How to make money at Blackjack

Learn to make exactly the right call at the right time. By knowing when to stand, hit, split or double down, you can reduce the casino's take out to less than 1%. Use the tables below to work out what action to take. For example, if your hand totals 14 then you should hit if the dealers card is 7 or higher or stand if it is a 6 or lower. If your hand shows two 7s, then you should split them if the dealer shows a 7 or lower or hit if the dealer's card is 8 of higher. Once you have split a pair you should continue to treat each hand according to the tables below. Different casinos have different rules concerning splitting, doubling down and surrendering, so make sure you understand what action to take for that casino.

By combining Step 1 and also using this simple card counting technique you can actually change the odds to be in your favour to around 0.75%. This means that for every hour that you play, you will, on average, make a profit of half your maximum stake per hand. The technique I have used and recommend is a version of the Knock Out system.

The system works by telling you when the cards are in your favour, and that you should increase your stake. By assigning values to each card, and by keeping a running count, you know what cards are yet to be dealt. The cards values are :

Card Knock Out Value
2   -1
3   -1
4   -1
5   -1
6   -1
7   -1
8   0
9   0
10 +1
J   +1
Q  +1
K  +1
A  +1

You need to keep a running count of the knockout values of the cards that have been dealt. For example, if the dealer has K and 8, and you have 6, 5 and 9, then you need to use the values +1 (K), 0 (8), -1 (6), -1 (5), 0 (9), giving you a total for that hand being -1. Practice is the key to being able to calculate the totals quickly and accuratly.

You start counting just after a shuffle and reset your count when the cards are shuffled again. The number that you start from varies depending on the number of decks being used. If you are playing with 1 deck then start at 2, with 2 decks start at 5, with 6 decks start at 17 and with 8 decks start at 23. The formula for the starting count is : Number of decks multiplied by 3, minus 1.

At the start of each freshly shuffled deck you should stake your standard bet. But if your running count reaches 0 or lower then you need to raise your bet to 5 times your standard bet. If the count returns to a positive number then reduce your stake back to your standard bet. And that's all you need to do to give you the egde over the house.