Understanding the Odds in Blackjack

For a player to comprehend blackjack strategy and the game itself, an understanding of the odds of the game is necessary. Part of understanding the odds is to know how much a casino gains by keeping its house edge. You must also realize that the built in house edge in blackjack is the tool that makes a casino win. Understanding the odds will help you make your decisions wisely in blackjack.

One objective in understanding the odds in blackjack is to know the correct play of hands. Knowing the probability of getting a ten or a blackjack will greatly help your game performance. Since you will do a lot of hitting in this game, understanding the odds of busting a hand will come in handy as well.

The house in blackjack varies depending on specific rules applied at a table. Rules like dealer hitting or standing on soft 17, redoubling after splits, allowing late surrender or not, and the number of decks used all have an effect on the level of the house edge in blackjack. The house edge can go as high as eight percent in a given table so you should better be meticulous when it comes to choosing blackjack tables.

Other than being selective about blackjack tables to play on, another thing you can do to get better odds is to use basic strategy. If find that a table has around seven to eight percent of a house advantage you lower that to around five percent by using basic strategy. An further extension of this idea is to use card counting. By using card counting, you can reduce the already favorable blackjack house advantage of five percent even lower.

Since you will be hitting a lot in blackjack it will be a great idea to know the odds of busting your hand. You can easily tell if you have high odds of busting your hand by simply getting a stiff. Stiffs can easily be busted if you hit. Stiffs are hands that total from 12 to 16. Knowing the odds of busting stiffs will be helpful when you make your hit/stand decisions in blackjack.

If your hand total is 12, you have 31% odds of busting that hand. A total of 13 will have busting odds at 39%. A total of 14 has 56%, 15 is at 58%, 16 is at 62%, 17 is at 69%, 18 is at 77%, 19 is at 85%, and a total of 20 will have a bust odds of 92%. Ideally, you don't hit when you have a total of 19 or 20 in blackjack.

Knowing the odds in blackjack gives players an understanding of the house edge and the right decisions in the game. Understanding the odds also helps players understand the necessity of basic strategy.