Blackjack – Knowing the Odds
If you have never played blackjack or play only for fun, then there is a very good chance that you have never used the odds to help you. Relying on blind luck is not a great idea unless you have a lot of money to lose.
Knowing the odds also takes away part of the advantage that the house has against you. As the dealer is last to play, he holds an advantage of knowing what the chances are of going bust when it comes to his turn.
In an ideal world the house wouldn’t have an advantage but unfortunately it does so you want to reduce it to the minimum. A simple fact to know is the probability of going bust with a 12 is around 31% and obviously increases when you have, say an 18, which is 77%. You need to be aware of these changing odds when you’re playing.
You are aiming to reduce the advantage to around 0.5% to the house. When the dealer has an Ace it is a good strategy to know the percentage of advantage to you when faced with a certain card. The chance of the dealer going bust is 11% and your advantage will drop to -16% but if he holds a six then your advantage becomes 29%.
Knowing these odds are a start to you reducing the advantage that the house holds and putting yourself in a stronger position to win against the dealer and that can’t be a bad thing.
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