1. Betting Smart
It is possible to double up a blackjack bet after the first two cards have been laid out. It’s simple:
If the starting total looks promising, the player can set down a second set of chips equal to the
first right next to the original pile. The rules vary from place to place, but some dealers only let
players do this when the value of the starting cards adds up to 10 or 11. This means the player
would need to pull a face card or a 10 to win.
2. Counting Draws
When the technique was first studied, counting cards was much more potent than it is today. The
reason is simple: the casinos adapted. Before the 1960’s, dealers only used one deck of cards and
weren’t too concerned about shuffling. These days, a dealer may shuffle together as many as 6
decks, maybe more. It’s pretty hard to count cards when there’s 252 of them. Experts calculate
that successfully counting cards results in a house advantage of about 1%. At least it’s better than
the slots.
3. The Disappearing Deck
Some casino dealers have turned security up a notch and taken random cards out of the pile. This
makes the card-counting challenge extra spicy. Who knows what else dealers have up their
sleeve.
4. The White Flag
In some casinos, the player is allowed to surrender and only lose half the original bet. This is
only allowed under specific circumstances, such as if the dealer pulls an ace as their starting
card. The rules vary on whether the dealer can allow surrender before or after checking if they
have a face card to follow up with it, so it’s a good idea to ask about the rule ahead of time. Not
all casinos offer surrender as an option, but the ones that do offer a bit more of an advantage to
the players.
5. Bittersweet Victory
Most casinos offer a 3 to 2 return on a blackjack win. Any less than this is a rip-off, but
unfortunately not an uncommon one. The Las Vegas Strip in particular has taken to paying only
a 5 to 6 return, meaning a $5 bet will only see a $6 win, or a $1 profit. This unwieldy price can
be avoided, though. Less popular casinos are almost guaranteed to offer a 3 to 2 return.