This is our first blackjack game and trainer and I'm proud to finally add our version 2 with enhanced graphics and the ability to learn how to count cards to my website. The game is mostly self-explanatory. If you make an inferior play, the game will warn you first. I recommend that before you play for real money both online in person that you practice on the game until you very rarely are warned you a making an inferior play. If doubling or splitting is mathematically the correct play, but you don't have enough chips, the game will give the best advice for what you can afford to do. Do not change rules mid-hand. If you do, the change will not take effect until the next hand. The advice is based on my own analysis and basic strategy tables for one, two, and four+ decks. The deck(s) is(are) shuffled after every hand.
If you find any bugs, please contact me. A screenshot would be appreciated if you claim the game is misplaying a hand. I get a lot of incorrect reports that the advice given is incorrect. This usually can be explained by the user not using the correct basic strategy for the rules selected. I have also had many comments about the advice on a player 16, composed of 3 or more cards, against a 10. As a rule of thumb, the player should stand in that situation. However, that is a basic strategy exception. The game only knows basic strategy. Also, please note that it is a standard blackjack rule that split aces get one card each. If one of them is a ten, it is not a blackjack, it is just 21 points. That is how blackjack is usually played.
Game odds: How do casinos work? Casino gaming revolves entirely around odds. Betting odds tell.
I would like to thank JB for his outstanding work on this game, and Dingo Systems for the cards.
- Use basic blackjack strategy. Without basic strategy you’re playing at an 8% disadvantage. With strategy, however, the odds increase significantly. You’ll be playing at only.5 to 1.5% disadvantage.
- Blackjack is actually one of the most popular games in the casino and also has some of the lowest odds of all the casino games, except casino craps of course. Generally their edge ranges from 1% to 15% depending on what variation of blackjack you are playing. How to Beat the Casino House Odds.
Online Blackjack Bonuses
We constantly maintain a database of all the casino bonuses from the hundreds of online casinos we have reviewed, and we note which bonuses allow blackjack to count towards the wagering requirements. The below table shows a ranked list of the best money online blackjack bonuses, the ranking also takes into consideration wagering requirements, bonus amount offered, the quality of the site and more.
Rank | Casino Name | Bonus | % | Wager | Cash | Code | Casino Name | Bonus info | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | King Billy Casino | ? | $100 | 200% | 1000xB | ||||
King Billy Casino | Bonus | ?$100 | |||||||
% | 200% | ||||||||
Wager | 1000xB | ||||||||
Code | |||||||||
2 | Sloto'Cash Casino | ? | $33 | - | LCB33 | ||||
Sloto'Cash Casino | Bonus | ?$33 | |||||||
% | |||||||||
Wager | - | ||||||||
Code | LCB33 | ||||||||
3 | Win A Day Casino | ? | $68 | - | FREE68LCBN | ||||
Win A Day Casino | Bonus | ?$68 | |||||||
% | |||||||||
Wager | - | ||||||||
Code | FREE68LCBN | ||||||||
4 | Las Vegas USA Casino | ? | $11000 | 100% | 90xB&D | WIZARDBONUS | |||
Las Vegas USA Casino | Bonus | ?$11000 | |||||||
% | 100% | ||||||||
Wager | 90xB&D | ||||||||
Code | WIZARDBONUS | ||||||||
5 | Old Havana Casino | ? | $11000 | 100% | 90xB&D | WIZARDBONUS | |||
Old Havana Casino | Bonus | ?$11000 | |||||||
% | 100% | ||||||||
Wager | 90xB&D | ||||||||
Code | WIZARDBONUS |
Blackjack Online FAQ
Q1: What are the rules in online blackjack games?
A: As in land casinos, they vary. Online help files are notoriously badly written and incomplete. The Wizard of Odds, we try hard to keep an accurate listing of rules for every brand of software and live dealers. You may find such rules, for every game, in our Software Review section.
Q2: Generally speaking, are the rules better in land or online casinos?
A: All things considered, I would say they are better online. For one thing, you almost never see a blackjack (ace and 10) pay 6 to 5 only online, while this is becoming the norm in land casinos in the United States.
Q3: What are the typical rules at live dealer casinos online?
A: Live dealer rules are very similar to what you would see in a land casino. The typical rules are:
- Eight decks
- Dealer stands on soft 17
- Dealer does NOT peek for blackjack
- No surrender
- Player may double on any two cards
- Player may double after a split
- No re-splitting
Be careful double or splitting if the dealer has a ten or ace showing. At most live dealer brands, you will lose everything if the dealer gets a blackjack. Under this 'no peek' rule, the only time you should put more money out on the table against a potential dealer blackjack is to split two aces against a dealer 10.
The house edge under the rules above is 0.61%.
Q4: When are the cards shuffled in online blackjack?
A: In a fully electronic game, they are probably shuffled after every hand. In a live dealer game, they are usually shuffled about half way through the shoe.
Q5: Oh really?! Even with only 50% penetration, what is to prevent me from counting cards against a live dealer?
A: I've asked this question of some people in the business. Nobody would tell me exactly how they protect their game against counters, but they assured me that they do. If I ran a live dealer casino, I would run a test of every player to see how their bet size is correlated to the true count. Then I would carefully examine the play of such players with a strong correlation.
Q6: How do 'probably fair' casinos accomplish so-called in blackjack?
A: It is rather involved, but here is typically how it is done:
- The casino will generate a random long string of characters, called a Server Seed, hash it, and give the hashed result to the player BEFORE he makes a bet.
- The player chooses a string of characters himself, called the Client Seed, or accepts a random default provided by the casino.
- The client and server seed are combined and hashed.
- The hashed result from step 3 will be parsed somehow, with the hexadecimal characters converted to base 10 and then mapped to specific cards if in a desired range.
- The game will deal cards according to their order in the hash from step 3. This hash should be long enough that running out of cards would be almost impossible.
- After the hand, the casino should reveal the Client Seed, which the player may verify hashes to the result provided before the bet. It is then a tedious process above to do all the math to convert the hash to actual cards, but the player may do that if he wishes.
I go into this in greater depth for a particular brand in my page on Blackjack (Encrypted Version).
Q7: I don't want to bother jumping through all those hoops to verify fairness in an encrypted game. Do you think that just the ability to verify fairness is enough to keep the casinos honest?
A: No. Encrypted or not, a casino could cheat the player in any game, except sports betting, any time they wished. In the case of an encrypted casino, the operator could choose a Server Seed that causes the player to lose after the bet is made. If the player catches them in a hash mismatch, which I think very few players bother to check, the casino can simply ignore the accusation or deny it without comment. This is exactly what happened to me at Wixiplay.
Q8: Your story aside, how common is cheating at blackjack, or any game, online?
A: In my opinion, it is quite rare.
Q9: How can I improve my odds of not being cheated?
A: There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Internet casinos out there. In the absence of any serious government regulation, the industry has done a pretty good job of regulating itself. Between legitimate watchdog affiliate sites and some common sense, here are some ways to choose a reputable brand to trust with your hard-earned dollar:
- Read the fine print. Most casinos have a good looking main page, but dig around the more obscure pages like terms & conditions. If you see a lot of spelling and grammatical mistakes, that should set off a red flag.
- Ping customer support. If you can't think of your own question, ask anything, for example, 'Do you accept players from Kyrgyzstan?' See how long it takes for them to reply and measure their professionalism and courtesy of their reply.
- Check reputable affiliate sites. Many affiliate sites promote whoever pays the most, but the good ones are picky about who they promote and will intervene in the unlikely event of a player dispute. We would like to think of ourselves as one of the good ones. A good way to avoid the worst of casinos is to check the blacklists of reputable affiliates.
- Smart small. Players should always bet in moderation anywhere, but especially when opening a new account online with an unfamiliar brand. Dink around with a small deposit and small bets until you have built up some trust.
Free casino games real money. Q10: Any other words of advice before playing blackjack online?
A: Whether playing online or in a land casino, use the appropriate basic strategy for the rules offered. The Wizard of Odds blackjack strategy calculator will give the correct basic strategy for almost any set of rules.
A much greater problem than outright cheating is online casinos faulting players on a technicality in the rules and seizing whatever funds they deem appropriate. This is a particularly a problem with bonuses. The terms and conditions for bonuses can be pages long and very restrictive in terms of allowed games, bet sizes, and types of bets. If the player loses, nobody ever checks, but after a win and withdrawal request, suddenly the play may be subject to careful review for compliance. Never assume that because you were invited to play a bonus via Email that you're eligible for it. Casinos typically blast everybody in their list. An easy rule to overlook is when a bonus is eligible for 'new money' only. Don't expect the casino to enforce this rule when entering a couple code, but do expect it when you actually make a withdrawal and they look for any reason to deny it.
While bonuses can make your money last much longer and increase your chances of winning, they are a minefield in terms of compliance. Read the rules carefully. If in doubt the way you play is compliant, then don't ask for the bonus in the first place.
A much greater problem than outright cheating is online casinos faulting players on a technicality in the rules and seizing whatever funds they deem appropriate. This is a particularly a problem with bonuses. The terms and conditions for bonuses can be pages long and very restrictive in terms of allowed games, bet sizes, and types of bets. If the player loses, nobody ever checks, but after a win and withdrawal request, suddenly the play may be subject to careful review for compliance. Never assume that because you were invited to play a bonus via Email that you're eligible for it. Casinos typically blast everybody in their list. An easy rule to overlook is when a bonus is eligible for 'new money' only. Don't expect the casino to enforce this rule when entering a couple code, but do expect it when you actually make a withdrawal and they look for any reason to deny it.
While bonuses can make your money last much longer and increase your chances of winning, they are a minefield in terms of compliance. Read the rules carefully. If in doubt the way you play is compliant, then don't ask for the bonus in the first place.
Many people will be visiting a casino this summer, whether on a trip to Vegas, on a cruise ship, or just at a local casino during a 'staycation.'
But before you go, you may want to know which games give you the best chance of winning.
So we went behind the scene at two casinos, and spoke with the game managers, to find out which games give you an edge.
Table Games Your Best Bet
Jay Bean, a Caesar's floor manager, agreed to sit down with us and talk about the games with the best odds.
He said many people don't realize that table games have much better odds than slots. They are intimidated by thoughts of card sharks taking their money, with images of an intense Texas Hold 'Em tournament in their minds, and so they stick with the safe games: the slots.
But they are doing themselves a disservice, he said.
Bean's advice? After you've spent some time on the slot machines, move on to the Blackjack table, and start by just observing.
1. Blackjack
Blackjack has the best odds of winning, with a house edge of just 1 percent in most casinos, Bean said.
Plus, you are playing against only the dealer, not hooded poker champions.
'Blackjack is one of our easiest games to play,' Bean said. 'You're just looking for a number that beats the dealer's number without going over 21.'
If you're a novice, Bean said to sit down during a less busy time, such as the afternoon, and the dealer will walk you through the game.
But the same is not true with poker: You should practice the game with your friends first, at home, Bean said, until you are comfortable with it. Bean said novices are best off passing on the poker tables, where yes, the competition can be tough.
You can find out more information about the game of blackjack at the following link:
http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/
http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/
2. Craps
So from the Blackjack table, he suggests moving on to the dice game Craps, the game with the second best odds, also nearly 50-50.
The Craps table can be a bit intimidating for the beginner with all the boxes on the table, Bean admitted. But it's really not tough, and it has one of your best chances of winning. In the end, all you are really doing is betting on a dice roll.
For more information on craps, visit:
http://wizardofodds.com/games/craps/
http://wizardofodds.com/games/craps/
3. Roulette
How To Beat The Odds In Blackjack
Bean said your next stop should be the Roulette wheel. It's simple, and pays fairly well.
'So you bet on your favorite numbers,' Bean said. 'The dealer spins, and if your number comes in you win.'
If you stick to betting on just Reds or Blacks, you have nearly a 50-50 chance of walking away a winner. If it lands on red when you choose red, you will double your bet, Bean explained.
While it may seem you have an even chance of winning by simply choosing a color, there is one catch that gives the house its edge: the extra green 0 and 00 position on the wheel. It's on all American roulette wheels.
Or, if you feel lucky, play just one number. Vip slot machines. It's hard to win, but if you do it pays out 36 to 1.
For more information on roulette, visit:
http://wizardofodds.com/games/roulette/
http://wizardofodds.com/games/roulette/
Worst Odds
Your worst odds? The casinos, understandably, did not want to talk about games with poor odds.
So we turned to Forbes Magazine, which in a report about Best Bets at the Casino, said two popular games -- the Wheel of Fortune and the ever-popular slot machines -- have the lowest odds of winning, with a house edge of 10 percent or more.
Insurance Odds In Blackjack
The Experts Agree
Professor of Analytics Michael Magazine has crunched the numbers, and agreed that blackjack is the best way to go home with money in your pockets. He said if you take a little time to learn the game, you have the best odds of winning.
'You are somewhere between 44 percent to 48 percent in every single hand of winning,' he said, noting that no other casino game gives you odds that good.
But Magazine cautioned that he's not promoting gambling, because he said even games with the best odds still favor the house.
'Play it long enough and you will lose. In the long term the house doesn't lose,' Magazine said.
If You Love The Slots..
Finally, if you really enjoy playing the slots, here is some good information to know, from state casino reports we examined.
Silver oak casino no deposit. With slots, the more money you put in per bet, the higher your chance of winning. If you put the max in a penny machine, which is usually around 50 cents, you have much better odds than if you put in 2 cents.
In addition, penny slots have the lowest odds, with $1 and $5 slots paying much better.
Always gamble responsibly, and don't waste your money.
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House Odds In Blackjack
You can learn more about specific odds of slots machines in each state that has casino gambling by visiting the American Casino Guide.
Dealer Odds In Blackjack
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