What are the best strategies for beating the house edge in blackjack?

“Hey, I’m an expert in casino gaming. ” Of course you can’t win at blackjack – in the long run. But you can minimize your losses by using basic strategy (the chart that tells you what to do based on the dealer’s up card). That reduces the house edge to under 0. 5%. Card-counting is possible, but it requires discipline (you have to keep track of high/low cards remaining in the deck to know when to bet) and is illegal in most casinos. Table rules are also important: find tables that use a single deck and allow doubling after splitting and hitting on a soft-17. And know how much money you’re willing to lose before starting to play. Even with all these techniques, you’ll still lose in the long run – so don’t quit your day job!

But there’s not much you can do about blackjack. Basic strategy – knowing when to fold, raise, check, and bluff – will reduce the house advantage to about 0.5%, but that’s about as good as you are going to get. Card-counting can help, but you have to be willing to count cards and risk being barred from every casino in town. And never, ever make an additional side bet. It’s a sure way of losing money.