Winning More at Blackjack

The most often question I get from blackjack players is "how can I win more money". After all, most players want to have a good time ("fun") when they play blackjack but at theHenry Tamburin is the editor and publisher of the Blackjack Insider Newsletter and author of the best-selling Blackjack: Take the Money & Run.  He is also the lead Instructor for the Golden Touch Blackjack course, a feature writer for Casino Player magazine (and 6 other publications); an owner of a casino gambling publishing company (www.rsucasinobooks.com) and the host of www.smartgaming.com. For a free three month subscription to the Henry's Blackjack Insider Newsletter with full membership privileges go to www.bjinsider.com/free.  Henry's website is www.smartgaming.com  end of the day they hope to wind up with more money than they started with.

So how can you enhance your profits? First, you've got to memorize the basic strategy. Not just some of it, but all of it. You've got to know the right plays each and every time.

You'll find the basic strategy in blackjack books including my Blackjack: Take The Money & Run. It's a set of rules that tells you how to play every hand dealt to you. For example how would you play these hands if they were dealt to you?

Ace, 4 against dealer 5 upcard.

10, 6 against a dealer 7 upcard

8,8 against a dealer 10 upcard

Ace, 2, 5 against dealer 9 upcard.

7,5 against a dealer 3 upcard

The correct plays are to double down, hit, split, hit, and hit. If you got any play wrong, or had difficulty remembering the right play, you need to practice more. If you find it difficult to memorize the basic strategy from charts, here are a few tips that might make the task easier.

Use ordinary index cards where you write the player hand on one side along with the dealer upcard. On the other side of your index card jot down the right play. For example, for a pair of 2's you would have on one side 2,2 against dealer 2 and on the other side you would have the answer "split". Just spending the time to make up the strategy cards will help in the learning process. Once the cards are complete, you just go through them one at a time. Set aside the cards for those plays that you got wrong and then go through them again until you answer each card correctly. You'll find that in no time you'll master the basic strategy and you'll also have a set of index cards that you can use to brush up on your strategy.

An alternative is to use a blackjack software program to that will drill you on your knowledge of basic strategy. One of the better ones on the market is Blackjack Mentor by DeepNet Technologies (www.handheldblackjack.com). The program will alert you when you make a playing error.

Another way to enhance profits is to play blackjack where the rules are more player friendly. With a typical 6-deck game that you’ll find in most casinos the best rules allow players to double down after pair splitting, resplit aces, and the dealer must stand on all 17's (including soft 17). The casino's edge against the basic strategy player is only 0.33 percent, which means a player can expect a long-term return of $99.67 per hundred dollars bet. Some casinos will allow players to surrender their hand. This increases the return to $99.75. You can increase your return more by playing in a double deck game rather than one dealt with six decks of cards. But be careful because some casinos offer 2-deck games (which is good) with lousy playing rules (which is bad). Some however, offer very good rules. Look for 2-deck games where the dealer must stand on all 17's and double after pair splitting is allowed. Your long-term return is $99.81 per hundred dollars bet.

If you want to enhance your profits even more then you need to learn to card count. This will allow to increase your bets only when you have knowledge that the unplayed cards contain a higher proportion of tens and aces, a situation which favors the player more so than the dealer. You can learn the new Speed Count in just a few hours. For more details visit www.goldentouchblackjack.com.

There is still another way to enhance profits without card counting. Always ask to be rated when you play and always ask for a comp. Most casinos will calculate the amount of the comps that they will give you based on average play (ie. casino edge of about 2%). By playing smartly and reducing the casino's edge to way less than 1%, you'll be getting comps worth more than the theoretical profit the casino expects to make from you. By adding the amount of these enhanced comps to your 99.81% return for playing smartly, you can easily get a return that equals and often will exceed 100%. And that's without card counting.

I've said it many times in the past and I’ll say it one more time. Blackjack is one of your best gambles because by playing smartly you can swing the edge in your favor. Yes, it takes some effort to become a smart player but the information and tools that you need, from books to videos to software programs, are all readily available to guide you through the process of becoming a skilled played. In the long run the effort will pay off handsomely in enhanced profits. Isn't it worth it?