Blackjack Strategy Card

No matter what casino game people play, they normally want to come up with some kind of a strategy. One of the things that makes blackjack strategy so interesting is the fact that every single hand has different odds than the last.
Blackjack is also a game that involves skill as well as luck where as games like roulette have static odds and you're relying mostly on luck. In the bottom half of this page I shall be discussing various online blackjack systems you can use and then at the bottom we will take a look at strategies you can use in a land based casino.
To begin with it would be best if we look at two blackjack strategy cards. These are cards that you follow as you play to see what the best move would be. The top card is for a single deck game and the second is for a multi deck game.
For both of the cards, the vertical column on the left hand side represents your card value. The top horizontal row represents the value of the dealer's card that you can see. 

Single Deck Blackjack Strategy Card

H = Hit   S = Stand   D = Double   P = Split   H/SU = Surrender if possible, if not Hit

S/SU = Surrender if able to, if not Stand

 

Multi Deck Blackjack Strategy Card

H = Hit   S = Stand   D = Double Down   SP = Split   H/SU = Surrender if possible, if not Hit

How Do You Use These Cards?

Using blackjack strategy cards is very easy. It's a simple case of looking at the value of your first two cards and then finding that particular row on the card. Then you look at the value of the dealer's card and then follow that column down on the card until you row and the dealer column meet.
Let's me give you an example to make sure you understand this, let's say the total of your cards was 16 and the dealer's total was 7. Following the card above, you would HIT.
Now here is a quick disclosure on the cards above, while they do give you your best odds over the long term, they don't overcome the house edge, that's practically impossible. The only way to do this is to count cards which I shall discuss lower down (keep in mind that you can't count cards with online blackjack).
Another thing worth taking note of is that when you play blackjack online you don't have any decks at all. This is because the cards are randomly generated rather than drawn from a shoe which contains the decks of cards in a land based casino. For this reason we would recommend that you use the top card (single deck) when playing online.

Blackjack System

While the cards above are a good guidance on to what your actions should be, they don't help you much with regards to how much you should bet for each hand. Most players will either bet the same amount for every hand or they will use some kind of a blackjack system. These are the most common blackjack systems that people use.
The Martingale System - This is when you start out by betting £1 on the first hand and if you lose, you double your bets on the next hand. You repeat this process until you get a win.
Labouchere Blackjack Strategy - This is a less risky method than the Martingale because the amounts that you need to bet are less. You start out with a sequence of numbers and use an elimination process.
D'Alembert Blackjack System - This is a simple system where you increase your bets by 1 unit after a loss and then decrease them after a win. The problem with this system is that the profits are small and you can dig yourself into a hole.
Fibonacci Blackjack Strategy - This is based on a mathematical sequence of numbers that wasn't originally intended for gambling. Despite this it's used on games like blackjack and roulette so it's worth a mention. It's safer to use than the Martingale and you only need to potentially win half as many hands as you lose to still be in profit.
Bad Blackjack Strategies - We had to give a mention to bad strategies that you should stay away from. Mimic the dealer, never go bust and the insurance bet are covered on this page.

Bad Blackjack Strategies

This is the page were we're going to look at bad blackjack strategies that aren't recommended. There's nothing else I can say with regards to the introduction to this page, so let's dive straight into it.
Bad Strategy 1 - Mimic The Dealer.
Mimic the dealer is a strategy where you apply the same rules to yourself as what the dealer has. Some people have the misconception that if you play in the same way that the dealer does, it will remove the house edge.
This is a fallacy if ever I saw one and I will get onto that in a moment, but first let's discuss what Mimic the dealer actually is in more detail. As a player you have lots of options available to you; you can hit or stand whenever you want6 and you can also split, double down, surrender and get insurance to name a few of your options.
The dealer has none of these options, they just follow their set rules which is usually hit on anything 16 or under and stand on anything 17 or over.
Obviously when using this kind of strategy, you apply these exact rules to yourself. The main reason why this doesn't work is because you need to make your moves before the dealer.
This means that when you're hitting up to a card value of 17, you will be going bust sometimes before the dealer has had to do anything. This is why the house has an edge and following basic strategy is more effective.
Bad Strategy 2 - Never Go Bust.
This strategy is pretty self explanatory really, you play the safest game possible and never go bust.
For example, on any card value of 11 or under you will hit, anything 12 and over and you will stand. If your first two cards give you a blackjack or 20 then this isn't a problem.
However if you only have 12 or 13 then your hope is that the dealer will go bust.
Normally this strategy is used in conjunction with a betting pattern such as the Martingale. The problem with this strategy is that you can go very long runs with the dealer not going bust so it will normally end in disaster long term.
As I said with Mimic the dealer, you would be better off with basic strategy long term.
Bad Strategy 3 - The Insurance Bet.
Ok this isn't really a strategy and this has already been mentioned on the blackjack tips page but don't bother with the insurance bet. You don't win anything for the insurance bet, all you get is your money back if the dealer gets a blackjack.
Sure, sometimes the dealer will get a blackjack after you were offered the insurance bet but over the long term of play, the insurance bet will cost you more than it will save you because the odds of a dealer getting a blackjack when they're showing an ace is less than 50%.
Final Thoughts
Your best option with any strategy is to have a dabble in free play games before you start playing for real. That's something that we do very well here so feel free to take a look at our free blackjack section which has 4 different free games.

Fibonacci Blackjack Strategy

The Fibonacci is basically a sequence of numbers that wasn't originally intended for blackjack or even for gambling, but since its creation people have tried adapting it to games like blackjack and roulette.
Rather than giving you a history lesson, I shall dive straight into things, here is the Fibonacci sequence of numbers:

1  1  2  3  5  8  13  21  34  55  89

This sequence is basically determined by your previous two numbers. The basic rule of the Fibonacci is as follows: Your next number is always the total of the previous two combined.

So using the above as an example again, the last number is 89 because 55+34 is 89. Now as you can probably guess, you start out at the left hand side of the sequence of numbers and work your way down as you lose your bets.
In some ways it's similar to the Martingale because you're increasing your bets as you lose. The two strategies vary though because when you get one win with the Martingale, you instantly recover all your losses and you can start over.
With the Fibonacci the progression that you use isn't as steep as you can see and while this is a good thing when you're increasing your bets, it also means that one win alone isn't enough to recover all your losses.
What you need to do is go back two stages in the sequence of numbers after a win and forward one after a loss. You repeat this process until you're back at the start, at which point you will be in profit.
Let's go through a quick example now to make sure that this is clear. Let's say that you just bet 55 and won, you will now go back two stages in the sequence of numbers which means that your next bet needs to be 21.
If you win this you then go back down to 8. Another win will send you back down to 3 and so on. Just to summarize what I've just said, always go forward one number in the sequence after a loss and always back 2 after a win.
The upside to the Fibonacci is that it's safer to use than the Martingale because your bets stay smaller for longer. Another upside is that you only need to win around half as many as you lose for you to still end up with a profit.
The downside is the same problem that strikes all strategies of this kind, if you go on a bad losing run you will end up having to bet large amounts and it can be hard to recover.
Like any strategy that you use, always set yourself up with a profit target and a stop loss limit and stick to it for better or worse. Also use the Fibonacci in conjunction with the blackjack strategy cards that we have which will give you the best odds of winning long term (although it's not guaranteed obviously).

D'Alembert Blackjack System

The D'Alembert, like other betting systems can be applied to several different games although it is mainly used in roulette. Still, it can be applied to blackjack so I shall go through it now.
It's a very simple strategy to use, start out by betting whatever amount you see fit as a starting point. Then if you lose you simply add one unit on to your bet the next time round. If you win you decrease your bets by one.
So it's a simple case of increase by one after a loss, decrease by one after a win. The theory is that once you get back to your original wager, you will be in profit by whatever amount you originally wagered.
Here is a small example of how your bets would go:
5 -> loss -> 6 -> loss -> 7 -> win -> 6 -> loss -> 7 -> win -> 6 -> win -> 5 -> win
At the end of the above example when the 5 has been won, you will be in profit by the 5 units that you originally wagered.
The problem with the D'Alembert is that the profit numbers are only small due to the fact that for every "run" you're only going to profit one unit. What some people do to try and get the profits a little higher is increase the bets by two units each time rather than one.
Golden Rules
1. Increase your bets by one (or more if you're feeling lucky) after every loss.
2. Decrease your bets after every win. Remember to decrease them by the same amount that you increased them in the first place.
Reverse D'Alembert
You can also use what's called the reverse D'Alembert which is basically the opposite to what's been described above. You increase your bets by one after a win and decrease them after a loss.
When you use the reverse D'Alembert you need to decide on a winning point that you're happy with and then quit. Normally this is after 3 or 4 consecutive wins. 

Labouchere Blackjack Strategy

The Labouchere strategy is a little more complicated than the Martingale and at the same time it's a bit safer to use. With the Martingale you can be winning one minute and then losing big the next.
The Labouchere is a bit slower but the plus side to this is that it is more consistent. The Labouchere is also known as the cancellation method because you start out with a betting line and then cross numbers off it as you play.
Let's dive in now with an example. You start by writing down a sequence of numbers that will influence the size of your bets, for example you could start out with:

1 1 1 1 1 1

Your first bet is the total of the left and right hand numbers added together. If you WIN your first bet you cross both of these numbers of your line and forget all about them. This rule is simple enough to remember but it's when you lose that you need to concentrate on what you're doing.

In the event of a loss, you add the amount that you just wagered onto the end of your line andDON'T CROSS ANY NUMBERS OFF. So using the above sequence as a starting point again, if you were to lose your first your line would look like this:

1  1  1  1  1  1  2

If you were then to lose your next bet as well you sequence would then look like this:

1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3

The reason for adding the three on the end is because 1+2 is 3. You always use the sum of the left hand number and the right hand number added together to determine your betting amount. If you were to keep losing, your bets will keep getting gradually bigger until you start winning, at which point they will start getting smaller.

If/when you cross all the numbers out from your line, you will be in profit by the value of your line when you started. If we use the line I started with as an example, my profit would be £6 if I managed to cross all the numbers off the line because there are 6 values of 1 on the line.

Golden Rules Of The Labouchere Blackjack Strategy

1. Always use the value of the left and right hand numbers to determine your betting amount.

2. Always cross off both the left and right hand numbers after a win.

3. Don't cross off any numbers after a loss and add the amount you've just bet onto the right hand side of your line.

Final Thoughts

When you start playing and you construct your line, you can put whatever numbers you like into it. You could go wacky and have something like  1  33  2  25  45  10  if you wanted but it is better to play it safe and start out with a safe amount like the I did above.

Remember that the line dictates how much you're going to need to bet and if you start out with big bets, it will only take a few losses to start sending you down a losing road.

While the Labouchere is generally a safe method when you use it properly and safely, a few losses will increase your bets to a level where only a long winning streak will bring them back down so you should always set yourself a stop loss limit.

Martingale Blackjack System

The martingale is a betting system that can be applied to several games such as roulette, baccarat and blackjack. For this page we are going to be focussing on using the Martingale Blackjack Strategy.
The martingale is often referred to as the double up method because you double your bets after each loss until you get a win. Here is the betting progression that you would need to use assuming you started out with a small bet of just £1.

As you can see, the bets start out small but after a few losses, they start getting bigger. If you decide to use a strategy like this when you play, it is advisable to always start out with the minimum betting amount to give yourself room for a few losses.
Another thing to consider is the fact that the Martingale is merely a betting pattern, it doesn't help you decide whether or not to hit or stand.
No matter what betting style you're using, you should always be using basic strategy.


You should also be aware that even though basic strategy gives you your best odds and a system like the martingale can increase your winning streak over the short term, nothing is guaranteed.
It only takes one losing run which can happen as a result of a few bad hands and a stint of bad luck and you will be hit with a rather large loss. Therefore you should always use it for short term play only and avoid being greedy.
So to summarise, when using the martingale blackjack strategy follow these 3 guidelines:
1. Always start out with a small bet to give yourself room for a few losses, if your bets are too big you will go bust very quickly.
2. Use it in conjunction with perfect strategy to give yourself the best odds.
3. Remember that nothing is guaranteed and that it only takes one bad run to wipe you out so never be greedy.