There are over 3,000 videos on YouTube.com that will guide you on your blackjack learning quest. YouTube is a valuable tool when it comes to many things, such as; learning an instrument, watching fuzzy animals doing cute things, and even getting a recipe or culinary trick from professional chefs.

The best thing about YouTube is it is completely free.  If you are asked to buy a subscription, or pay for a video, you are watching the wrong clips. There are promotional videos out there that want you to buy blackjack strategy software, this is not necessary. There are plenty of free videos that can provide you with all of the information you need to know, whether it is learning different varieties of blackjack to play, or mastering a certain skill, such as card counting.

Some of my favorites are BeatingBlackjack and TheCasinoGuru.  They are just a couple of regular guys who are very passionate about the game of blackjack.

When searching how various blackjack strategies, be sure to include the words: “How to.” This will narrow your search, and only give you tutorial videos. Just typing in blackjack gives you anything from clips of movies to music videos from the 80s.

Whether you are practicing for your trip to Vegas, or just getting some quick pointers in between games when playing at a Top Online Casino, YouTube videos are a great tool.

Kind of like how soft hands require a little extra thought to play at first, so too do pairs in blackjack. The biggest trap in dealing with a pair is the just knowing that it is a pair, and that you have an extra playing option that is not available with hands that are not pairs.

Because of having this extra playing option to split a pair into two new hands and possibly win twice as much in a single round, players make the mistake of splitting every pair. Unfortunately this is not good blackjack strategy.

Just because it is a power and the player has the power to split it does not mean that every pair should be split.

For example a pair of 5s and a pair of 10s should not be split. The pair of 5s can be played like a hard 10 and be doubled down on. Doubling on a pair of 5s has better odds of winning and making a profit than splitting the 5s does. Likewise, a pair of 10s is stronger as a hard 20 than split. This is because there are only two hands with which the dealer can beat you with: hitting to 21 or having a natural blackjack.

But then there are pairs that should always be split simply because the player has a better chance of building two stronger hands than beating the dealer by standing on the pairs. Those two pairs are a pair of Aces and a pair of 8s. It is more advantageous to split those two pairs.

Basic strategy is a good pair splitting strategy tool. It should be used as the base of your blackjack strategy because it tells players the most advantageous play to make.

Surrender is a blackjack play that should be a part of your blackjack strategy, ready in the wings should you find yourself in a blackjack game that allows for it. In a basic definition, surrender is when a player gives up half of their wager to give up playing out the round. It is similar to folding in poker, only your entire wager is not lost.

There are two types of surrender in blackjack: late and early.

Late surrender is only possible after the dealer has checked to see if he has a natural blackjack. If he does not, then players can surrender if they would like. But if the dealer does have a natural blackjack surrender then there is no surrender, and chances are you are going to lose the round. When made at advantageous moments, late surrender can hit the house’s edge for 0.08%.

On the other hand there is early surrender. This type of surrender differs from late surrender in that players can choose to surrender before the dealer checks to see if he has a natural blackjack. Even if he is showing an Ace and your hand is one that basic strategy says to surrender, you can still surrender and keep half of your wager. And you have the satisfaction of hitting the house edge for 0.6% as well.

And speaking of basic strategy and knowing when to surrender, those times are as follows:

Hard 15 versus a dealer 10
Hard 16 versus a dealer 9, 10 or Ace

The important thing to understand about surrender and your blackjack strategy is that you should only surrender when it is advantageous to do so. Surrendering just because you do not like the cards you have been dealt is not a reason to do so. Keep it in your blackjack strategy to only surrender when those four hands and dealer up card combinations are on the table.

But there are other blackjack plays out in there and they do offer benefits that basic plays do not. Again, this is like how you can dive for diving sticks in the deep end of the pool when you really cannot in the shallow end.

One of those other blackjack plays is called double down. With this play, a player doubles that amount of his original wager. So if you were playing blackjack online and were wagering $10 on a hand and wanted to double down, your wager would increase to $20.

Once the wager has been doubled the player only receives one more card before having to stand. There is no more hitting after you double down. It is a play to end your turn.

But it is not a bad play. In fact, it is highly advantageous to use when used at the right moments. And such moments are not difficult to know. All a blackjack player needs to do is look on a basic strategy chart to know when the best times to double down are.

What makes doubling down so advantageous is that when you win you receive the same amount that you would receive if you had won two rounds. This is because your payout is based on that $20 and not the $10, even though you only have one hand on the table.

Because you are making more money in the payout than you would normally have made, the house’s edge is hit harder. Doubling down at the right moments will knock 1.6% off of the house edge. That is how important this play is.

Follow a basic strategy chart to know the best times to double down, and enjoy receiving a larger payout and knowing that you have knocked the house’s edge down. So do not be afraid of the deep end of the pool, swim out and start doubling down

One of the biggest hits to a player’s blackjack odds comes from the payouts offered by these blackjack variations. Whereas in regular online blackjack games, a natural blackjack receives a 3-2 payout, in the majority of variations the blackjack payout is an even money payout.

And an even money blackjack game will take 2.27% off of a player’s blackjack odds. If you are playing according to basic strategy, the house’s edge will go from 0.5% back up to 2.77%. Playing in a game with an even money payout like that is only handing your edge right back to the house.

Another common rule found in blackjack variations pertains to doubling down. Many variations only allow players to double down on 9s, 10s or 11s. This impacts the player’s blackjack odds in a negative way again, taking 0.18% away from the player’s odds.

Typically doubling down can take 1.6% from the house’s edge. That is a big hit to their edge. And that is why many blackjack variations will only allow doubling down on 9s, 10s and 11s only.

The key thing to understand about blackjack variations is that they were created to take players’ money faster. And while they can be fun to play from time to time, they should only be played for fun in practice modes so as not to risk losing any money; or to play blackjack variations at low stakes. That is how you handle your blackjack strategy in regards to blackjack variations.

We will start at the beginning. In a casino blackjack is played at a table with up to six other players, for a total of seven players. When playing blackjack online, you would be playing one-on-one with the dealer. This difference affects your rate of play.

Online blackjack tends to be played at a faster rate because it is just you and the dealer. In order to not let this impact your blackjack odds, slow down your rate of play—play slower and take breaks. It will have the same impact of playing with other players because in a casino, the more players there are at the blackjack table the longer a round takes and your rate of play drops.

Another difference: at some tables surrender is allowed. This is advantageous to players as they can bow out of a round losing only half of their wager rather than all of it. Surrender is not offered in online blackjack.

Because this is a house rule there really is not a way for online blackjack players to compensate for it, other than playing according to basic strategy every time.

All this sounds like there is no advantage to playing online blackjack, but it does have some. For one thing you can play for free, which you will never find in a brick and mortar casino. There is also the aspect of convenience that comes from playing on a computer; as long as you have internet access, you can play blackjack online.

Knowing the differences between playing blackjack at an online casino and a brick and mortar casino helps to avoid mistakes made from being unfamiliar with one or the other. It never hurts to keep yourself informed.

What does that 0.5% translate to in chances of winning a round of online blackjack? It means that blackjack players can expect to win around 54% of the rounds of online blackjack. This is an approximation. This does not mean that you will win exactly 54 rounds of blackjack out of every 100, but it does give you an idea of what sort of winning odds you have in online blackjack.

But notice that even with basic strategy, the house still has something of a house edge over the blackjack player. And that is why a player of online blackjack can only expect to win around 54% of the games they play, rather than an even 50 / 50 of games.

But considering that other online casino games carry odds of around 8% to 12% (online slots games) or 5.26% (American Roulette), that 0.5% that online blackjack with basic strategy is really not too bad at all. It certainly explains why online blackjack is one of the most popular online casino games out there.

And because the house edge can be dropped to around 0.5%, giving players that approximate 54% of wins, is a very good reason for using basic strategy when playing online blackjack.

When it comes to blackjack strategy and stiff hands the best course of action to take is to follow basic strategy and make the play that has the best statistical chances. Stiff hands require defensive playing, which in most cases with these hands is to stand.

However some of these instances the best play to make is to hit, as odd as that may sound. The reason for hitting is to take your chance of catching a low card. Hitting happens when the dealer has the least chances of busting so as a player you hit since you are damned if you do and you are damned if you do not. A friend of mine put it this way: “If I am facing a loss anyway it is not going to hurt me to try hitting.”

But with hitting comes the chance of busting. The chances of stiff hands busting looks like this:

Hard 16: 61%
Hard 15: 59%
Hard 14: 56%
Hard 13: 52%
Hard 12: 48%

The reason your chances of busting increase is because the greater the hand total, the less amount of cards there are that will not bust your hand.

With a hard 16 there are only four cards in blackjack that will not bust your hand. A hard 15 has five cards that will not bust it; a hard 14 has six cards; a hard 13 has seven; and a hard 12 has eight it could take.

Keep the chances in mind when you decide to hit a stiff hand. And make sure to follow basic strategy when playing blackjack—remember it gives you the best statistical play for your hand, even if you might think it is not the best move. Stick with it and you will lose less over time.

The cause behind this is because the blackjack player has to put out more money, he has to double his wager. If he has wagered $10 on a hand and wants to double down, he has to increase his wager to $20. And not all novice blackjack players are comfortable with this right away.

But they need to become comfortable with this play because it can definitely benefit their blackjack odds. Doubling down in blackjack at opportune times can increase a player’s blackjack odds by 0.9%. That is quite the boost to one’s blackjack odds for one type of play.

The reason for this is because the player benefits when the house has to pay them for winning. When the house wins they do not receive a payout. Every time the house pays you, your blackjack odds go up. And if they have to pay you twice as much, it increases you odds even more.

But you only increase your blackjack odds with a double down if you are making the play at the most advantageous times. And when are those?

It all comes back to basic strategy. A basic strategy chart can tell you when the most opportune times to double down are. Usually it is when you have a 9, 10 or 11 as follows:

9 vs. dealer’s 3-6
10 vs. dealer’s 2-9
11 vs. dealer’s 2-10

If you are still learning your basic strategy, take a chart with you or have it open in a window next to the online casino’s window. Utilizing blackjack tips that go along with basic strategy can help increase your blackjack odds.

Make the most of your bankroll and increase you blackjack odds by knowing when to double down and making a double down when basic strategy tells you to.

While we would all love to know exactly when the dealer will bust, no one can predict exactly when. The best we can do is to know when his chances of busting are higher and lower. It helps to understand how the dealer’s chances of busting impact the play made by the player. But before I discuss that, here are the percentages of when the dealer will bust:

2: 35%
3: 37%
4: 40%
5: 42%
6: 42%
7: 26%
8: 24%
9: 23%
10: 23%
Ace: 17%

Notice how the low to mid cards cause the dealer to have a higher chance of busting. This is because the chances of his hole card giving him a stiff hand that he has to hit will most likely bust him.

Now when we look at a basic strategy chart we see that when a blackjack player has a stiff hand and a dealer’s up card of 2 through 6 you can see that the recommended play is to stand. This is because the dealer has a higher chance of busting with those cards showing. So the player is gambling on standing and letting the dealer bust.

You can also see that with a stiff hand faced with a dealer’s up card of 7 through an Ace, the recommended play is to hit. This is because the dealer has less of a chance of busting and you have a greater chance of losing. This makes it acceptable to hit and try to improve your hand. Even if you do not you can at least say that you tried.

Keep those percents in mind when you are playing blackjack so that you can use that knowledge in your blackjack strategy. It gives you an advantage in that you can use it to affect your plays. It does not matter if you are playing blackjack online or in a regular casino, the dealer’s chances are the same so you can put this knowledge work in both instances.