Playing like a dealer, does this blackjack strategy work?
Because it takes a little bit of time to master the basic blackjack strategy chart found on the home page of blackjack.me, and learning the high-low count, playing deviation, and correct bet spread according to the true count can take hours of practice to become great. Many novice blackjack players ask themselves if playing like a blackjack dealer is a winning strategy. And if it is one, they should try in the hope of making money at a blackjack table. It is undeniably a valid question as it works for the house. So, if you too wonder if it’s a sound idea, this article was written for you as we’ll look at this strategy in depth.
| 21+ | Terms & Conditions Apply | NJ Residents Only | ||
 | $25 FREE on Signup 100% up to $1.000 on First Deposit Hotspot Leaderboard | Visit Casino |
Can you beat the house playing like a blackjack dealer?
Playing like a dealer is not a winning blackjack strategy. But before diving into the subject deeper, let’s recap what it means to make sure we’re on the same page. To put it simply, playing like the dealer blackjack means hitting any card combination lower than 16. And standing on any total greater than 17.
So why is this not a good idea?
Essentially, it is because the player always acts after the house. And when deciding to hit or stand, one has little information available besides the dealer upcard. In other words, this means that if you don’t know what the running or true count is. You won’t be in a position to know how many aces or 10 value cards are left in the shoe. And remember that because you act first if you bust, the house wins even if the dealer bust too.
Now, if this is not enough, you’d be wise to remember that if you’d try to implement this blackjack strategy despite our best advice. You’d give the casino an edge of 5% to 6%. In comparison, mastering the basic blackjack strategy gives you a disadvantage of 0.5%. So why would you settle to learn something that does not give you the edge?
Another flaw in the Playing like a dealer strategy
You can’t split pairs. Indeed, if you truly play like a dealer. Then, you’ll limit the number of decisions or actions you’ll make at the table. But let’s run some numbers to make sure you understand how the rules of this strategy could disadvantage you.
Suppose you have already mastered the basic blackjack strategy. And you opt to bet $5 a hand until the count increases. Then, the estimated expected value you’d generate over multiple sessions is around -$12 to -$13 per hour. Compare this with the “play like the dealer strategy.” It’s around 10x more you’ll stand to lose.
Making money – What if the odds are against you?
You’d be wise to look at your short and long-term goals if you hope to be prolific at a blackjack table one day. Then the place to start is by learning the basic blackjack strategy chart on our home page. It should only take you a weekend if your head’s in the game.
Next step?
After that, you’ll want to implement it as perfectly as possible. It is believed that only those who make 99% accurate decisions can win an edge over the casino (at online casinos or offline, by the way).
You could also win a more significant edge by remembering the cards that already came out of the shoe. And the most straightforward strategy to start with is the high low count. This way, you don’t have to remember the exact number of aces, king, queen, jack, and 10 that we deal with. Indeed, you’ll achieve the same result by assigning a positive and negative value to high and low cards. But you’ll only have one figure to remember. That makes sense, right? And if you wanted to take your game further, you could ask a professional card counter to evaluate your game. This way, you’ll win every bit of edge you can.
| 21+ | Terms & Conditions Apply | NJ Residents Only | ||
| $25 FREE on Signup 100% up to $1.000 on First Deposit Hotspot Leaderboard | Visit Casino |
