By Anna Lucas.

Blackjack is arguably the world’s most popular casino game. And it’s not hard to see why as you can learn the game in a matter of minutes. Even if you’ve never stepped into a casino before, the simplicity of blackjack means that you can be playing at a table in an extremely short period of time, much shorter than related card games such as poker.

However, though it’s a game that you can get the basics of pretty quickly, becoming an expert takes time. To get the most from the game, you’ll need to step up your play a little! If you’re in that camp, then fear not. Below, we’ve put together a few tried and tested blackjack tips for beginnings that’ll have you on the road towards greatness. 

Learn All Starting Hands

You’ll be helping yourself immeasurably by learning how to play any starting hand. After all, if you can get off on the right foot, then it’ll be much more likely that you come away with a victory under your belt. For this, you’ll need to learn basic blackjack strategy. It’s as simple as the name suggests it is, but it is something that you need to learn — spend a little time getting to grips with blackjack basic strategy, and just like that, you’ll have given yourself an advantage; or, at the very least, you’ll have reduced the dealer’s advantage significantly!

Play Frequently

You’ll get better at anything if you do it frequently, and that principle also applies to blackjack. You’ll be a lot better after playing one hundred hands than you were when you played your first hand! So look at playing as much as you can. If your friends aren’t available to play with you, look online; there are plenty of introductory casino offers at sites like OddsChecker that allow you to try a casino in a cost-effective way. Play enough blackjack, and it won’t be long before you begin to feel like an expert.

Learn Some Useful Tactics 

The pros draw upon plenty of useful tactics that help to push the odds in their favor. The professionals don’t have a monopoly on these tactics, however — anyone can use them! For example, if you’re given two aces or two eights, then you should always split them regardless of what the dealer shows.  If you’re playing in a real casino and you’re offered insurance or even money, don’t take it — it’s not in your interest to.  There are many opportunities to get extra money on the table which include splitting and doubling.  Blackjack basic strategy teaches you this.  It just takes a few hours to memorize the chart(s).

Know When To Back Out

You can’t always get what you want. Sometimes, people play for the emotional or psychological experience when in reality, they should be playing a mathematical game. Sometimes, people keep playing a hand even though it’s statistically highly unlikely to win for various reasons. It’s much better just to back out and wait for the next hand to be dealt.  This is true in poker.  In blackjack, the time to back out is when luck is no longer on your side, you are tired or it us no longer fun!

Get Smart With Money

If you’re on a good run, increase your stakes a little. You’ll be betting some of the money that you’ve already won, and the increase in cash means you’ll be more likely to increase your return. If you begin to lose a few hands, you can just revert back to your original stake until your situation improves.  But remember, no matter how good you may become it is still gambling and even the best players can lose.

Play Your Game 

Finally, be sure to play your game, not the dealer’s. The dealer might be the star of the show, but you’re the star of your own mind, so focus on what you’re doing. It’s all too easy to get sucked into looking at the dealer’s hand (or another player’s hand), but all that will do is distract you from what you’re doing. One of the main reasons behind when a player loses is that they’ve lost their concentration, and in that scenario everything becomes an an uphill battle. 

FIRST PHOTO CREDIT: pexels.com: Drew Rae

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