Home> Blog Archives

Blog Archives

Blackjack House Edge

August 26, 2015 Category :Games 0

The house edge is effectively the casino’s advantage over the player in any given game, with a house edge of 5% meaning that for every $100 you wager, the casino, on average, will win $5. One of the reasons blackjack is so popular at US online casinos is that it has a low house edge, with a figure of around 0.7% fairly common at the excellent blackjack sites we work with. That means that if you were to play 100 hands at $10 a pop you would expect to be down by just $7 given “normal” luck.

With loyalty points, casino bonuses and just a tiny slice of help from Lady Luck, it’s easy to overturn that tiny advantage, especially when you consider the house edge on other casino games. Slots can be as high as 15%, roulette more than 5% and sometimes as much as 35% on keno!

As said, this explains, at least partly, why blackjack is such a popular online game, especially with USA players. However, within the game of blackjack there can be quite a big difference in the house edge. The house can vary according to the type of blackjack you play and also depending on how you play. In order to obtain the lowest house edge with whatever ruleset you play you must adhere to basic strategy, however, playing a blackjack variant with favorable rules is just as important in achieving a low house edge.

One of the biggest factors that affects the house edge is the number of decks used. One deck is great for the player and the difference on fairly standard rules between using one, four or eight decks is shown below:

  • One deck – house edge 0.15%
  • Four decks – house edge 0.56%
  • Eight decks – house edge 0.63%

Another massive factor and one very easy to spot and avoid, is to make sure you only ever play blackjack that offers a full 3/2 pay for blackjack itself. Every USA online casino we feature here do exactly that but should you play at a casino that pays at 6/5, the house edge will jump from around 0.6% up to almost 2%.

Playing a blackjack variant with the lowest house edge possible, including rules that allow you to double after a split, double on any two cards and which offers re-splits, will increase your chances of winning, so always be aware of the rules before you take a seat! To get started and play blackjack online use any of our links to visit the USA online casino of your choice. All welcome USA players and offer a great blackjack experience. Also see the USA live online casinos which offer live dealer blackjack. If you are a serious blackjack player a live dealer casino is a must to check out.

,

What is Card Counting?

August 14, 2015 Category :General 0

Card counting is in some ways the Holy Grail of the casino and gambling world: a genuine system that gives you a true edge and tips the odds in your favor, meaning that in the long term the player, not the casino, has the advantage.

Card counting is possible in blackjack unlike most casino games, roulette being the most obvious example, what has happened previously in roulette has no bearing on what will happen next. If red comes up 10 times in a row on roulette, the chances of the next spin being black (or red, or zero for that matter) remain the same as they always were.

However, in blackjack, previous cards do have an impact on what is to come, or at least that was certainly true in bricks and mortar casinos that used a traditional eight decks that were shuffled manually.

Card counting revolves around the central point that a pack stacked with high cards (10s and aces) is beneficial to the player, because it gives them the best chance of hitting blackjack whilst making it more likely the dealer will bust (as they have to hit on less than 17).

Players keep a running count of the high and low cards that have already been dealt in order to assess whether the state of the remaining cards is favorable or not. By betting big when the deck is full of high cards and betting less when it is less favorable, card counters can overcome the small house edge that exists in blackjack and actually have a positive expectation from their play. In simple terms, the player not the casino wins in the long term.

Unfortunately casinos have taken a number of measures to combat card counting. Card counting is legal and while casinos can always refuse to allow certain players to play, it remains in their interests to make counting cards impossible or at least reduce its efficacy.

Casinos may use continuous shuffling machines (online and offline) to negate the benefits of card counting, while in real world casinos fast dealing, distracting players by talking to them and using software to spot card counters are all well known tactics. Equally shuffling the cards earlier into the deck reduces the benefits of card counting. So while card counting does work, the casinos certainly don’t make it easy for the counters!

Unfortunately card counting is not a realistic strategy when playing blackjack online. When you play blackjack online you have no idea what the software is doing to the cards. Are they shuffling them after every hand? Shuffling after every 10 hands? Using an 8 deck shoe? You have no way of knowing when playing online so we do not recommend trying to count cards when playing at a USA online casino. In fact many online casinos use a constant shuffle meaning the cards are in fact shuffled after every hand, making counting cards irrelevant.

,