Welcome to our guide to the best online Blackjack casinos. Before we get started, we should say that we absolutely adore Blackjack. We have been playing this game for more than 30 years, and in the last about a dozen, we have been playing a lot of real money online Blackjack. While our target is to win some real money, our primary focus here is to offer a professional opinion to the aspiring casino players.
Play at the Best Online Blackjack Casinos Like a Professional
It is very simple to lose your money while playing Blackjack if you do not play clever, however, if you trust our advice, you will be able to play this game like a pro. Blackjack provides some of the top value among the casino games to the user, but on the other hand, it is only if you employ the proper strategy and play smart and not emotionally influenced.
Take a look at a few suggestions, which must be considered by everyone before going to the virtual tables for Blackjack:
- Do not ever bet money that you cannot afford – This means that you should not throw good money after a bet. Choose your own budget prior to going to the table and adhere to it.
- Never place more than half of your money on a single bet – This is plain reckless play, and you would not be happy to see half of your money simply disappearing in one bet. Bet responsibly.
- Keep a basic strategy in your memory – When you start playing, make sure to have an essential strategy guide, open in another window so you can use it as a reference.
- Do not lose your nerves – In some cases, the cards seem to be betraying you, and this could be a reason to abandon your strategy. In the long run, maintaining strategy is simply the only way to win stable profits.
You can Enhance the Chances
Our basic strategy guide to best online Blackjack casinos, will offer you many pointers about when is appropriate to hit and when you must stand or double down. On the other hand, we offer you these two pieces of advice to consider at any moment, when you approach Blackjack table, either in traditional land-based casino or online.
The first tip
In no circumstances, should you split two-faced cards. This is a usual mistake made by beginners who assume that by splitting tens and face cards they can double their profits. In fact, when it comes to simple statistics, it is just not a good idea at all to split face cards, as this way you are losing the high chance of winning with a twenty versus the high risk of losing your money twice in case the new cards you draw are not the ones you need.
The second tip
You should always split aces and eights. This is quite simple, or at least it has to be simple. The pair of eights provides you with the feared sixteen, and when you split them, you are banking on at least one card that will show up and offer you a good hand. Even a one, two or a three are all decent cards to draw to an eight, which means that you have a lot of chances to have a winning hand. Similarly, a pair of aces provides you with a bad hand value of either two or twelve, meaning that it is a lot better idea to have them split and then hope that sevens, eights, nines and tens will show up.
The Way Blackjack Works
Have you ever wondered why the tables for Blackjack at the casinos are always packed? It is because Blackjack is stunningly simple to play. Your goal is very simple – to reach as close to twenty-one without going over, and to get a higher hand than your dealer. If your dealer goes beyond twenty-one, she or he busts. The same rule applies to you.
Does it sound easy? Well, it is. However, there are still some rules you have to consider prior to playing at the best online Blackjack casinos for real money bets. Let us walk you through a usual game, so you have a basic idea of how it works:
- Each player gets two cards face up
- The dealer deals two cards to herself or himself – one of the cards is face up, the other is face down.
- When you look at your two cards displayed, you have to decide whether to split, stand, hit or double down.
- Hit – you should ask the dealer for another card.
- Stand – you should ask your dealer to move to the next player and not to deal you more cards.
- Split – in this case you turn your hand of two into two distinctive hands.
- Double down – similar to hitting, but in this case, you will get only one card, and you will not have the option of taking another.
- You will remain in the game if your hand’s value is twenty-one or anything less.
- After all the players at your table have decided, the dealer will show her or his face down card.
Extra Rules for Blackjack
We have already explained the fundamental rules you have to be familiar with to play at the best online blackjack casinos. To recap:
- The standard wins pay one to one.
- The Blackjack wins pay three to one.
- The dealer has to hit on any hand that is valued at sixteen or less.
- The players always have the option whether to stand, hit or double down.
On the other hand, there are a few more rules you have to get familiar with if you are planning to play Blackjack online for money or Blackjack with a live dealer online.
Double down
It is not necessarily your smartest move to double down on anything different than ten or eleven, there are casinos that will allow you double down no matter what you are holding. On the other hand, there are also some online casinos that limit this option.
Insurance
In case the dealer shows an Ace as her or his face up card, she or he will invite the players to take insurance. This is your protection in situations when the dealer has a card with value ten.
Surrendering
There are some best online Blackjack casinos, where you are able to surrender half of your bet in case you do not like your hand. And again, this option is variable from casino to casino.
Soft seventeen
A soft hand is when you have an Ace. It is named soft because the hand comes with two values – either one plus the other cards or it can be eleven plus the other cards. There are some real money online Blackjack casinos requiring the dealer to hit on a soft seventeen and there are others requiring that they stand. Make sure you are acquainted with the rules well before you play.
Taking even money
In case you hit a Blackjack, but your dealer is showing an Ace, you will push (tie) if she or he also has a Blackjack. If you would not like to risk not winning, you can select to take even money. Instead of getting three to two, you will get one to one when being paid.
The Types of Blackjack
In addition to the traditional option of Blackjack, a lot of the best online Blackjack casinos provide variations of this game, these being among the most common:
The Blackjack surrender
This variation of the game is played out in the same way as the regular option, except that with Blackjack surrender you have the option to surrender after the initial two cards are dealt. If you choose this option, you will recover half of your stake.
The Blackjack switch
This is a curious variation with some new twists on the regular game. In Blackjack switch, the player plays two hands simultaneously, and after the initial four cards are dealt she or he has the option of switching the top card from each hands in order to try and enhance the probability of winning. There is also the super match side bet that pays out if the initial four cards that are dealt to the player have a pair, two or three of a kind.
The perfect Blackjack
This version of Blackjack online for money allows players to make a side bet on whether either the dealer or they or both will be dealt 2 of the same cards. In case the initial two cards are a perfect pair, which means that they are a pair in the same suit – in this case, the payout can be as much as twenty-five to one.
How to Select the Best Online Blackjack Casino
Once you have selected Blackjack as your chosen game, your next step is to discover the real money online Blackjack site that suits your interests and needs. Below, we evaluate some of the features that need to be considered, so make sure that your selected casino complies to the provided information before you decide to make your initial real money investment.
Gigantic bonuses
A lot of the best online Blackjack casinos attract players by providing gigantic welcome bonuses for registering at their site. In most of the bigger bonus offers you will find the matching of some or all of your first deposits by the casino, in some cases up to as many as your initial five deposits. As you might think, this may lead to some quite substantial bonus packages, although it depends on the player to make equally big deposits in order to get the best out of the particular offer. On the other hand, it is possible to discover casinos online, which provide no deposit bonuses when you register, although such offers are in most cases between ten and twenty dollars rather than the thousand and more offers that come with your deposits.
Safety and security
When you start playing Blackjack online for money, it is essential that you play in a casino that can be trusted. It is pointless to win big at some Blackjack table only to discover that the particular casino is reluctant to pay you out. Any casino online with a good reputation will be licensed and also regulated in order to ensure that all games are fair and that this casino will act in an honorable and unbiased manner to its users. You can check further down on this page to see where the particular casino is regulated and whether it is approved by eCOGRA, meaning that there has been independent testing of the games for ensuring fairness. All of the best online Blackjack casinos we have recommended on this page are trustworthy and credible which means that you can be confident that we point out our readers only to the best-betting sites online.
The variety of games
The larger internet casinos will in most cases offer a choice of various Blackjack games, so genuine fans of the game will be looking for casinos providing options such as Switch, Pontoon, Perfect Blackjack, Surrender and multi-hand games. The traditional form of Blackjack provides a lot of excitement on its own, but different versions of the game let players to get profit from various side bet options, as well as providing some alternative gameplay features like the ones mentioned here on this page.
The percentage of payout
Blackjack is certainly a game with one of the smallest house edges among all internet casino games, and this is the reason why it is the favorite one for the smart gamblers. By employing a proper strategy, the players can diminish the casino edge to nearly zero. It is crucial to be cautious of some of the side bets that are offered because these may not offer the same value as the regular game. It is possible to discover Blackjack games that come with a house edge of only 0.05 percent if you employ the proper fundamental strategy, and if you take advantage of our comprehensive tips below you can make the odds even better for you.
How to win Playing Blackjack at the Best Online Blackjack Casinos
Blackjack comes with certain difficulties, but you can overcome them if you:
Have an understanding of the rules
You must never even think about going to a virtual table for Blackjack before you are completely certain that you know how the game works. If you do not understand the Blackjack rules entirely, you can as well simply flush your cash away, as Blackjack, unlike roulette, is not a game of chance. A proper knowledge of the game’s mechanics is necessary. Keep in mind that various options of the game will have different rules, which will largely influence your probability of success, so it is strongly advisable to understand the rules of any version of this game, and also try several practice hands prior to playing for real money.
Have an Understanding of Card Values
Most of the Blackjack’s card values are pretty much self-explanatory, but there are a few cards that can trick beginners with their value. In the game of Blackjack, ten, J, Q and K all come with exactly the same ten points value, the face cards’ pictures do not influence their worth. In Blackjack, Aces come with an unique value, because they can be worth either one or eleven – it depends on which would benefit you in a particular situation. An A5 starting hand will come with a value of six or sixteen. In case the next card drawn is nine then the Ace becomes one, and the total value becomes fifteen. In case you draw a three instead, then the Ace will be used instead of eleven in order to make a strong hand of nineteen. Usually, a starting hand with an Ace is known as a soft nineteen, and this is an indication that the Ace is featured.
Fundamental Strategy
We wrote that you need to make a decision with each hand you are dealt. Do you stand? Hit? Split? Double down? Understanding it all can be a little difficult, but there is good news. In fact, we will provide you with a “cheat sheet” for Blackjack strategy that gives you an information what exactly should be done if you are not sure how to play.
Before you get this printed out, you have to know that most brick-and-mortar casinos will not welcome the cheat sheet to your table at all. Actually, it is not against the rules to have this information, but casinos are not very fond of players bringing it to the table. On the other hand, it would not be a problem at all whenever you are playing at the best online Blackjack casinos. No one will stop you from using a strategy guide for Blackjack, so just go ahead and use it.
More Advanced Tips About the Best Online Blackjack Casinos
It is quite likely that you have heard that in Blackjack, counting cards is illegal. Well, this is wrong. Counting cards in Blackjack is not against the law, as long as your one and only tool for counting is your brain. If you take an advantage of a computer or other kind of electronic device, this is cheating – in this case you can be thrown out of the casino. Fortunately, you should not worry about that, when you are playing at the best online Blackjack casinos for real money.
Maybe you have not heard about counting cards. Briefly explained, you use a quick math in order to figure out whether you must keep your bets low or bet more on a hand. There are plenty of various methods of card counting, and you can see detailed information about them on our card counting page. But if you are interested in Hi-Lo, here you can see a basic strategy about it.
Each card in Blackjack comes with a value. And this does not mean the face value, such as the six on six of diamonds. Here we are discussing the three numbers you will use for card counting. These are minus 1, zero and one, and here you can see how the deck’s cards are valued:
- When there is a brand new deck, begin your count at zero. As the felt is hit by a card, alter your count based on the cards’ value. It means that if a three hits, you would add 1 to your count. In case a six hits, you would add 1 again. In case ten hits, you would subtract one.
- While you are doing the card counting, observe the number of cards that hit the table. This is essential when you are playing in a casino at a table that comes with a multi-deck shoe (though this is not important when you play Blackjack online for money).
- In every deck, there are fifty-two cards, so after fifty-two cards have hit the felt, you should reset your count. In order to do this, you use your current count (the number you get when you add and subtract ones and zeros)and divide it by the total of decks that remain in the shoe. You should do this every fifty-two cards.
That is everything about basic Blackjack card counting strategy. A higher count means there is a higher probability to be dealt a face card or to hit a Blackjack. A lower count means there is a higher probability to get unfavorable cards. You can use this important information in order to win big at the tables.
Frequently Asked Questions About Blackjack
Blackjack is already one of the already traditional casino choices that you will surely see at all best online Blackjack casinos, but in some cases, you will find a new feature you are not familiar with. Because of this, we have compiled the following list of frequently asked questions so you can pretty much focus on having fun with your game and leave any questions that arise behind.
How can I discover a real money online Blackjack casino with a good reputation?
The initial place to look is on the current page. We do a comprehensive research of every Blackjack casino online in order to make sure it offers the highest payouts, the top graphics, wonderful bonuses and security and safety for your protection. Do not rely on the result of an ordinary Google search.
What is needed so I can play Blackjack online?
You just need a computer or mobile internet device and also an internet connection. That is all that is required to begin playing. You will also need to download the software the casino uses, and for iPhone and Mac users, you can play at the best online Blackjack casinos offering no download, web-based software platforms.
Where can I get Blackjack software that I can use on my computer?
You can download every Blackjack casino software at the particular casino. These kinds of software are not interchangeable, so if you would like to play at another real money online Blackjack casino, you need to download its software too. You are also able to play at no download casinos online, but in that case, you still need to sign-up first. Do not be concerned about it, the sign-up process takes just a few minutes and is completely free.
Am I able to play online Blackjack for free?
Yes, in fact, most of the best online Blackjack casinos for real money also provide free games, so you can get familiar with the game, make your own strategy and enjoy playing without putting your money at risk. On the other hand, despite that the games feel, sound and look exactly like the real money versions, you will not be able to get any of the winnings you accumulate.
What is the meaning of the expression “bust”?
If the total number of your cards is over twenty-one, it is said that you have “bust” and your hand is folded and you lose your bet. Under the same conditions, the dealer can also bust and this is a very good thing for you.
What is the meaning of the expression “hit”?
Whenever a new card is drawn by you and added to your hand, it is said that you “hit”.
What is the meaning of the expression “insurance”?
Insurance is a side bet that could be up to half of your original wager, and you can make it when the “upcard” of the dealer is an Ace. If your dealer has a natural twenty-one, your insurance bet will pay out at two to one.
What is the meaning of the expression “push”?
The “push” is a tied hand causing the return of your original bet to you.
What is the meaning of the expression “surrender”?
You surrender when you “fold”. There are some tables allowing surrender and there are some, where surrendering is not allowed. This may sound a bit negative, but it is not always a bad thing. When there is an allowance for an early surrender, you are able to surrender your hand if your dealer gets blackjack on the initial deal, and just lose half your bet instead of losing all of it.
Is it a better choice to surrender early if I do not get good cards?
In case you surrender early you lose just half of your bet, so in the long run, it is quite sensible to leave if you have bad cards. On the other hand, it always bears some risk, because what appear to be quite bad hands can also win if played right and if the dealer busts. On the casino floor, there are no sure things.
When it comes to winning odds for the best online Blackjack casinos, are they the same as those in the traditional brick-and-mortar casino Blackjack?
Overall, internet casinos have the same rules for Blackjack as traditional casinos, which means that you can use the same strategy. Moreover, loyalty programs and bonuses provide you with the opportunity to make up for the built-in house edge. The fact that many players will lose in the long run does not mean that you also will.
Is there a manipulation of the Blackjack games?
In fact, there is not. All real money online Blackjack casinos are regulated by all countries where the sites are allowed. You can use our reviews in order to discover your favorite casino for Blackjack and simply avoid the unwanted alternatives.
Is it possible to count cards when I play Blackjack online?
It is possible, but it is also difficult, and in reality even impossible to do that at Blackjack casino online, because of the computer’s speed. Your edge when you play against multi-deck games is, in general, less than one percent, without mentioning the fact casinos online automatically reshuffle the deck (digitally) between each hand.
Is the game of Blackjack based purely on luck or a strategy can be used for enhancing the odds of online winning?
There are a lot of useful strategies for playing Blackjack, both off and online. You are able to, and must use all of the popular strategies for Blackjack at Blackjack casinos online. You will not be able to gain an edge over the house, but you will be able to reduce the house edge to a point where your game is almost perfectly fair.
Glossary of Terms Related to the Best Online Blackjack Casinos
- Bankroll – This is the total amount of all money available to you for gambling purposes. Keep this money separate from your college fund.
- Burn card – This is the initial card that is drawn from the deck’s top. The expression is used because the card is “burned” (or removed from the deck) in order to mess up the cards order and foil cheating attempts.
- Bust – This is a hand which value is over twenty-one. With this hand, you automatically lose your bet, and it could only be achieved after “hitting”. In all cases, a bust is your fault, since your initial two cards could never have a value of over twenty-one.
Counting of cards – A possibly very effective system of cards tracking of those cards remaining in a Blackjack deck in order to determine the probability of the dealer’s busting. Card counting never works online.- Deck penetration – This is the percentage of cards that have been used in play since the previous shuffle. An essential information for the card counters.
- Double down – This is the choice to double your initial bet (usually with a strong hand) with the only limitation that you have to accept exactly one more card. This rule cannot be applied to a hand containing more than two cards.
- Face cards – These are the Jacks, Kings and Queens in a deck.
- The flat betting – This is when you bet the same for every hand. It does not have a variation in the size of bets. Usually perceived as a bad strategy, although it is sensible in case you are not counting cards.
- The Griffin book – This is a listing of already known card counters (also referred as the black book) circulating among security casino employees in traditional land based casinos. It is named after the Griffin investigations: the company that has published this document and put it into circulation. Let us proceed with our guide to the best online Blackjack casinos.
- The hard hand – This is a hand that could only have one value – either not having any Aces or if it is a hand with a value high enough so any Aces could only be worth one.
- The heads up – This is when there is just one player at the Blackjack table. Most of the online games are played heads up.
- The hit – This is when you request an extra card from your dealer and hope for enhancing your Blackjack hand.
- The house edge – The statistical advantage of the house. When all other things are equal, the lower house edge is better from the perspective of the player. In Blackjack, the house edge depends on your playing ability.
- The natural – A hand not requiring any action in order to be worth twenty-one. It contains only two cards. This hand cannot possibly lose.
- The paint – This is a slang expression that players at the best online Blackjack casinos use for referring to face cards.
- The push – This is when you tie with a non-busted hand with your dealer. The result is neither a loss nor a win.
- The soft hand – This is any hand containing one or more Aces that could be worth either one or eleven. Because there is some flexibility with this hand, it serves as a protection from busting after hit.
- The up card – This is the card of the dealer that faces up. It gives a useful information for any player who wants to follow a general strategy or count her or his cards, because it gives you an information about the prospects of the house.
- The surrender – Approaching the end of our comprehensive guide for the best online Blackjack casinos, we should say that this is the decision for forfeiting a Blackjack hand and have half of your bet returned back to you. This action cannot be performed after any other of the actions (doubling down or hitting) It is simply based on getting a bad hand at the beginning.
Learn More About the Game
- Learn New Shuffling Tips and Techniques (How to Handle the Deck of Cards)
- Taking a Hit – New Blackjack Odds (Further Tilt Advantage Toward the House)
