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Online Blackjack Tips

In a game of blackjack you compete only against the house and not against other players on the table, but still there are a number of ways in which you can increase your chances of winning. Follow the blackjack tips below and improve your play!

Blackjack Tips: Surrender

In terms of increasing your stakes 'surrender' is one of the top tips if you are looking to fold your hand and minimise your loses during a game of blackjack. However, you must make the decision before taking any other action on the hand.

There are two varieties of surrender, early and late, that differ only in the way a blackjack dealer is handled. In an early surrender game, a player may choose to surrender before the dealer checks his cards for a blackjack, offering a cheap way out even if the dealer turns out to have a blackjack.

The much more common variation is late surrender, where the dealer checks for a blackjack first, and then only if he does not have a blackjack, allows the players to surrender their hands.

Surrender offers useful playing tips for many blackjack players. Unfortunately many players surrender far too many hands when playing blackjack. Key playing tips for playing Surrender are:

To loose less with surrender, you must be only 25% likely to win the hand - therefore if you lose 75% of the time, and win only 25% of the time, your net loss is about 50% of your bets, equal to the amount you'll loose guaranteed by surrendering. The key playing tips is to learn to use the surrender option, but only when it's appropriate.

Blackjack Tips: Hitting & Standing

The most common decision a player must make is whether to take a hit or to stand. The methods you use to indicate your play to the dealer differ dependent upon the type of blackjack you are playing.

Top tips for reducing ambiguity when you're playing blackjack are:

In a face up game of blackjack, indicate that you want another card by tapping the table behind your cards with a finger. When you decide to stand, just wave your hand in a horizontal motion over your cards.
In the face down game - play is a little different. Tips for ensuring you achieve the play that you want are, to draw another card, simply scrape your cards across the table felt lightly. The dealer will deal your additional cards on the table infront of your bet. Add them to the total value, but leave the actual cards on the table.
One of the best tips for new blackjack players is that the descriptions are a lot tougher than the actual play. Just pay attention to what other players are doing and you'll soon fit right in.

Blackjack Tips: Doubling Down

Amongst the more profitable options for play and one of the top playing tips for slightly more experienced players of blackjack is 'doubling down'. This can only be done with a two card hand, before another card has been drawn. Doubling down allows you to double your bet and receive one additional card to the hand so is a top tip for players wanting to increase their stakes.

Players are allowed to double down for any amount up to the original bet amount, so you do have the option to double down for less if you want. Just remember that you do give up something for being allowed to increase your bet: the ability to draw more than one additional card. If the correct play is to double down, you should always double for the full amount if possible when playing blackjack.

Blackjack Tips: Splitting Pairs

One of the top tips when playing blackjack is to split pairs. If you are dealt a matching pair of cards, you have the ability to split the hand into two separate hands, and play them independently. Splitting pairs can be one of the top tips for blackjack players in increasing the likelihood of improving an otherwise bad hand.

If you get additional pairs you are allowed to resplit up to 3 times, making 4 separate hands, with 4 separate bets. If double after split is also used you could have up to 8 times your initial bet on the table if you choose.

Blackjack Tips Summary