by 
Blackjack is a game of chance, but skill also plays a big role. While you don’t have a lot of control over the cards you are dealt, you can improve your odds by learning some basic strategy and applying it to your game. The strategies in this guide aren’t foolproof, but they should help you gain some edge against the house.
The first thing you should understand about blackjack is that a dealer’s exposed card plays a major part in the outcome of each hand. This is true no matter what variation of the game you play, but it’s especially important in the newest blackjack games where the dealer has two cards face up instead of one.
To increase your chances of winning, it’s important to know when to hit and when to stand. There are a few key rules to remember, such as standing on a hard 17 or higher against a dealer’s Ace or 10, and splitting with two sevens only when the dealer has a six.
You should also be familiar with the different ways you can play your hand, including doubling down, surrendering, and insurance. These options aren’t available in every blackjack variant, but they should be if you want to maximize your profits.
It is also important to understand the fixed rules that a blackjack dealer must follow. These rules may vary from casino to casino, but most of the time the dealer will receive a card that is facing up (their upcard) and a card that remains hidden (their hole card). Then they must make a decision on their hand according to the rules of the game.
There are many different blackjack strategies out there, and finding the right one for you will take some practice. Some of them are easier to learn than others, but remember that even if you follow the rules exactly, you will not be perfect at the game. It takes years of intentional practice to commit these rules to memory, and if it was easy, Vegas would be full of guys who buy a wallet-sized chart in the gift shop on their last vacation.
Taking the time to study the game and understand the fixed rules will allow you to make better decisions at the table. This will increase your winning streaks and decrease your losing streaks. It’s also helpful to have multiple blackjack strategies in your arsenal so that you can switch between them depending on the situation.
Finally, it’s important to know when to walk away from a table. There are hot tables and cold tables in blackjack, and you can usually tell when a table is running hot by watching how quickly the players are running out of chips. By knowing when to quit, you can save yourself a lot of money in the long run. By following these tips, you can have a much more enjoyable experience playing blackjack and hopefully win some money too.
