Blackjack Odds

In order to truly understand blackjack, you need to master and understand the odds of the game. It would be vital to learn how the house gains an edge to win more and how blackjack odds actually work. Read on.

The House Edge

In the majority of blackjack casino games, the house edge lies at around 8%. This edge is reached because the dealer has to act last. This means that everyone has already made a decision and has probably already busted before the game dealer has actually taken his turn.

With the right basic strategy for blackjack, this house edge can drop all the way to 0.5%. Plus, by using advanced tactics of card counting the right way, you can also change the odds of blackjack and get a higher edge compared to the casino. Since these odds can be changed to your own favor, the majority of casinos do not let card counters in to play.

Odds to Look Out for

It would be vital to know your hand's odds of busting, no matter what total you have in blackjack. This chart will show you your busting odds, depending on what hand value you already have:

This next chart will show you the dealer's final hand odds - the percentages he will get with hands that total every corresponding value. Read this chard and learn the odds of the dealer in making his last hand.

The next chart will show two columns that explain the odds that the dealer has of busting, though this depends on his current face-up card. Remember: he has the highest odds of busting with a 5 in his hand. The last column of this chart will show your advantage with the basic strategy, comparing it to every face-up card that the dealer shows. You will see that your highest edge stands at 23.9% - whenever the dealer has a 5. If the dealer has a 9 or higher, however, your edge range will be negative.