At the heart of blackjack is a simple question: how many rounds of card-drawing does the dealer have to complete before the player can win? This is known as the “house edge.” In most games, the dealer has an edge of about 0.
5%. That means for every 100 hands played, the house will earn 50 dollars while the player will earn 50 dollars.
There are a few ways to increase this edge in blackjack. The first is to get more cards than the dealer. This is accomplished by either getting a “natural” (a face card that ranks as one through ten) or getting an Ace high.
The second way to increase the dealer’s edge is to get better cards than the other players. This can be done by hitting on soft 17s or 19s, or by holding two 10s or a Jack and an 8 or 9.
The third way to increase the house edge in blackjack is to play with someone who has an advantage over you. This might be someone who routinely gets Aces high, for example.
In these cases, it pays to stick with games where the house edge is already high (such as at Las Vegas casinos), as playing with someone who has an edge will only make your losses worse.
