The goal of playing at a land-based casino or at SlotoCash is, first and foremost, to have fun. So if there’s a specific game that you prefer, go ahead and play that game. If you enjoy SlotoCash because it's a great online casino slots real money casino, then by all means, play slots. If, however, you look for the thrill of winning money, your best bet is probably blackjack.
Casino advisors recommend blackjack for many reasons – it’s fun, easy to learn, has enough strategies and variations to keep you interested without becoming overwhelming and can be enjoyed by high-rollers and budget gamers alike.
But from a payout perspective, blackjack can’t be beat. It offers some of the best odds in the casino, has a low house edge and delivers a high Return to Player average.
If you’re considering a new casino game, check out blackjack.
Blackjack
Blackjack was one of the first casino games to be featured at the early Italian and French Riviera casinos where it was known as “vingt-et-un” – “twenty-one.” It seems to have been based on the Chemin de Fer card games which date back to the Roman era when, say historians, Romans played the game with wooden blocks that had numbers painted on them. Chemin de Fer was popular during the Middle Ages and was played at the French Royal Court of King Louis XV.
Blackjack started to become popular among the masses when French colonists brought the game with them to North America in the 1600s and 1700s. From early days in New Orleans the game spread to legalized gambling halls in other states and territories. In those early games, only the dealer could double but in most other ways, the game is the same as we know today.
Popularity
The game of blackjack gained popularity because it was both easy and exciting but it has remained a popular betting game for a number of reasons. One of those reasons involves the odds that blackjack offers in comparison to other casino games.
A game’s odds determine your probability of winning or losing in any specific situation. A game’s odds depend on a number of factors, notably on the house edge and the number of decks in use. In blackjack, it’s possible to calculate the odds of winning in any situation.
For instance, if your hand is valued at X points, you can quickly calculate your odds of winning if you take a hit in that situation or stand, thus giving you the edge as you decide what move to make. Knowing those odds means that overall, you have better odds of winning than you would have in a game where every result was random.
For example, if you know that, by taking another card, the odds are high that you will have more than 21 points, you know to refrain from taking that additional card. Now, you’ve increased your chances of winning because you made the right choice at the right time.
So, in our example, if you can see that if you take an additional card your chances of winning will be 30%, you can see that the act will give you a 70% chance of losing and your decision will be better informed. By using strategy you reduce the house edge and up the chances that you’ll win your hands.
Check out the blackjack basic strategy chart to find out what the odds are of each possible move in each possible situation.
RTP
Many casino players play blackjack because they know that the Return to Player in blackjack is relatively high. The RTP indicates the payout that you will get – the percentage indicates the expected return of all wagered money over the long term.
The higher the RTP percentage is of a game, the more beneficial it is to the player. So, for instance, in a game with a 99.64% RTP, if you place a $100 wager, you can expect to get back $99.64. When you combine that information with data on the house edge, you’ll find that the RTP is even more if you’re playing a game with a low house edge.
The House Edge involves the built-in advantage that the casino has over the player. It indicates the percentage of every deposit that the casino can expect to retain in the long term from the player.
The Classic Blackjack variation has the highest RTP at 99.87% while High Streak Blackjack has the lowest RTP at 99.58%. Compared to other casino games however, that’s still pretty good – the average RTP in slots is 96.5%.
Card Counting
Card Counting is a controversial system where you keep track of the cards that have been played and the cards on the table in order to better judge how you should proceed in any given situation.
For instance, if you’re able to ascertain that most of the cards under a value of 6 have already been played, and you need a card of 6 or under in order for your hand to remain under the maximum of 21 points, you can see that your odds of getting the card that you need are low so you’ll be better able to decide to stand on your existing hand which increases your odds of winning.
Most land-based casinos restrict card counters from playing blackjack but it’s not easy to determine who is counting cards. In addition, if you’re playing online, the online casino can’t catch you counting cards which enables you to proceed. Card-counting is difficult and complicated but if you think that you’re up for it, give it a whirl!
Playing Smart
Probably the easiest thing that you can do to play smart blackjack is to do a simple survey of the various blackjack variations. Find out which ones have the lowest house edge, delivering the best odds, RTP, to players.
