1. Best Strategy For Online Blackjack
2. Best Online Craps Strategy
3. Best Online Blackjack Strategy
4. Best Betting Strategy For Online Blackjack
5. Best Online Blackjack Odds

Optimal Blackjack Strategy with a Wagering Requirement

By Arnold Snyder
(From How to Beat Internet Casinos and Poker Rooms, Cardoza Publishing, 2005)
© 2005 Arnold Snyder

One blackjack strategy that’s been discussed a lot in the online gaming circles is the no-bust blackjack strategy. What makes this tactic stand out from others is that it’s very simple. How it works is that even if you have an awful hand, you’re supposed to Stand and hope that the dealer would Bust (go over 21). Card-Specific Online Blackjack Strategy In most basic strategies, you are told to hit, stand, double, surrender or take insurance based on the total value of the cards that you have. For example, if you have 13, it doesn’t matter if you have a seven and a six or a jack and a three in your hand. You just commit to your action based on the total. How To Win Online Blackjack, General Strategy: Double, Split and Surrender. Everything that we have described so far with the identification of strong and weak dealer cards is the basis of knowing how to deal with the special options, which are all of your options in the game that are not hitting or standing. Online Blackjack Strategy Trainer. The Blackjack Strategy Trainer is a free blackjack game that teaches basic strategy while you play. You select the exact rules that you want, and the Strategy Coach warns you if you make mistakes.

When you are playing blackjack online to meet the wagering requirement for a bonus in an Internet Casino, or in any other situation where you have a wagering requirement, the best basic strategy for blackjack changes slightly.

Best Strategy For Online Blackjack

If you are unfamiliar with standard blackjack basic strategy, see Learn Blackjack Basic Strategy in the Blackjack Forum Gambling Library. That article is an introduction to the logic behind normal blackjack basic strategy, with comprehensive charts.

For those who already know blackjack basic strategy who are surprised to learn that correct strategy with a wagering requirement would be different, here is the logic as it applies to a double down decision:

If I want to know whether I should double down on a total of 9 against a dealer deuce, I have to consider the return on getting double the money on the table with this strong total while giving up the option to rehit the hand if I am dealt a 2 or 3 on it. To double down on a 9 v. 2 and catch a deuce on it is a truly miserable result. Here I am with a total of 11, that I cannot take another card on, and I have double my bet on this hand!

As it turns out, this is one of those borderline decisions that changes according to the number of decks in play. In single and double-deck, the basic strategy is to double down on the total of 9 v. 2, because having that one deuce taken out of play (the dealer's upcard), has removed a significant enough percentage of the remaining deuces to make the double down the optimal play.

In fact, with three decks, it's correct to double down on 9 v. 2 if my total of 9 is comprised of a 7-2, since this would mean two deuces would have been removed from the remaining cards. But as soon as we get to 4 or more decks, the basic strategy for 9 v. 2 is to hit, and not double. That's how the logic works.

But let's look at how much of a borderline decision this is. In a shoe game (and it will be slightly different with 4, 6, or 8 decks), if I am dealt a total of 9 v. 2, I have a approximately a 7.85% advantage over the house if I just hit. In dollars and cents, this means that with a $100 bet, my average return on this hand with basic strategy (hit) is to make $7.85.

How much money do I lose if I double down? Well, not really that much. If I double down on this hand in a 4-deck game, my win expectation is about $7.45. Card counters who table hop and play only plus counts just about always double down on 9 v. 2 because with most balanced count systems the index number for doubling down on this hand is 0. If you have just the slightest positive count, doubling down becomes the correct play.

In any case, since a return of $7.45 is less than a return of $7.85, basic strategy with 9 v. 2 is to hit in all games with more than three decks, not double down.

But, consider an Internet 4-deck game where I have a wagering requirement to fulfill. Let's say I have a total wagering requirement of $2000, and I've already played through $1800 in action. In other words, I have exactly $200 of action left to meet my wagering requirement. The casino allows a $100 max bet. I place a $100 bet, and I am dealt a 9 v. 2. How should I play it?

Consider:

If I hit, I have an expected return on this hand of $7.85. I then must play one additional $100 hand, and I must assume that the cost of this random hand will have the house edge of 0.50%. This second $100 hand that I must play to meet my wagering requirement has a negative return of -$0.50. So, for these two hands, my total return is $7.85 - $0.50 = $7.35.

If, however, I violate standard basic strategy and double down on my 9 v. 2, my total return on the $200 in action will be 10 cents higher, $7.45. So, when there is a wagering requirement, basic strategy for the 4-deck game changes.

But, with 6 decks, if I double down on 9 v. 2, it will cost me about 21 more cents than hitting and playing a second hand against the house edge, so with 6 or more decks, it is best to follow the standard multiple-deck basic strategy for 9 v. 2, and just hit.

The logic here does not require that you be down to the last two bets of a wagering requirement. As long as you are playing to meet a wagering requirement, and every additional bet (double or split) that you don't place on a hand where you have this option will require another bet on a random hand with the house edge, you will be in a situation where the value of doubling down or splitting must include the value of eliminating a random hand that must be played at the house advantage.

Best Online Craps Strategy

In any case, the value of following a Wagering Requirement Basic Strategy as opposed to a standard blackjack basic strategy where no wagering requirement is imposed is negligible. But it does exist, and smart players may want to know about it. For those who are out there playing on bonuses with wagering requirements in Internet casinos, here are the changes:

9 v. 2 = double (4 decks or fewer)
A7 v. 2 = double
A6 v. 2 = double
8 v. 6 = double down in a 2-deck game with a 5-3, but not with a 6-2
11 v. A = double down in a 2-deck game

Normal basic strategy with 9 v. 2 is to double down in 1 and 2-deck games only. With a wagering requirement, we should also double down in 4-deck games. In a 6-deck game with a wagering requirement, however, this double down would cost us an extra 21 cents on a $100 bet, so we only make the altered double down in a 4-deck game, unless we're looking for a cheap camo play in 6-deck.

Normal basic strategy with a total of 8 v. 6 is to double down in single-deck only. With a wagering requirement, we are correct to double down on 8 v. 6 in 2-deck games if our cards are 5-3, but not 6-2. With more than 2 decks, it is not correct to double down on 8 v. 6 with a wagering requirement.

Double down on 11 v. A in a 2-deck game. Normal basic strategy is to double down on 11 v. A in single-deck only, or in multi-deck if the dealer hits soft 17. In Theory of Blackjack, Griffin provided refinements to this rule, namely that if the player's 11 is a 6-5 or 7-4 (but not a 9-2 or 8-3), it is also correct to double down in 2-deck. With a wagering requirement, it is optimal to double down with 11 v. A with 6-5, 7-4, and 8-3, but 9-2 is still on the other side of borderline. With more than two decks, however, do not double down on this hand.

Comprehensive Wagering Requirement Online Blackjack Strategy
For Any Number of Decks

STAND

DOUBLE DOWN, HARD TOTALS

DOUBLE DOWN, SOFT TOTALS

SURRENDER (LATE)

S = Stand, H = Hit, D = Double Down (if doubling not available, then hit), Ds = Double Down (if doubling not available, then stand),
¢ = Surrender

1 = Stand with 3 or More Cards
2 = Hit in Multi-Deck, or if Dealer Hits S17
3 = European No-Hole Hit
4 = S17 Multi-Deck or European No-Hole Hit
5 = Single-Deck Only
6 = With Hit Soft 17 Only
7 = Single Deck Hit
8 = Single Deck, X-6 Only
9 = With Hit Soft 17 in Multi-Deck
10 = Excluding 8,7
11 = 4 decks or fewer only
12 = Always double in H17 games. In S17 games, double in single and 2-deck games only.
13 = Double in single deck games. In 2-deck games, double on 5-3 but not 6-2. With more than 2 decks, do not double.

PAIR SPLITS
WITH DOUBLE AFTER SPLITS

PAIR SPLITS
NO DOUBLE AFTER SPLITS

Best Online Blackjack Strategy

INSURANCE: NO

There may be a few other violations of standard blackjack basic strategy that would bring you an extremely small extra return in particular games, based on the exact number of decks in play and the precise rule set, when you are playing to meet a wagering requirement, but they will not be worth much to players in dollars and cents.

Also, some players have questioned whether correct online blackjack basic strategy would change again in a situation where you have a win target, such as when you are playing on a sticky bonus. It turns out that the online blackjack strategy for win target situations with a wagering requirement is the same as the regular Wagering Requirement Online Blackjack Strategy. I will explain why in a separate Blackjack Forum article.

Best Betting Strategy For Online Blackjack

Again, the value of following a Wagering Requirement Online Blackjack Basic Strategy as opposed to a standard blackjack basic strategy where no wagering requirement is imposed is negligible. But it does exist, and smart players should know it. ♠

Best Online Blackjack Odds

Correct blackjack strategy changes according to the rules of the variant you’re playing. For example, when you have the option to surrender, correct play for certain hands changes. If the game you’re playing allows you to double after splitting, this changes how you play the game. This is true with each variation in the game, but it also changes when you start playing variations of blackjack like blackjack switch, pontoon, and double exposure. This page discusses the best way to study blackjack strategy, why basic strategy charts are so useful, and which keys you should be looking for when you play variants.

Blackjack Strategy Tables

Look online under “blackjack strategy” or “basic strategy” and you’ll find endless charts and tables you can study. To become a better blackjack gambler, find a printable basic strategy chart of the game you play and memorize that card. If you can find a basic strategy chart which is color-coded, this is even better. A good basic strategy chart should show you when to hit, stand, split, and surrender in all scenarios. This chart should show you when to double if it’s allowed.

You might think memorization is too difficult, but the rote work isn’t that hard if you’re studying for only one set of game rules. The charts discuss a couple of specific types of strategy situations. Understanding how to play your hand correctly is based on two things—what your cards are, and what the dealer’s upcard is.

Correct strategy also changes when more decks are added to the shoe. For instance, you’ll find a basic strategy chart for a single deck, a double deck, and for four or more decks at a time. The more cards are in the deck, the less useful your ability to keep track of the cards already dealt or keeping a card count of some kind. Playing with a single deck provides a positive variation instead of playing with 4, 6, or 8 decks. Even playing a single deck instead of a double deck increases your chances–but only if you know what you’re doing.