1. When Is The Best Time To Double Down In Blackjack
2. Best Time To Double Down In Blackjack
3. Blackjack Double Up System
4. What Is Double In Blackjack

At the beginning of a Blackjack hand, the dealer gives you two cards, face up. The dealer takes two cards as well, one up and one down. You can choose to Hit, Stand, or Double Down. If the first two cards you receive are of equal value (a 10 and a face card, for example), you will have another option: Split. This is a bad idea as it is better to consider the two 5s like a regular 10 then double down. Conclusion Doubling down is one great strategy to increase one’s winnings in blackjack. However, the opportunity to play that hand is not very common. But when the odds are up, it is best to grab the opportunity and hope to win. Winning at blackjack requires taking advantage of every opportunity the game offers, and one of the most favorable situations for the player is the double down. When you double down, you get to double your original wager in exchange for a single card. Most casinos allow you to double down on any two cards, while some casinos limit your doubling to hands that total 10 or 11. Some casinos even allow players to double down after splitting a pair. Whenever you can, play where the rules are best.

My wife had never played blackjack before, and we were getting ready to go to the casino. She asked me to give her some tips, and my first thought was that I wished she’d told me a month ago. That way, I had time to teach her more. But I told her everything I possibly could in a half hour.

This article is a summary of the advice I gave her. If you want a quick summary of how to play blackjack without losing your shirt, you could benefit from this page. You can also use it as a beginners guide to playing blackjack if you need to help a newbie on their first trip to the tables.

If you’re an experienced blackjack player, this advice is going to sound simple. One of the problems that experienced players have is they forget what beginners don’t know. I struggle with this, so it’s not an insult. You just need to try to put yourself in the beginner’s shoes and start from the beginning.

When you keep things as simple as possible, you don’t run the risk of confusing a new player with too much information. Here are the five simple steps I taught my wife for her first real money blackjack experience.

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1 – Finding a Good Table

It’s easy to get bogged down trying to figure out all of the different blackjack rules variations and how they change the house edge. But when you’re trying to figure out the best way to get started, you need to keep things simple.

Here are the two rules that I told my wife to focus on.

• Play at a table that pays 3 to 2 for blackjack
• Play at a table where the dealer stands on a soft 17

I also told her that if she can’t find a table where the dealer stands on a soft 17, she could ignore that rule.

I understand that if you want to play with a house edge as low as possible, you need to find games with other good rules involving surrender, doubling after splitting, doubling on as many totals as possible, and splitting multiple times. But all of this can quickly get confusing for a new player.

If you’re extremely limited for time, you can drop the second rule and simply make sure you’re getting 3 to 2 on natural blackjacks. The house edge goes up so much when the payout drops to 6 to 5 that you shouldn’t even play.

The difference in house edge between the dealer hitting and standing on a soft 17 isn’t as much, so it’s not as important. Many casinos with several blackjack tables have at least a few tables that pay 3 to 2 and have dealer that stand on a soft 17 rule.

Once you gain some experience at the blackjack tables, I recommend learning about other rules. This will help your long-term results. The best way to get started is to find a 3 to 2 table and start playing.

2 – Never Take Insurance

The second step is to never take insurance. Some dealers call the insurance bet even money because the casino wants you to believe you can break even when you take the bet. The problem is that the only time you break even is when the dealer has a natural blackjack. When the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack, you still play your original bet out and lose the insurance bet.

The truth is that insurance isn’t really part of the regular blackjack game. It’s just a fancy way for the casinos to add a profitable side bet to the base game.

When the casino offers you blackjack insurance, the bet is really whether or not the dealer’s down card is a 10-point value card. Insurance pays 2 to 1, but the deck has nine cards that aren’t worth 10 and four cards that are. This is a ratio of 9 to 4, which is worse than the 2 to 1 payout, making insurance a bad bet.

3 – No Side Bets

Insurance is the most common blackjack side bet, but many casinos have other ones available. As a general rule, all side bets offered in a casino should be avoided. This is true for all of the most common blackjack side bets too.

Stick with the base blackjack game that pays 3 to 2 for natural blackjacks and never make any side bets, including insurance.

4 – Strategy Card

Blackjack is one of the games available in the casino where you can use strategy to alter the house edge. Some plays are easy to figure out, but many of them are difficult to figure out when it comes to the best strategy.

The great news is you can simply use a strategy card at the table. Sometimes, other players frown on players who use a strategy card at the table. But casinos don’t mind as long as you don’t slow the game down too much. And once you learn how to use a strategy card, you can quickly see the best play.

After you use a blackjack strategy card for awhile, you start memorizing the most common plays. This helps you make playing decisions faster.

Sometimes, a blackjack dealer will give you advice. If this advice is about the rules and how to play, you should listen to them. But if a dealer tries to tell you how to play a hand that doesn’t agree with your strategy card, you should politely decline their advice and follow the best strategy.

Here’s a link to some blackjack strategies you can print out and take with you to the casino. If you’re playing real money online blackjack, you can keep this chart beside your computer. You can also buy blackjack strategy cards in most casino gift shops.

5 – Make Minimum Bets

The base blackjack game has a house edge for the casino unless you learn some advantage plays like counting cards. The longer you play and the more you risk, the more you’re going to lose. In games with decent rules, the house edge is less than 1%. Some games have an edge of less than .5%. But you’re still fighting against an edge.

This is why you need to make the table minimum bet and stick with it. Many blackjack players ramp up their bets when they get down, basically chasing their losses. While this works sometimes in the short term, in the long run, it just means they lose more money.

If you’re playing $10 a hand at the blackjack table and play 60 hands in an hour, you’re risking $600. You can expect to lose $6 per hour on average at this rate.

The way to play as long as possible is to bet the minimum amount with the lowest possible house edge. I told my wife to take a break every hour and get a snack or walk around for a few minutes. This is one way to reduce the number of hands you play every hour and reduce the total amount you wager.

Conclusion

The five steps on this page can be covered pretty quickly. You can even write them down on an index card so you can take them along with your strategy card to the casino. By following these steps, you can keep the house edge low and make your bankroll last longer.

These steps also give you a chance to win your first blackjack playing session. The odds are still against you, and you’re going to lose in the long run unless you learn some advantage plays. But this simple system does give you a chance to win some sessions.

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The blackjack strategy of doubling down has gained such notoriety over the years that it has become synonymous with more than just gambling in a casino or online – it is now used as an apt descriptor for any situation where someone takes risks that involve pushing the envelope.

Technically speaking, doubling down in blackjack is a situation where, after you are dealt your two original cards, you decide to double your initial bet in return for a single card – with your option to hit or stay eliminated – in the hope that you will either hit a hand that beats the dealer’s or the dealer will bust when their turn comes. It can be a risky strategy, but it’s a chance you’ll have to take if you want to win at blackjack.

When to Double Down – Rules to Live By

The first rule of doubling down is much the same as the first rule of blackjack – assume any card you can’t see has a value of 10. Counting the four 10s and 12 face cards, there are more cards in the deck that are worth that amount than any other value. Since blackjack is about playing the odds, it’s a rule of thumb you’ll want to follow in any situation, but especially when it comes to doubling down.

Because of that rule, you will only want to double down on a hand where the combined value of your cards is 11 or fewer. That way, no matter what card you’re dealt on your double down, you’ll never have the chance to go over 21, or “bust” as it is more commonly known. You never want to put yourself in a position where you press your bet with the chance of busting.

In some venues, whether at a casino or online, you will only be allowed to double down if you’ve been dealt two cards that combine to equal nine, 10 or 11. In those cases, the decision to double down is made a bit easier. You will only have to look at the dealer’s up card and determine whether they are weak, i.e., showing a number between two and seven. If they have that type of hand, you’ll almost always want to double down.

And, though this rule is a simple one, always remember that once you opt to double down you will only receive one card. Many amateurs make the mistake of thinking that by doubling their bet they will be able to continue pursuing their hand as they normally would. The whole gamble behind a double down is that you’re relying on one more card to make your hand.

Finally, remember that doubling down is one of your best chances to rake in the big money, so you should be looking to do it at every possible opportunity. Winning at blackjack, or really any type of gamble for that matter, is about being aggressive, searching for opportunities where you feel you have an advantage and pressing your bets.

Decide whether to double down based on your hand and the dealer’s face-up card.

When Is The Best Time To Double Down In Blackjack

When to Double Down – Strategy

In more common scenarios where the casino or website do allow double downs on cards of any value, the strategy behind doubling down becomes much more complicated, but also affords you the opportunity to really press your bet when the table is running hot, or the odds or your instincts tell you to do so.

You’re still going to want to look to double down any time you are dealt two cards equaling nine, 10 or 11. In fact, you’ll want to double down every time you are dealt one of those three combinations as long as the dealer’s up card isn’t a 10 or a face card. In the case when the dealer’s up card is worth 10, you should still double down on all 11s, but use your best judgement when you have a total of 10 and avoid it altogether if your hand equals nine.

Doubling down gets really tricky when you have two cards that combine to make a low total or you have an ace and a number card. In both of those cases you are in a position to take a hit without busting and, if the dealer’s up card is anything between two and six, meaning they are in a very good position to bust, you will want to consider doubling down and hoping they go over 21.

However, making that determination can be tricky. If you play by the book, you will want to double down in those situations almost every time, with the idea being that over the course of dozens, hundreds or even thousands of those circumstances you will end up winning. So, playing strictly by the book, you should double down any time the dealer is weak and you can take a hit without busting. But there is more to it than that.

As with many decisions at a blackjack table, you’re going to want to base your choice on both odds and instinct. For instance, if a dealer has been running hot – meaning they haven’t been busting much and have been making good hands even when starting with a bad combination – you might want to avoid doubling down in all but the most advantageous situations.

Best Time To Double Down In Blackjack

Make the choice to double down based on both odds and instinct.

Blackjack Double Up System

Conversely, if the dealer has been running through a string of busts, or you seem to be making winning hands no matter what you’re dealt, you should be looking for any situation where you can double down. Taking advantage of good runs, and holding your bets on bad ones, is as important to winning at blackjack as knowing the rules and the odds.

What Is Double In Blackjack

Doubling Down as a Key to Winning

If you just play blackjack straight and never split (which you can find a guide to elsewhere on this site) or double down, your chances of going home a winner become almost nil. It will require a huge amount of luck, and in the long run it will work against you.

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Unfortunately, many players, especially amateurs, are afraid to press their bet and will eschew the double down even when it is obviously the best option. In the end, if you want to win, you’re going to have to swallow your fear and make the plunge. If anything, you should look at opportunities to double down as your friend.

Blackjack is all about the thrill and the action. The reason you play should be to have fun and, one hopes, make some money – situations that usually go hand in hand. Doubling down will help you accomplish both. Throw caution to the wind, double that bet whenever you have the opportunity and the winds of luck are blowing in your favor, and when the dealer offers to peel that one card off the deck and slide it to you face down, leave it unseen. That way you can watch the action unfold and discover your fate when the time comes to collect your money or deliver your souped up bet into the house’s coffers.