Other resources include the book Play to Win by Kenny Einiger, the tournament strategy articles by tournament experts in my Blackjack Insider Newsletter (you can search the archives of newsletters for tournament strategies on www.bjinsider.com), and the articles and message board on www.blackjacktournaments.com (hosted by Ken Smith). It's always best for beginners to start with low limit tables to learn the basic strategies of blackjack before hitting the high-stakes rounds. If the total of your cards equals 9 or lower, you should hit. If you have a total of 10 or 11, you should double your bet if your total is more than the dealer's revealed card.

Many gamblers dream of getting rich through casino games. They envision hitting a big jackpot or experiencing a hot run that earns them $1 million or more.

Of course, winning seven figures is much easier to do in your dreams. The casino holds an edge in every game, meaning they’re more likely to win in the long run.

Therefore, satisfying your casino fantasies all begins with choosing games that have good odds. And blackjack is definitely among the best when it comes to odds.

Some blackjack games only have a 0.5% house edge or less, depending upon the rules. While this still gives casinos an advantage, it also provides you with a better chance to win.

This game even features advantage play methods that allow you to gain the edge. When done right, you can make lots of money through these strategies.

But do advantage play techniques, or even blackjack’s low house edge allow you to win $1 million? Find out as I cover different ways that you can win big through this game.

1- Blackjack Progressive Jackpots

The most realistic way for the average blackjack player to win $1 million is by hitting a huge progressive jackpot.

Winning a blackjack jackpot involves playing a game that offers a progressive payout on the side. Side bets require between a $1 and $5 wager.

The rules for how you win the jackpot vary based on the exact variation you’re playing. But the general theme is that you need to combine certain card values and suits between your first two cards and the dealer’s up-card.

For example, you may need an ace, king, and queen of diamonds (a.k.a. royal flush) between the dealer’s upcard and your first two cards.

This is how one man hit a jackpot worth $1,044,822 at Caesars Windsor casino in October 2018.

The man, whose first name is Peter, made a $5 side bet and got a diamond blackjack royal flush. This specific hand delivered 100% of the progressive jackpot to Peter.

This brings me to another point in that blackjack progressive jackpots can deliver varying amounts of the prize based on your hand.

For example, you may win 10% of a jackpot if you get a royal flush in another suit. But you have to get a royal in a specific suit to earn 100% of the prize.

The advantage to playing for progressive blackjack prizes is that you don’t need any skill to win. Instead, you simply make the require side bet and hope that luck favors you.

The downside is that your odds of winning a big jackpot are very slim. Progressive prizes are essentially the slot machines of table games.

I’m not saying that you should completely avoid blackjack progressive jackpots—especially when there’s a seven-figure prize on the line. But don’t expect to win any time soon.

2- Card Counting

Card counting is perhaps the most famous advantage play method in all of casino gambling. This technique has been featured in plenty of movies, including 21, Holly Rollers, Rain Man, and The Hangover.

These films make it seem like anybody who knows how to count cards can make a killing. But the truth is that most card counters only earn above the average salary.

That said, you need to grind for years in order to make $1 million through card counting. But if you have patience and are willing to learn the craft, then you can make a nice living until you hit a lofty goal.

How To Win Big In Blackjack

The first thing you need to consider before counting cards is your bankroll size. The more money you start with, the less chance that you’ll lose your funds and have to start over.

Ideally, you’ll begin with at least a $25,000 bankroll as a solo counter. Blackjack card counting teams should have closer to $50,000 in order to be saved.

But some people have experienced success when starting out with $10,000 or less.

The next step is to actually learn how to count cards. You can use a variety of systems to keep an accurate count.

But the Hi-Lo is one of the best card counting strategies in terms of both accuracy and ease of use. Here’s a quick overview of how the Hi-Lo strategy works:

• You assign a point value to cards.
• 2-6 = +1
• 7-9 = neutral
• 10-A = -1
• You add up the point values by watching every card that’s dealt.
• You continue counting until the shoe is reshuffled.
• You bet more with a positive count, because you’re more likely to get a blackjack thanks to extra aces and 10s.

Next, you want to know when the count is favorable enough to increase your bets. The “true count” and number of decks (in multi-shoe games) are the two factors that help you make these decisions.

The “running count” is your total count without considering how many decks are remaining. The true count does factor in the number of decks.

Here’s an example of coming up with a true count:

• Your running count is +8.
• There are 2 decks remaining.
• 8/2 = +4 true count

The difficulty here is estimating exactly how many decks are remaining before calculating your true count. After all, casinos don’t give you any indication on how many decks are left in the shoe.

You instead need to visually monitor the shoe and make an educated guess. You’ll become better at figuring this out the longer you play and continue counting cards.

It’s also important to consider deck penetration or the percentage of decks that are dealt before the dealer reshuffles. The more deck penetration there is, the more confident you can be in a favorable true count.

It’s best to look for games where the casino allows at least 70% deck penetration before reshuffling the shoe. But you can still be successful if you have at least 65% penetration in a 6-deck shoe.

The final step of using the Hi-Lo is knowing how much to increase your bet by based on the true count. This is referred to as bet spreading, which measures the distance between the table’s minimum bet and your highest wager during a favorable count.

If you bet $75 on a $5 blackjack table, for example, you’re spread is 1-15. The 15 amount comes from multiplying 75 by 5.

Now that I’ve covered the basics, here’s an example on how you can calculate optimal bets:

1. Determine a unit size (e.g. $25).
2. Figure out your true count (e.g. +4).
3. Subtract 1 from the true count (4 – 1 = 3).
4. Multiply this number by your unit size (25 x 3 = 75).
5. Your bet should be 3 units, or $75 (i.e. 1-15 spread on a $5 table).

The great thing about card counting is that it’s a completely legitimate technique that’s been tested and proven over time. As long as you have strong card counting skills, you can make guaranteed profits.

The downside is that you’ll only gain between a 0.5%and 1.5% edge over the house when counting. This means that you’ll experience plenty of volatile swings, making it hard to predict when you’ll profit.

Another drawback is that counting cards is a grind. Therefore, it may take you 10 years or longer to accumulate $1 million in card counting profits.

Also, note that casinos have gotten very good at catching counters based on their bet spread. You need to avoid having crazy bet spreads (e.g. 1-30) and find lenient casinos in order to avoid getting kicked out.

3- Hole Carding

Blackjack dealers in American casinos deal themselves one face-up (upcard) and one face-down card (hole card).

These dealers also peak at their hole card whenever their upcard is an ace or 10 value. They do this to check for a natural blackjack, which would automatically end the round.

You’re not supposed to see the dealer’s hole card when they peek. Therefore, you’re making decisions based on incomplete information.

But what if you could see the dealer’s hole card? This is the idea behind hole carding, where you try to get a glimpse of the dealer’s face-down card.

The exciting thing about hole carding is that it can offer you up to a 13% advantage. This crushes the 0.5% to 1.5% edge that card counting offers.

Another good thing about hole carding is that it’s easy in theory. All you’re trying to do is see the dealer’s hole card value.

The difficult part, though, is finding a dealer who consistently reveals their face-down card’s value. These dealers, who are referred to as the “flashers,” are usually new, poorly trained, or just don’t care about their jobs.

Once you find a flasher, you want to sit at either first base (first seat to dealer’s left) or second base (first seat to dealer’s right). These are the only seats that give you a realistic chance to see the dealer’s hole card when peeking.

The seat should depend upon whether the dealer is right or left-handed. First base offers you an easier chance to see a right-handed dealer’s hole card, while third base gives you the best chance to see a left-handed dealer’s card.

You also want to sit at a natural angle that still allows you to be more level to the table felt. In contrast, slouching or leaning makes it more obvious that you’re trying to see the dealer’s hole card.

Some advantage players also try to avoid making any play that’s obviously bad from a strategy perspective (e.g. doubling down on 7 against a dealer’s 10). Such plays make it easier for casinos to tell what’s going on and determine that one of their dealers is a flasher.

The last thing you want is to lose a vulnerable dealer because they’re difficult to find. I’ve seen estimates that suggest only one out of every 200 dealers is a flasher.

The best place to practice hole carding is in Las Vegas, considering how difficult it is to find these dealers. Sin City gives you access to over 100 casinos and three different shifts per venue, giving you plenty of opportunities to find the right dealers.

Considering the huge advantage that hole carding can offer, this is one of the best ways to earn $1 million through blackjack. Therefore, you can theoretically collect seven figures with this technique in just a few years.

The problem, though, is that you’ll spend far more time searching for flashers than actually playing the game and making big profits.

4- Shuffle Tracking

Vegas casinos used to be full of single-deck blackjack tables with good rules, which are perfect for card counting. But they began switching to multi-deck shoes in the 1970safter seeing how many card counters were beating them.

Shuffle-tracking, which refers to tracking specific cards during shuffles, was born during this era. This advantage play technique refers to monitoring and guessing where 10-value cards (high cards) will be in the ensuing round.

Just like card counting, the goal of shuffle tracking is to bet more when the shoe has more high cards. This strategy is much more effective than counting, though, when used correctly.

The premise behind shuffle tracking is that shuffles aren’t as random as they appear. Dealers— in a hurry to keep games moving so the casino profits more— don’t shuffle shoes perfectly.

Many blackjack dealers use a “zero shuffle,” where cards are separated into piles. The shuffling is done between the piles (i.e. the dealer grabs each pile and riffles them).

Your mission is to track different 10-value cards from the discard tray to the shuffle. Being able to guess which pile the king of hearts is in, for example, allows you to make larger bets in anticipation of getting a natural blackjack.

Card counting comes into the equation when trying to figure out what card values remain based on your count. When you add shuffle tracking to a positive count, you can more precisely guess when certain high cards will be dealt.

The main problem with shuffle tracking is that it’s harder to execute than counting. You have to be great at watching the cards as they’re shuffled and know card counting on top of this.

It’s already challenging to count cards and keep up with the speed of the dealer/game. It’s only more difficult when you’re also visually tracking cards.

Expert shuffle trackers spend countless hours developing their craft. They need to be expert cards counters, then take things further by also being great at tracking high cards.

The payoff is great, though, because great shuffle trackers can gain anywhere from a 10% to 50% advantage.

The latter range makes this strategy even better than hole carding in terms of trying to win $1 million. Assuming you become an amazing shuffle tracker, you could make $1 million in as little as 2-3 years.

5- Ace Sequencing

Ace sequencing is a card tracking technique that begins with memorizing what cards are on top of the ace in the discard pile.

You place bigger bets when you see these cards come out in anticipation of an ace being dealt soon. This is another strategy where you’re looking to bet more in hopes of getting a natural blackjack, or at least aces that give you an edge in regular hands.

The biggest skill to ace tracking is being able to remember card sequences in each shoe. Top players can remember a large number of card sequences.

Here’s a synopsis on how you can use this strategy to win big:

1. Watch discards so that you can guess where card clumps surrounding an ace will appear after a shuffle.
2. Watch where aces go into the discard tray.
3. Remember 2-3 cards that are placed on top of the ace (a.k.a. “key cards”) in the discard tray.
4. Increase your bet size when you see key cards come out in the next round.

The biggest downside to ace sequencing is that it’s perhaps the hardest advantage play technique to learn. It doesn’t help matters that this is one of the least-discussed blackjack strategies.

However, knowing when an ace will be dealt gives you up to a 50% edge over the casino. Therefore, ace sequencing can be just as good as shuffle tracking when trying to win $1 million.

6- Playing High Stakes with Great Rules

One more way to win seven figures through blackjack is playing for high stakes with great rules involved.

High stakes allow you to quickly profit on a hot streak. Getting the best rules in your favor lowers the house edge even further and boosts your chances of winning.

Casinos, of course, want to maintain their edge in any situation, because this is how they make their money. But they’re willing to negotiate more with high rollers.

Don Johnson is the ultimate example of a high roller using his leverage to whittle down the house edge. During the early 2010s, Johnson negotiated for such favorable rules that he actually gained a long-term edge over casinos.

A 20% loss rebate and free bets after dealer mistakes were key elements that helped Johnson overcome the house advantage.

He was so good at these negotiations and mathematics that casinos didn’t know what hit them. Johnson won a combined $15 million from several casinos before the industry caught on.

No other high roller has ever pulled off what Johnson did. Therefore, I don’t expect any whale to negotiate for such great rules that they actually have the edge.

However, you can at least drop the blackjack house edge below 0.3% if you bet big enough and work out a favorable deal. This puts you on a near-even footing with the casino, meaning you only need a little luck to win big.

Conclusion

Winning $1 million through blackjack is certainly no easy feat. In fact, it’s essentially impossible if you’re playing low stakes and relying on basic strategy.

But certain techniques and formats do give you an opportunity to win seven figures through this game.

Progressive jackpots are the most practical way to win big in blackjack. I say “practical” lightly because your odds are very low of winning a jackpot.

But the good thing about blackjack jackpots is that they’re easy to play for. You merely make your side bet and hope that you get the right card combination.

High rollers also have an easier path to $1 million. They can combine an extremely low house edge with big bets to earn large profits.

The drawback to high roller play is that you’re still at a long-term disadvantage. But the upside is that you can realistically win a fortune on a hot streak.

Card counting is the easiest way to make guaranteed profits in blackjack. But counting also takes the longest of any advantage play technique with regard to making a million.

Ace sequencing, hole carding, and shuffle tracking all give you a far greater edge than card counting. But each of these advantage techniques is much more difficult to master.

In the end, there’s no easy way to earn a $1 million blackjack profit. But the nice thing is that you at least have different options if you’re serious about this goal.

Table Of Contents

Are you looking for the best blackjack strategy to maximise your winning odds when you play online? You'll love these tips.

Finding a way to get higher chances to win at blackjack shouldn't be so hard.

The basic strategy is the best way to play blackjack — and when you combine it with some strategy tips on bankroll management and what to do after you win, you have really reached the maximum you can.

In other words, if you are looking for the best blackjack betting strategy to increase your chances to win, you'll love this guide.

In the parts that follow you will find:

• And lots more

We also put together a collection of the best bonuses to play online. This way, you can use those freebies to test the blackjack basic strategy and all the tips in this article.

Register a FREE account and claim your bonus to play online blackjack!

What this guide is NOT

• A collection of tips to win at blackjack
• A list of systems that promise to make blackjack profitable
• The illusion that you can beat the game

Blackjack is a gambling game where the casino has an advantage. It doesn't matter what approach you take or what blackjack strategy you follow. In the long run, the casino always wins.

Why Follow a Blackjack Betting Strategy?

Let's face it - we have all been there. We have all looked for the best and the most effective strategy to win at blackjack after we lost our first hands online.

With the right blackjack strategy it's possible to increase your winning chances, and that's because blackjack isn't a gambling game like roulette, video poker, or slots.

If you follow the basic betting strategy and you learn how to use the information you have at your disposal, you can reach optimal play giving yourself the best chances to win include in the game.

Professional players have worked hard to 'solve' the game of blackjack and find how to play each hand to get the best winning odds.

They analysed how the number of decks in play affects your chances to win and how you can make the best decision based on the cards you see on the table.

• That's what they call the 'blackjack basic strategy. A list of dos and don'ts where you find exactly how you are supposed to play each and every hand you are dealt.

This is the best strategy for blackjack.

The goal of the blackjack basic strategy isn't to help you win at blackjack every time you play. That's impossible. Instead, it is to help you maximize your winning chances and to minimize your losses.

That's also the goal of this guide. We don't list all the strategies for blackjack out there. Instead, we focus only on the best blackjack strategies that are known to work and should help you get better results when you play.

Starting from the tips and tricks included in our cheat-sheet.

READ ALSO: How to play online blackjack with friends.

What Is the Blackjack Basic Strategy?

Knowing how to manage your money is as important in blackjack as it is in all gambling games. A correct 'bankroll management' is essential when you play — regardless of the blackjack strategies you apply to your games.

Knowing how to bet (and how much) and how to select the right game when you play online blackjack for real money is extremely important.

Once you have those basics covered, you can move into the basic blackjack strategy and learn how you are supposed to invest your money once the dealer gives you the initial two cards.

As soon as the cards reach you and the dealer opens one of their cards, you have to make your first choice. In a game of blackjack, that means you need to pick one of these options:

• Stand
• Hit
• Double
• Split
• Surrender

Do you know why the basic blackjack strategy is also considered to be the best way to discover how to win at blackjack? Because it uses basic logic.

Would you hit if your first two cards gave you 20 points? Of course not.

Would you stand if your starting hand was worth five points? Not a chance.

While these choices are very simple on hands like the ones I use in my example, things get (a lot) more complicated with different cards on the table.

Let me give you a few examples.

• How do you play soft 17 in blackjack?
• When do you hit on a 16?
• What to do with 15 in blackjack?

This is where the basic blackjack strategy comes in to help you get the best chances to win.

This collection of tips shows you the optimal play for every blackjack hands, calculating your winning odds in combination with the dealer's open card.

The basic strategy to win at blackjack has nothing to do with concepts like card counting or any of those tricks some 'clever' players adopt to beat the house.

This is a simple-to-use guideline that shows you exactly how you are supposed to play every possible hand of blackjack. Use it to know when it is recommended to hit, to stand, or to do something else.

Best Way To Win Blackjack

Key:
S = Stand
H = Hit
Dh = Double (if not allowed, then hit)
Ds = Double (if not allowed, then stand)
SP = Split
SU = Surrender (if not allowed, then hit)

A Blackjack Cheat Sheet

To make things even easier for you and help you follow the best betting strategy whenever you play blackjack, we created a quick cheat-sheet with the basic strategy explained in full.

Download the blackjack cheat-sheet (it's free) and print it or save it on your mobile phone to keep it always with you when you play.

The blackjack basic strategy cheat-sheet is 100% legal and you can use it both when you play online and at a brick-and-mortar casino.

A Conservative Blackjack Strategy

Don't play high-stakes games unless you feel ready for them and you have enough money to spend on online games.

If you are reading this blackjack strategy guide and you are a beginner, you should be afraid of high-stakes games.

When you spend too much money on your games, you risk getting the opposite of what you want. You play to have fun and to find out how to get more chances to win at blackjack - and you end broke and frustrated.

The best way to play blackjack is to start with what I call a conservative approach. Because finding the right way top handle betting in blackjack is key to long-term fun.

Like many blackjack strategies suggest, you should increase the stakes only when things go well and any potential losses are compensated by the money you have already won, not the one you might win if you get lucky.

In other words, raise your bet every time you win.

Many players believe wins and losses come in streaks. They think you might lose five or six times in a row — but when you win…you are not going to do it just once.

Obviously, that's not true.

Blackjack is a gambling game and there are no patterns for you to exploit or streaks that you can use to win more money every time you play.

There are, however, smart betting strategies like the basic blackjack strategy that can help you increase the chances of a victory.

With that in mind, a conservative blackjack strategy works like this:

• Start from the lowest bet (e.g. $1)
• Increase your bet by 1 unit only after you win
• Go back to the original bet after you lose

When you use this blackjack strategy, you need to go back to the original bet as soon as you lose one hand. This is the best way to be in control of your money and end a gaming session in the black.

All you need to do is to make the right choices (use the basic strategy) and raise your stakes little by little - but only when you win.

How To Win Big Money In Blackjack

READ ALSO: Bets sites to play live dealer blackjack online.

An Aggressive Approach to Blackjack: the Martingale Strategy

The Martingale betting strategy sits at the opposite side of the spectrum. This is the perfect blackjack strategy for those players who:

• Play blackjack to win a lot of money
• Can afford to lose a lot of money
• Don't fear the swing of big losses

In other words, this is the perfect blackjack strategy for big spenders but isn't one that you should try if you are still a beginner who is looking for ways to learn how to play blackjack.

The Martingale blackjack strategy is expensive. This is a blackjack system that will help you win often - but only when I have a lot of money to invest on your games.

If you can't spend at least $500 on your games - the Martingale is not the best blackjack strategy for you.

But if you do — continue reading to discover how to use this betting strategy to increase your chances to win.

In short:

The Martingale strategy is the exact opposite of the conservative approach to betting in blackjack we have just seen.

When you follow this strategy, you need to double your bet every time you lose. Which, in case of a losing streak, can become very expensive very quickly.

The rationale of this audacious blackjack betting strategy is that you will need only one win to go back to square one and recoup all your losses in one hand.

How To Beat Blackjack

The caveat is: your bankroll needs to be deep enough for you to play and play until that one win comes.

Can You Win At Blackjack

Again, this isn't a betting strategy for beginners. If you decide to try it, make sure your bankroll covers at least 10 consecutive losses from the hand #1.

1-3-2-6 Blackjack Betting System

The 1-3-2-6 blackjack betting strategy is not as exciting as the Martingale strategy, and that's a good thing. This betting strategy doesn't require a huge bankroll and is a lot more suitable for players looking for a way to have better chances to win at blackjack without investing a fortune in the game.

The numbers in the strategy's name indicate the way you should bet after you win a hand of blackjack.

You first winning is the trigger that starts the sequence while your first losing hand is the one that ends everything.

This blackjack betting strategy is built to get the most value out of winning streaks. If you are lucky enough to use it at the beginning of a four-hand winning streak, you are in for a treat.

READ ALSO: How to play blackjack for beginners.

How to Win More Often at Blackjack: A Few Important Tips

We all want to win at blackjack every time we play, but we also know that's impossible.

What is possible, however, is to maximise your chances to win and get better winning odds when you play blackjack online. All it takes a few simple tips.

Follow them carefully, as these blackjack tips are as important as the best blackjack betting strategy.

• Don't spend money on the 'insurance'. The insurance bet is a money-draining option created to confuse beginners. All the best blackjack strategies fail to mention is for one simple reason: no real blackjack player will ever spend their money on it.

• Think about the house edge. Like we said when we went through some of the game's best betting strategies, you can't expect to win at blackjack every time you play.

  Like all other casino games, the house edge is what makes sure that the casino has an advantage over the players in the long run. With that in mind, the next of our blackjack tips is one that can make a great difference for you.

• Set a budget and abide to that. Experienced blackjack players know that you need to set a losing and a winning limit before the first hand is dealt.

  Stop playing as soon as you hit one of them. If you lose and hit your lower limit, take a break and end your session.

  If you win and you hit your highest limit, collects your winnings and leave the table. You can continue to play if you want, but you'll need to set a new bankroll and establish new limits first.

• Don't miss the rules sheet. Trust me, there are more blackjack variations that you will ever play. All of them are based on the same core gameplay — but adopt rules that could break you if you aren't ready for them

  One of the best parts of playing online is that the rules are always available at the table. If you are not sure you know everything about the game you want to play, click on the 'info' icon and read the rules.

• Choose 3:2 over 6:5 payout. Different casinos have different payout policies - and not all of them are great for you.

  Make sure you read the payout table before you begin to play a hand of real money blackjack and always choose the games with the 'regular' 3:2 payout. These are a much smarter choice compared to the 6:5 payout blackjack games you find at some online casino sites.

Use Bonuses to Find Your Favourite Blackjack Strategy

Now that you know what are the best blackjack strategies, there is only one thing left: play a few games online to find out which one works best for you.

Here's what you should fo to get the best results:

1. Base all your decisions on the basic blackjack strategy
2. Pick the betting strategy that suits your bankroll
3. Follow all the blackjack strategy tips above to maximise your chances to win

To help you find the right games and the right betting strategy, we created a list of the best blackjack bonuses on the market.

All the sites you find in the list are licensed, pay winnings fast, and offer lots of blackjack games. Pick the ones with the best offers, register an account (it's always free), and sit at the blackjack table to start an epic battle with the dealer!

How To Play Blackjack And Win