Since blackjack is the one casino game where skill truly matters, it’s important for players to test different strategies and start incorporating them into their gameplay. But before you test any of the blackjack systems out there, there’s a simple truth you must realise – every valid blackjack strategy is based on logic and maths. Therefore, the best strategy you can adopt right away would be to leave your superstitions behind, forget about your ‘winning rituals’ and trust only the numbers. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the best tactics you can adopt to help you win at online blackjack every time you play.

Tip #1: Pick the Right Casino

If you want to win big at blackjack, then read this. You will learn about tips on how to beat the dealer blackjack and win more money. When playing this popular card game, making mistakes is inevitable. The big player then sits down, makes some big bets, and once the deck is dried up, he leaves the table, pretending to play another game or simply have some drinks with his winnings. The movie 21 perfectly describes how a blackjack card counting team should work.

Players often ignore this all-important step, so I decided to start precisely with it. I cannot emphasise enough how big of a factor picking a good casino site is for your future success at beating the game. And that process is not even that hard – the trick is to pick a reputable, well-known casino that features a lot of blackjack games and generous bonuses that you can use on them. Here are three stellar examples:

But how in fact does your choice of casino impact your winning chances? Truth is that not all online casinos are safe and trustworthy. Moreover, even if you have won fair and square, some of them might refuse to pay out your winnings. By choosing a licensed and regulated casino, such as the ones we recommend, you secure yourself a fair chance at winning and, most importantly, guaranteed payouts.

Tip #2: Pick the Right Blackjack Variant

Picking the right game variant is yet another important part of an all-encompassing blackjack strategy. The most important detail about each game is undoubtedly the house edge – the lower it is, the better. Here is a comparison between the house edges of some of the most popular online blackjack games in the UK:

As you can see, the house edge of these games is already quite low (just for reference, most slot games have a house edge of 4%-6%). Still, this is the first thing you should check before trying a new blackjack game. There are, in fact, some online blackjack games that have a house edge over 1% and even over 2%. If your goal is to win and not just to have fun, then you should definitely stay clear of those.

Tip #3: Know Your Game Inside Out

Not all blackjack games are made from the same mold. In fact, there are hardly any two blackjack variations that have exactly the same rules. Therefore, applying the same basic strategy for different games simply won’t work. Every little detail about the game matters as it affects the house edge. You can learn about the specific rules of each variant from the help section of the game. Here is what information you should be looking for if you want to find the best blackjack strategy for the game you’ve chosen.

• How much does a blackjack pay?
• How many decks are in the shoe?
• Can you double on any two cards or only with specific total?
• When can you split your hand and up to how many times?
• Are you allowed to double after splitting a hand?
• Are you allowed to hit split aces?
• Do you have the option to surrender and in which cases?
• Does the dealer hit a soft seventeen?
• Is there a 5-, 6- or a 7-card Charlie?

How To Win Big On Blackjack Real Money

Another particularity you should be aware of when searching for a suitable online blackjack strategy is that there are some blackjack games that bear the same name but have different rules and, consequently, different house edge. This is due to the fact that the games are provided by different software developers. For example, Classic Blackjack by Microgaming has a house edge of merely 0.13% while the game of the same name developed by NetEnt has a house edge of 0.35%. A big difference, indeed.

Tip #4: Use a Basic Blackjack Strategy Card

Hopefully, you’ve followed our tips for playing blackjack and have already chosen a specific game to play, where to play it and you’ve familiarised yourself with all its rules. Now it’s time to find a basic blackjack strategy card specific to your game of choice which will help you make the right decision in any situation.

Below, you can see an example of a strategy card that’s especially created for Playtech’s Blackjack Pro. The image clearly shows how you should play against any given dealer upcard according to the hand you’re holding. The complete strategy chart for each different blackjack variation should consist of three parts – one for hard hands, one for soft hands and one for pairs.

The easiest way to find an optimal blackjack strategy chart for the game you want to try is to generate it yourself using one of the many blackjack basic strategy calculators you can find online. Using these strategy cards is very suitable for beginners since they are extremely easy to read and at the same time they are math-based. Still, there are some things that these cards don’t cover. They don’t tell you what to do with the side bets, how much to bet and whether card counting could help you. Those are exactly the topics that we’re going to cover next.

The Perfect Blackjack Strategy for Side Bets

As we have already established in the previous paragraphs, strategy cards can be very useful when playing most blackjack games, especially for the beginners. Yet, as you may have noticed, they don’t cover any side bets whatsoever. After all, the perfect blackjack strategy is the one that takes into account all aspects of the game and this includes whether or not to place bonus bets and if yes – how much to bet.

The truth is that blackjack is a casino game with an extremely low house edge. On top of that, skilled players are able to reduce this minimal advantage even further by adopting various blackjack strategies. This is why, in the hopes to increase the house edge and, consequently, the revenues, the casinos started adding extra decks to the different blackjack variations and came up with different side bets. And while these side bets definitely add fun and variety to te game, they make players lose money, slowly but surely.

So, it’s easy to see that the best strategy for blackjack side bets is actually not to place any! Just stick to the strategy cards until you’ve gained enough experience to start testing more advanced tactics.

What About Card Counting?

When most new players hear the words ‘blackjack strategies’, they immediately think of card counting. While this strategy may still be possible in some brick-and-mortar casinos (although, in general, it’s against the house rules or at least it’s frowned upon), it is virtually unfeasible in online casinos where the deck is shuffled after each hand. The only exception to this rule is live dealer blackjack. So, if you want to try some card counting techniques while playing online, your only option is to play live blackjack games.

But what actually is card counting and can it really help you beat the casino? Card counting is a blackjack technique that helps you follow the number of high and low cards in the shoe thus giving you some insight as to what type of card might come next – a bit of knowledge that can, indeed, tip the scales in your direction. The easiest card counting system in blackjack is called Hi-Lo and works like this: for each low card (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) you see you add one point and for each high card (10, J, Q, K, A) you deduct one. The higher the count, the bigger the chances to get 10-valued cards, which are generally considered ‘good’ for the player (and bad for the dealer).

Which Is the Best Blackjack Betting System?

As we have already established, using a blackjack strategy card can help you make the right decision in any given situation, but it doesn’t answer the important question players always ask themselves ‘How much should I bet?’ As you probably already know, there are many betting systems out there, many of which claim to be a sure way to beat any online blackjack game. A huge part of those systems are progressive betting systems which are based on the idea that if you’ve lost a number of times, you’re bound to win soon. This, of course, is not true and is often referred to as gambler’s fallacy – a mistaken notion that has claimed many victims through the ages.

The plain and simple truth is that no betting system on its own can help you beat the house, but some can help you improve your odds even more when combined with other blackjack strategies. For example, when using card counting and basic strategy, you can allow yourself to increase the bet amount when the count is high, as then the strategy cards are considered to be ‘more correct’ and your chances at winning are higher. But, as we already said, this can only work if you’re playing live dealer games. The best betting strategy for RNG games, on the other hand, is to simply bet the same amount over and over again while wagering some convenient casino bonus – a topic that we’re going to discuss a little bit further down the page.

Tip #5: Test in Demo Mode

Now that you have a complete overview of an all-encompassing online blackjack strategy, you probably feel ready to finally start playing. But before you go and bet real money, it’s highly recommended that you first test your skills with play money. Going back to our example with Blackjack Pro by Playtech, we’ve prepared a demo version of the game below that you can try for free. Don’t forget to use the strategy card that we presented to you to secure yourself the best odds.

Something else that you can do while playing in demo mode is to practice your card-counting skills, even though in all RNG games the shoe is virtually shuffled after each hand. After all, there are no demo versions of live blackjack, so your only option is to practice on their computerised versions.

Tip #6: Sync Your Bonus and Blackjack Strategies

Some of the biggest advantages of playing on the Internet vs playing at land-based casinos are undoubtedly the generous bonus opportunities that online casinos offer. Even if the casino has a slight advantage in any given game, playing with extra money that isn’t actually yours and being allowed to keep the winnings surely gives the players some edge. When it comes to blackjack, combining the already low house edge of the game with a solid math-based strategy and a suitable bonus is the most certain way to beat the casino. Of course, every bonus comes with its terms and conditions that are sometimes favourable but other times – not so much.

First of all, there’s always a wagering requirement that you have to fulfil before you can withdraw the winnings generated from the bonus. This requirement in most cases is set at 20 to 40 times the bonus plus the deposit amount. Furthermore, it’s important to take into account the fact that blackjack games don’t contribute at 100% toward the wagering requirement due to the fact that they have a pretty low house edge and give the players great winning odds. Usually, the wagering contribution for the game is set anywhere between 5% and 10%, the higher it is, of course, the better. Other important details you should take into account are the validity period of the bonus and the minimum deposit required to claim it.

All that said, let us present to you an easy-to-claim bonus that is perfect for beginners and offered by a casino that has a great array of blackjack games with both classic and innovative variants – Ladbrokes. At the moment, they offer a 100% bonus up to £500 to all new players that make minimum deposit of £20 at the casino – a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me. If you agree with me and are ready to start playing for real money, then click the link below and you’ll be safely redirected to the official website of the operator:

Sure enough, this is not the only available bonus offer that is suitable for playing blackjack online, in fact, most UK casino sites give you the opportunity to wager bonus money on all their blackjack games. So, if you want to find more great opportunities to play blackjack with bonus money, then make sure you also check out our dedicated bonus page.

Final Thoughts and Advice for Long-Term Success

In conclusion, the best blackjack strategy you can adopt is the one that fully corresponds to the game variation you’ve chosen to play. Be careful to only use a game plan that has been created for the particular type of blackjack you’re playing. Otherwise, you won’t be able to achieve the results you expect.

Beginners, find yourselves a strategy card for the variation you play and stick with it. Combine it with a good bonus and you can expect a moderate return in the long run. Your number one priority should be to practice and learn. The more experienced players can, on the other hand, test their card counting skills against some unsuspecting dealer at a live casino of their choice – remember, you can see them, but they cannot see you! Furthermore, to make sure that you get the whole picture as to how to beat this game, you can also take a look at some game strategies analysed.

Last but not least, don’t forget to have fun! After all, it’s a game and its main purpose is to entertain you. Not getting too stressed about winning is a good tactic as it will help you keep a cool head and make better decisions while playing.

When most people think of a progressive jackpot, they think of a slot machine game.

But other games have progressive jackpots these days, too — including blackjack.

This post explains how a progressive jackpot works in general and in a blackjack game specifically. It also examines whether you can get an edge over the casino and whether it’s even worth it to place these progressive side bets.

What Is a Progressive Jackpot and How Does It Work?

The original progressive jackpot game was the slot machine. Slots have always featured jackpots, but they didn’t start featuring progressive jackpots until relatively recently — the last few decades.

A progressive jackpot is one that gets progressively larger as you play the game. The machine takes a percentage of each bet you make and adds it to the jackpot amount, which always starts at a base amount. That base amount is the seed jackpot, and the casino puts that money into play.

With slot machines, you originally had three kinds of progressive jackpots — single machine, local area networks, and wide area progressives. A single machine progressive jackpot grows as you play that machine, but it stays the same when you walk away.

A jackpot with a local area network is one that consists of several slot machines networked together, but they’re all in the same casino. Usually, they’re in the same area of the casino, too.

Every wager on each of those machines contributes to the jackpot. When it’s won on one of the machines, it resets to its base amount on the entire network.

A wide area progressive jackpot is one in which multiple slot machines — maybe even hundreds or thousands of machines — all feed into the same jackpot. These jackpots can get huge, like lottery jackpots do.

Progressive Jackpots and Table Games Like Blackjack

More recently, casinos have started offering table games with progressive jackpots. Some of these are newer games like Caribbean Stud. Sometimes they’re in the form of a “bad beat jackpot” in the poker room.

And sometimes they’re older games like blackjack, craps, or roulette.

With bad beat jackpots in the poker room, the casino collects a slightly higher rake than usual to pay for the jackpot. The rake is a percentage of each pot that the casino collects in exchange for hosting the game. It’s usually 5%, but in a bad beat jackpot game, it might be slightly higher.

With bad beat jackpots on table games like blackjack, craps, or roulette, the game usually plays normally. Your bets are adjudicated according to the standard rules of the game. The progressive jackpot is usually a side bet (a proposition bet) based on specific outcomes in the game.

In these cases, the progressive jackpot bet is a completely separate bet from your bet on the game itself. The progressive jackpot bet usually has no skill element to it, either.

An example of a progressive roulette game is Microgaming’s “Roulette Royale,” which has a starting jackpot of $60,000. To play, you just play the regular roulette game as normal, but you also place a separate side bet of $1 on the progressive jackpot.

The game awards the jackpot if the same number gets picked five times in a row.

What are the odds of that?

Since Roulette Royale is based on European roulette, the probability of getting a specific number is 1/37.

To calculate the probability of getting a number five times in a row, you just multiply the probability, like this:

1/37 x 1/37 x 1/37 x 1/37 x 1/37 = 1/69,343,957

But you can also win money if the same number gets picked two, three, or four times in a row. If the same number comes up twice in a row, you win 15 to 1 on your progressive side bet. If it comes up three times in a row, you win $200. And if it comes up four times in a row, you win $3,000.

Here’s the thing, though.

If you win a 35 to 1 payout five times in a row, you’d see winnings of $35 x 35 x 35 x 35, or $1,500,625.

If you guessed that the house edge for this game is really high, well… good. You’ve been paying attention.

But What About Progressive Blackjack?

I wanted to use roulette to illustrate the principle of a side bet that has a progressive jackpot on a table game, but let’s look specifically at progressive blackjack and how to play.

Microgaming also offers a progressive blackjack game called Triple Sevens. This is a blackjack game dealt from five decks, and if you get a hand that consists of the 7 of diamonds, another 7 of diamonds, and a third 7 of diamonds, you win the jackpot.

There are other combinations which result in smaller winnings, too — enough to keep you interested and placing the side bet. The house edge, though, is high on this bet.

Here are the payouts based on a $1 progressive side bet.

• If you get ANY 7 at all in your hand, you win $5.
• If you get two 7s of different suits, you win $25.
• If you get two 7s of the same suit, you win $50.
• If you get three 7s of different suits, you win $250.
• If you get three 7s of the same suit (other than diamonds), you win $1,000.

And of course, if they’re all of diamonds, you win the progressive jackpot.

The jackpot for this game generally hovers around $10,000, but as it grows, the house edge gets smaller. The break-even point is $109,000, at which point the game becomes positive expectation.

Should I Play a Progressive Jackpot Game If the Expectation Is Positive?

Here’s the thing about progressive jackpots and expected return.

In some cases, the expected return doesn’t matter. If the odds of winning are so bad that you realistically never hope to win that bet, it isn’t worth gambling for the progressive jackpot — even if it’s a positive expectation bet.

That’s because the volatility is so high that you won’t realistically ever see the jackpot.

You’re better off finding a game with lower volatility even if you have a lower (but still positive) expected return.

Of course, you’re dealing with two different house edge figures in Triple Sevens Blackjack. You have your main bet, which is just a regular blackjack game. The house edge for that game is around 1% or so if you play with perfect basic strategy.

The house edge for the side bet is about 37% if the jackpot is $10,000. Every $10,000 you add to the jackpot subtracts 3.5% from the house edge, which means that the side bet becomes positive expectation once the progressive jackpot hits $109,000 or so.

And don’t forget that probably 10% of the bet goes toward increasing the size of that jackpot, too. The house keeps the rest, but that’s a huge chunk subtracted from your expected return.

If you’re just looking for the lowest house edge with the lowest volatility, I can’t recommend playing Triple Sevens. Other Microgaming blackjack games have better odds. The Vegas single-deck game has a house edge of just 0.31% if you play with perfect basic strategy.

How To Beat Blackjack

Other Progressive Blackjack Games Besides Triple Sevens

That’s just one example of a blackjack game with a progressive jackpot. Land-based casinos have their own progressive jackpot blackjack games.

Here’s an example.

At one casino, the progressive jackpot is based on your first two cards combined with the dealer’s two cards. The jackpots pay out for the following combinations:

• 4 aces of the same color (red or black, either one) pays off the progressive jackpot
• 4 aces of different colors trigger a 2000 to 1 payout
• 3 aces of the same suit trigger a 1000 to 1 payout
• 3 aces of different suits trigger a 200 to 1 payout
• 2 aces of the same suit trigger a 50 to 1 payout
• 2 aces of different suits trigger a 15 to 1 payout
• 1 ace of any suit triggers a 3 to 1 payout

This is an interesting variation because it affects strategy in subtle ways. One of the quirks of this game is that if you split the aces, you become ineligible for the jackpot. Most of the time, the correct play is to keep the aces together so that you can get the payout for the jackpot bet.

Progressive Blackjack Betting Systems

Playing in a blackjack game with a side bet on a progressive jackpot isn’t the only way to win a lot of money at the blackjack table. You could also use a progressive blackjack betting system.

A progressive betting system is one where you increase the size of your bets according to some established system.

And the system I’m going to share with you is dead simple.

Your goal with a progressive jackpot is to win a lot of money.

I call this my “go big or go home” blackjack strategy.

It’s simple, too. You’re going to play at a casino offering a $1 minimum bet and a $150 maximum bet. Your goal is to win $150.

With this system, you just let your winnings ride until you hit your win goal.

Assuming you don’t get a natural, you don’t need to win many hands in a row to achieve your goal, either. Here’s what the progression looks like:

1. $1
2. $2
3. $4
4. $8
5. $16
6. $32
7. $64
8. $128

Once you’ve won eight hands in a row, you’ve achieved your goal. Of course, that’s not a life-changing jackpot, but it’s still a big win for a dollar bet.

A better way to do this would be to find a casino with a bigger spread of betting limits. You might find a casino that offers $5 blackjack as their minimum bet but which also has tables that allow you to bet as much as $5,000.

Here’s how many hands you’d need to win in a row to win $5,000:

1. $5
2. $10
3. $20
4. $40
5. $80
6. $160
7. $320
8. $640
9. $1,280
10. $2,560

You’re probably thinking, “What are the odds of winning 10 or 11 hands of blackjack in a row?”

The truth is, the odds are slim.

But even though you’re facing long odds with this betting progression, you still have a better probability of a big payout by parlaying your winnings and letting them ride than you have of hitting the big jackpot.

The odds are a little worse than 1100 to 1, but since you’re looking at a 1000 to 1 payoff on the parlay, it’s not a terribly high house edge when compared to something like 35%.

The only trick is that you might need to switch blackjack tables after winning a few hands.

If you win seven hands in a row, you need to be able to bet $640 on the next hand. At a $5 minimum table, you usually can’t bet more than $500 per hand.

No problem. You just need to switch to one of the higher-limit tables.

If you play blackjack online, you can find even lower table limits. $1 blackjack is common at online casinos, and many online casinos even offer blackjack for 10 cents or 50 cents per hand — something unheard of in a brick and mortar casino.

You have to win a lot of hands in a row to turn 10 cents into something worth having, but it can be fun to try.

Also, if you occasionally get a natural with its 3 to 2 payout, you can get there even faster. You’ll see a natural more often than you might think, too.

You should, if you try this go big or go home strategy, stick with basic strategy for all your decisions. Don’t make the mistake of adjusting your play after winning four or five bets in a row. That’s a common mistake for beginners, who think they need to avoid busting to continue their progression.

Don’t do that.

Make the mathematically optimal play on every hand, which is what basic strategy tells you to do.

If you’re counting cards, you might make strategy adjustments based on the count. Then again, you’ll probably have an entirely different strategy for raising and lowering the size of your bets.

Conclusion

You want to know how to play progressive jackpot?

Here’s a simple, if tongue-in-cheek answer: very carefully.

Most of the time, a progressive blackjack game requires you to make a side bet where the house edge is 10% or higher. This takes blackjack, which is a game with some of the best odds in the house, and turns it into a game with a huge house edge.

You might as well play keno or the lottery or find a progressive slot machine to play.

If you want to combine that low house edge on the main blackjack game with the opportunity to win a big jackpot, this might be a fun way to play.

But I can’t recommend it in good conscience.

Still, I don’t think anyone should judge someone else for the way they like to gamble. What entertains you might not entertain me, and vice versa.

How To Win At Blackjack Table

That’s what gambling is all about, anyway — entertainment.

How To Win Blackjack Casino

Keep that in mind, and you’ll be all right.