How to Beat the Dealer by Influencing House Edge in Blackjack
Casino games players simply adore blackjack and one of the reasons is that is offers a low house edge and when optimal strategy is used that advantage can be made even smaller. There are however many other things that a blackjack player should both look for and be aware of in order to maximize their chances of winning. Although most of these small differences in rules make only a tiny percentage of a hit on the house edge, they do make a big difference over the course of a few hours playing blackjack.
The Dealer and Soft 17
This is something that all serious blackjack players look out for and you should too. Most land based and online casinos will have a rule in place that means that the dealer must stick on soft 17. A soft 17 is a hand totalling 17 that involves an ace. If the casino has a rule that means the dealer may hit on soft 17 then this will add 0.2% to the house edge, it doesn’t sound much but it adds up over time and will eat away at your bankroll.
The Odds When Paying Blackjack
When you hit the perfect hand of a 10 and an ace you’ll wanting to be paid correctly. You should never play a game of blackjack where the odds are less than 3:2. Some casinos will pay 6:5 or even worse at evens. A table where blackjack is paid at evens gives a huge advantage to the house and adds a massive 2.4% to the house edge.
Use of Multiple Decks
This one is simple to work out...the fewer number of decks being used the better. One deck will add 0.17% to the house edge, while playing with 8 (the most number that is usually used) will add 0.65 to the house edge. The fewer number of decks simply means that the player is more likely to hit blackjack and they occur more frequently than when playing with a larger amount of cards. Should a casino deal blackjack with 1 or 2 decks they may however increase the house edge by lowering the payout when hitting blackjack.
In Summary
As you can see, while these slight changes within the game appear not to individually mean much, when added together they make a big difference. Of course, none of them will mean much when playing just one hand, however over a period of time these rule differences make a large difference. The key is to choose a game of blackjack which has as many of the above in your favor and combine that with optimal blackjack strategy, and you will dramatically increase your chances of coming out on top.
