In order to master the game and leave the casino as winners, players should always follow a strategy and prepare themselves in advance for every possible hand they can get. Along with solid knowledge regarding the game’s rules and probabilities, they should also have money management skills and discipline. Moreover, without setting loss limits and win goals, no matter how lucky they get, they are bound to lose everything.
The only way players can make a profit is if they focus on winning in the long term by applying their chosen strategy throughout the game. Even if they get a sequence of losing hands, it is essential not to give up on it as what really matters is to win the majority of the hands, not all of them.
Regardless of what strategy players choose to follow, their decisions should be always based on the dealer’s up card along with their hand’s total value. It is really important to decide which move is the best according to those two factors as after all players compete against the dealer. Regardless of how obvious this may be, there are still lots of players around the world who often misplay their hands due to the fact that they fail to pay the needed attention the up card deserves.
Importance of The Dealer’s Up Card When Choosing a Move
The dealer’s up card along with the players’ two cards are the two things which gamblers should take into account when making a decision. The up card of the dealer gives them valuable information about his position and his chances of winning and shouldn’t be underestimated. Even though there is one more card which is invisible to players – the hole card, they can still predict to some extent what will be the possible outcomes of a particular situation.
The only time they should take into account the rest of the cards in the deck, including the cards of the other players, is when their chosen strategy is card counting. Apart from this case, there is no need to follow them as the number of cards from one rank left in the deck doesn’t affect the basic strategy’s odds and probabilities.
| Dealer’s Up Card and Chances of busting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dealer’s up card | Dealer’s chances of going bust | Advantage of the players with the Basic Strategy |
| 2 | 35.30% | 9.8% |
| 3 | 37.56% | 13.4% |
| 4 | 40.28% | 18.0% |
| 5 | 42.89% | 23.2% |
| 6 | 42.08% | 23.9% |
| 7 | 25.99% | 14.3% |
| 8 | 23.86% | 5.4% |
| 9 | 23.34% | -4.3% |
| 10, J, Q, K | 21.43% | -16.9% |
| A | 11.65% | -16.0% |
Importance of the Dealer’s Up Card When Choosing a Live Casino Table
As already mentioned above, the dealer’s up card is extremely important as it gives players a general idea of their position during of the game. However, the up card of the dealer should be also taken into account even before they become a part of the game. Many professional players know how essential it is to take their time to observe the up card of the dealer prior to sitting on the table as this way they have the chance to see whether he is in a weak position or not. This particular card plays a crucial role not only throughout the game but also they choose a blackjack table.
Splitting a Pair of 9’s
Splitting a Pair of 10’s
Dealer’s Up Card
Basic Strategy Money Management
Running True Count
Important Things to Consider When Choosing a Live Casino Table
Regardless of the strategy players choose to follow, it is always favourable to start when the dealer’s position is weak. This way they will gain advantage over the casino and their chances of winning will significantly increase. Prior to joining a table, it is recommended for players to observe the dealer’s up card in order to determine the situation. It is worth mentioning that they should focus only on it, not on the outcome of the dealer’s hand.
Also, players should look for tables which have at least two available seats in order to make sure that their time won’t be wasted by observing a table which they cannot join. Even though sometimes it can take a lot of time to find the desired table, they need to remember that all of their efforts won’t be in vain in the end. The best time to join a game is when the dealer is in a weak position also known as in a cold trend.
What is worth mentioning is that at some point in the game, the dealer’s cards follow a particular trend and this is the thing they should take into account. This trend is a double-edged sword as players who are aware of it can use it in their favour. However, the ones who are not can put themselves in a very disadvantageous position. This is the reason why they should observe the string of cards the dealer has and in case they are good, they should refrain themselves from joining the table. In this case, competing against the dealer will be hard and also they won’t be able to double down or split which significantly decreases their chances of making extra money.
Determining the Dealer’s Position
When choosing a table, players need to determine the position of the dealer by taking into account the up card. The reason why is that if the up card is a powerful one, this makes it harder to compete against the dealer. Hence, joining the game at such a moment is not the best decision. There are three types of cards in the deck which help players to define their situation.
The power cards are all of the face cards as well as a nine and a ten. They are the ones that give him the biggest advantage. Respectively, weak cards are the ones from two through six as they have a low card value and reaching twenty one with them is hard. Eight and seven are considered to be neither weak nor strong which makes them neutral.
If you are a blackjack devotee who is not just playing at random, you most likely know what probability is. In a nutshell, it shows the chances of winning or losing a given hand. Usually, probability odds are essential in the run. Many casino enthusiasts play blackjack simply because the game offers a low house edge. In other words, you lose less money in the long term.
Another aspect of the game that attracts the attention of hundreds of thousands of casino aficionados is that it requires a healthy dose of skills. Therefore, players can increase their odds by using a basic strategy. As we already explained above, the dealer’s up card is as important as knowing the rules of the game. Now, let us look at the table below that shows the probability of the dealer going bust and the player’s advantage over the dealer based on the up card.
| Dealer’s Up Card | Dealer Odds of Going Over 21 | Player’s Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 35.30% | 9.8% |
| 3 | 37.56% | 13.4% |
| 4 | 40.28% | 18,00% |
| 5 | 42.89% | 23.2% |
| 6 | 42.08% | 23.9% |
| 7 | 25.99% | 14.3% |
| 8 | 23.86% | 5.4% |
As you can see from the figures in the table, the player is in an advantageous position if the dealer’s up card is from 2 through 8. However, if the dealer’s up card is 9, 10, J, Q, K, or A, players should know that they are in a not so favourable position.
| Dealer’s Up Card | Dealer Odds of Going Over 21 | Player’s Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 23.34% | -4.3% |
| 10 | 21.43% | -16.9% |
| J | 21.43% | -16.9% |
| Q | 21.43% | -16.9% |
| K | 21.43% | -16.9% |
| A | 11.65% | -16,00% |
Conclusion
The up card of the dealer is very important not only during but also before the game. It gives players the chance to determine whether the dealer is on a cold or hot streak. Every small detail in blackjack can make a huge difference. If players do the needed preparation before the game, this can significantly boost their winning chances. It is really important to take their time and determine which table might favour them and which won’t as this will give them an advantage over the casino.