counting skills, even though in all RNG games the shoe is virtually shuffled after each hand. After all, there are no demo versions of live blackjack, so your only option is to practice on their computerised versions.
Tip #6: Sync Your Bonus and Blackjack Strategies
Some of the biggest advantages of playing on the Internet vs playing at land-based casinos are undoubtedly the generous bonus opportunities that online casinos offer. Even if the casino has a slight advantage in any given game, playing with extra money that isn’t actually yours and being allowed to keep the winnings surely gives the players some edge. When it comes to blackjack, combining the already low house edge of the game with a solid math-based strategy and a suitable bonus is the most certain way to beat the casino. Of course, every bonus comes with its terms and conditions that are sometimes favourable but other times – not so much.
First of all, there’s always a wagering requirement that you have to fulfil before you can withdraw the winnings generated from the bonus. This requirement in most cases is set at 20 to 40 times the bonus plus the deposit amount. Furthermore, it’s important to take into account the fact that blackjack games don’t contribute at 100% toward the wagering requirement due to the fact that they have a pretty low house edge and give the players great winning odds. Usually, the wagering contribution for the game is set anywhere between 5% and 10%, the higher it is, of course, the better. Other important details you should take into account are the validity period of the bonus and the minimum deposit required to claim it.
All that said, let us present to you an easy-to-claim bonus that is perfect for beginners and offered by a casino that has a great array of blackjack games with both classic and innovative variants – Ladbrokes. At the moment, they offer a 100% bonus up to £500 to all new players that make minimum deposit of £20 at the casino – a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me. If you agree with me and are ready to start playing for real money, then click the link below and you’ll be safely redirected to the official website of the operator:
Make Money With Online Blackjack
Sure enough, this is not the only available bonus offer that is suitable for playing blackjack online, in fact, most UK casino sites give you the opportunity to wager bonus money on all their blackjack games. So, if you want to find more great opportunities to play blackjack with bonus money, then make sure you also check out our dedicated bonus page.
Final Thoughts and Advice for Long-Term Success
In conclusion, the best blackjack strategy you can adopt is the one that fully corresponds to the game variation you’ve chosen to play. Be careful to only use a game plan that has been created for the particular type of blackjack you’re playing. Otherwise, you won’t be able to achieve the results you expect.
Beginners, find yourselves a strategy card for the variation you play and stick with it. Combine it with a good bonus and you can expect a moderate return in the long run. Your number one priority should be to practice and learn. The more experienced players can, on the other hand, test their card counting skills against some unsuspecting dealer at a live casino of their choice – remember, you can see them, but they cannot see you! Furthermore, to make sure that you get the whole picture as to how to beat this game, you can also take a look at some game strategies analysed.
Last but not least, don’t forget to have fun! After all, it’s a game and its main purpose is to entertain you. Not getting too stressed about winning is a good tactic as it will help you keep a cool head and make better decisions while playing.