Why Do It
This may seem obvious, but the reason you want to play perfect blackjack is to have the best chance to win any given night at the tables and extend your bankroll as long as possible.
Playing perfect blackjack can reduce the casino’s edge to close to a half percent depending on the house rules. If you don’t play perfect blackjack you can give up 2 to 3% or more to the house.
How to Do It
If you want to learn how to play perfect blackjack you can either figure out the math behind every starting hand against every dealer up card, or you can use the tools based on the math that’s already been done.
The good news is people have done so much statistical analysis about blackjack, you cannot improve it if you wanted to. All you have to do is buy a strategy card or print a strategy chart that tells you every play to make.
A few strategy decisions depend on the specific rules of the game you intend to play. For example, if the game allows surrender you’ll surrender some hands instead of standing or hitting.
Learning Perfect Strategy
Once you have a card or chart all you have to do is use it while you play. As your experience adds up you’ll learn all of the basic plays quickly. When the more difficult plays come up you may still need to check your chart, but even they’ll start coming naturally as you practice.
When you first look at a blackjack hit chart it can be confusing. The easiest way to read one is look down the left hand side to find your hand and then read across the top until you see the dealer’s up card. Where these two meet you find the best play.
You can look over your chart before playing, but don’t try to memorize it. While you may be able to memorize most of it, many players find it easier to just start playing using the chart. Your mind will start memorizing the plays without much trouble.
You can play online for a fast and easy way to practice. You can take as long as you need and you don’t have to worry about other people at the table.
Even if you play in live real-money games, using a chart doesn’t take much time or effort.
Mindset
Do you really want to play perfect blackjack?
Before answering, take a minute to think about it. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?
Though it’s rarely mentioned, your mindset has a great deal to do with your success at any gambling game, including blackjack.
Most players just want to enjoy themselves and forget about tough things like life and thinking while playing casino games. If this is what you want to accomplish it’s ok. But if you really want to play as long as you can and have the best chance to win you need to start with the proper mindset.
The title of this page is playing perfect blackjack. It isn’t playing 99% perfect blackjack or playing correctly most of the time. If you want to play perfect blackjack then make up your mind to do it.
It’s not that hard and I’ve given you a step by step plan on how to do it. Even if you struggle to memorize all the difficult plays you can keep a card with you. It only takes a couple seconds to check it on tough plays.
Decide right now to commit yourself to do whatever it takes to play perfect blackjack every time you play.
There’s Perfect, Then There’s Perfect
All of the advice I’ve covered so far has been directed at all blackjack players who don’t count cards. The truth is most players never will count cards, and that’s fine.
The reason I’m including this section is because I like to give you as many facts as possible. Playing perfectly without counting cards is one thing, but real perfection requires additional effort.
If you really want to play blackjack at a 100% perfect level you need to advance to the level of high end counter.
It’s difficult to reach the perfect level of counting, but the most profitable players come extremely close.
The good news is if you hope to advance to counting everything you’ve learned here is on the path. You need to know it before becoming a counter, so you haven’t wasted a second.
Conclusion
Playing perfect blackjack is easy to do if you use the tools available. Make up your mind to do whatever you need to do. With the proper mindset and enough practice playing perfectly will start coming naturally before you know it.
