Is there money to be made by playing blackjack online?
There is little doubt that blackjack is one of the most popular casino games out there. With its unique combination of luck and skill, there are few games that can boast of being as interesting. While the game has long been enjoyed in land-based casinos, players can now enjoy live dealer blackjack online, from the comfort of their homes. But what about making money from Blackjack?
While there are opportunities to play free blackjack online, it is when you start to play for real money that things start to get interesting. You may be wondering if there is money to be made in this way and the answer is a resounding ‘Yes’. There are even players out there who make a full time living from playing the game. Of course, to be truly profitable there’s a need to master some of the blackjack strategies that exist so that you can reduce the house edge even further.
Let’s take a look at what makes blackjack the perfect game to make money from and just how much you can win.
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Why blackjack is the best game to make money from
It’s not just that you can make money by playing online blackjack. The truth is that this is the best game to play if that’s what you’re looking to do. You see, all casino games come with a house edge. This relates to the mathematical probability the casino will win and the player will lose their money. While blackjack also comes with a house edge, it is lower than in any other casino game. At times it can be as low as 1% (it can be as low as 0.5% in some instances).
There are key differences between blackjack and casino games the likes of roulette. With roulette, every spin is independent of the next or the one that came before. There is a chance that the ball will repeat its behavior. With blackjack, once a card has been dealt, it is gone from the pack. Depending on the cards that have been dealt, it reaches a point where a player can actually have an edge over the house.
How much do players make?
While there is plenty of money to be made from blackjack, the truth is that you can never really refer to it as a salary. This is because players can see changes to their game and there’s always the chance of streaks, both winning and losing, that have an impact on the money that’s made. That being said, there is a way to work out a player’s average earnings. Let’s assume that a player is betting $100 on a hand, there are two potential outcomes: that $100 is either going to be lost or lead to a win. However, there is still an average value that can be attributed to that hand.
Professional blackjack players make their money by using card counting. If an expected value is positive this means that there are high positive counts. Conversely, if the expected value is negative, there are more negative counts. This knowledge allows players to choose how much to wager.
Here’s an example of how this could work in the real world
- The bet spread is 1-5, so $100 – $500
- The deck penetration is at the 68% mark
- The player plays 180 hands per hour
- the player is using the Hi-Opt II counting system with full indices
- All of this means that the players expected value would be around $390 per hour
How can I make money playing blackjack?
Now that you know that making money from blackjack is indeed possible, you’re probably wondering how you can go ahead and do this yourself. There are numerous ways that blackjack players can increase the profitability of their game. Here’s a look at just a few:
Get to know the basic blackjack strategy first
If you can master the basic blackjack strategy, then you’ll have one of the safest methods of increasing your winning potential. The concept of this strategy is simple, but it may take some time to really get used to implementing it. The basis of it involves listing down all of the actions a player must take based on the hand that they’re holding and the hand that the dealer has.
A strategy chart can be a big help here, but it is much better to memorize this and play in a way that feels more natural. Once you have the strategy working for you, you’ll know when to double down, hit, stand, or anything else. How effective is this basic strategy? Well, implemented correctly, it can reduce the house edge by around 1.5%.
Steer clear of unnecessary bets and systems
When you’re wanting to make more from your blackjack game quickly, it can become tempting to start using unnecessary bets and systems. A prime example of this is the insurance bet. While being paid out from an insurance bet looks as though it’s profitable, the truth is that it’s a risky road to go down. Why? Well, it increases the house edge to around the 6% mark.
Then there are the likes of the Martingale system. Here you double up on losing bets and half the amount of winning bets. While this system is supposed to increase the chances of you breaking even, the reality is that it increases the risk of fast, and significant, losses.
Win and loss limits
What all professional blackjack players have in common is that they limit their expected losses and wins. They do this so that, by the end of a session, they haven’t completely exhausted their bankroll meaning that they get to play another day!
While on a winning streak, it’s tempting to keep playing, but professional players are disciplined here. Once they have hit their expected winnings, they will still leave the table. This means that their winnings are secure. This all comes down to bankroll management and this is one of the most important skills to develop if you want to consistently make a profit from playing blackjack.
| 21+ | Terms & Conditions Apply | NJ Residents Only | ||
| $25 FREE on Signup 100% up to $1.000 on First Deposit Hotspot Leaderboard | Visit Casino |
