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Can you Beat the Computer in Online Blackjack?
Many people who are thinking about playing blackjack online have concerns about the computer software that operates the game. This is not so strange when you consider the black eye given to the gaming industry by online poker. In the wake of cheating revelations that emerged after poker sites in the U.S. were closed down, many players lost their trust. They were convinced that the gaming software could be manipulated in such a way that players could lose.
The fear of being cheated at online blackjack is normal, but it can become irrational. Poker and blackjack work very differently when played online. The things which happened at online poker sites cannot happen with blackjack because they would have no impact.
Online Poker and Artificial Intelligence Bots
There have been some online poker sites which have been exposed for using bots at their poker tables. Most of these sites will contend that they are only using bots to fill empty seats and create a game. If this sounds familiar that’s because the “shill” or “prop” has been used in live casinos for many years. A prop or shill is a player that is essentially employed by the casino. Their job is to increase interest in the games and entice other players to play.
Bots in online poker are used for the same purpose, but using them opens up a whole host of ethical questions. The prop in a live casino isn’t really there to win, just to draw interest. A bot, on the other hand, has no ability to reason in this regard. The bot depends upon artificial intelligence software to make its plays at the poker table. As a rule, those plays will be the same time after time. It can be easy for a player to exploit the play of a bot if they recognize it. On the other hand, a bot can wreak havoc on a poker hand and cause players to lose.
So, what happens to the money a bot wins while playing online poker? It goes to the poker website, of course. The bottom line is that bots in online poker create serious problems for the player who is trying to win money. To be fair, the use of bots on many poker sites was limited to free games and not games for real money. The important takeaway here is that your success at online poker depends, at least in part, on what other players do at the table.
Online Blackjack and Random Number Generators
If an AI bot were used at the online blackjack table, this would be rather pointless. This is mainly because your success at blackjack is not dependent on what other players do. You have to act on your hand and you are competing against the dealer. There is no one else involved.
Think for a moment about playing virtual blackjack. In most online casinos you are the only player at the virtual table. You can play from one to three hands. If you play at an online casino that offers live dealer blackjack, you will have other real players at the table. These are people just like you. Granted, they can make mistakes that might affect your play. But they are the ones making the decisions, not an AI bot.
What about the cards that are dealt in online blackjack? How many times have you had a 17 and the online dealer shows a 6? You stand and sometimes the dealer will draw out on you to win. There is a tendency here for you to think that the game is rigged and the software caused you to lose this hand. The reality is that you simply remember these losing hands longer than you remember the winning ones in which you hit a 16 and received a 5 to beat the dealer’s 20.
Online blackjack software uses a random number generator to determine which cards show up. The RNG does not have a memory. For example, the odds of getting a blackjack dealt are longer than receiving any two other cards because there are only 4 aces in the deck. But you can and will receive two or even three blackjacks in a row if you play enough hands online because each hand is an independent event.
Many online casinos are now using a provably fair model to substantiate their fairness. This model allows for the algorithms and hand histories to be examined and compared with statistics which “prove” the randomness of the software. There is no such provably fair model that we know of employed by online poker, but the cards in online poker are also dealt by an RNG.
Sometimes people get a little frustrated with online blackjack when they have a losing streak and automatically think the game is rigged. It just isn’t so. Online casinos have to much to lose by rigging games, and they would most certainly be caught if they did so.
Can You Beat Online Blackjack?
Counting Edge believes that yes, you can beat online blackjack. It isn’t always easy because there are a few things working against you. First and foremost each hand uses a new 52-card deck. This makes card counting practically impossible. You will have to use other methods to create winning online blackjack sessions.
Basic blackjack strategy is important online. You need to make all of the correct plays at the correct time in order to make a profit. Another element of beating online blackjack games is using proper money management. You should not be playing at high stakes games if you don’t have the bankroll to support that. We have had many players contact us about how successfully they have used our small ball blackjack strategy to amass consistent wins.
Knowledge is always your best asset at the blackjack table. The more practiced you are on the strategies of the game, the better off you will be. Practice until the right play becomes intuitive.
If you are ready to try and beat online blackjack, why not create an account right now with one of our recommended online casinos? You’ll get a nice welcome bonus and signing up only takes a few moments.
Read more:
- Increase Odds at Live & Online Blackjack
- Staying Focused in Online Blackjack
- Can you Beat Online Blackjack?
- Online Casino Blocked my Account : Now What?
- 5 Most Common Online Blackjack Mistakes
- The Most Common Form Of Blackjack Cheating
- The Players Who Beat The Online Casino
- Video Blackjack vs Live Blackjack – Pros & Cons
Thanks for the great tips, I find them very useful in my progress. I have one question about the optimal betting system of online small ball BJ.
No card counting, and Martingale can be very devastating of course, but what if I set an upper limit. For example:
25$ – Lose
50$ – Lose
100$ – Lose
After the third loss, I won’t bet 200$, instead I go back to 25$. Does it seem reasonable? Of course, the method would be the same in the case of higher bankroll with reasonably higher bets. If my smallest bet is 100$, and I get 3 losses in a row, the next bet is 100$ again and not 800$. Could you recommend me a more optimal method, which is more fitted to online small ball BJ?
Thanks in advance,
Janos
Janos, thanks for being a Counting Edge reader! We appreciate your question. It’s a good one that we get asked variations of from time to time.
As you state, the Martingale system of betting is a poor and dangerous method for the blackjack bettor. Any player that has endured eight or nine losing hands in a row will attest to that. Your attempt to rethink the method is admirable. What our concern would be is variance. Let’s say you endure a cycle where you win one hand and lose three in a row. This does happen. If you are betting as you suggest it will soon become very difficult to pull yourself out of the hole.
The great thing about Small Ball Blackjack as we describe it is that it is relative to the size of your bankroll. This makes it especially good for online blackjack. We recommend sticking with an Up and Pull strategy. To begin, bet two units. If you win the first hand, regress to one unit for the next bet. Then double the wager on each successive winning hand. In the long run this type of system will leave you less vulnerable to variance than an altered Martingale.
Please let us know if you have any further questions and good luck at the tables!
Thank you. First, I’m going to try Oscar’s system. The minimum bet is 300 units. So, the optimal bankroll would be 15000 units. But I will use a double bankroll: 30000 units. The optimal win/loss limit would be 6000 units. But I need only half of this: 3000 units.
My bankroll is twice as big as the optimal, and my limits are only half of the recommended. I think, this is the smallest risk possible. I am going to play only once per a day in a month. I will draw my conclusions based on the results of these 30-31 days.
Keep up the good work,
Janos
We applaud you for having a definite plan, Janos! The reason many players fail is that they make no effort at money management. Good luck to you and please keep us informed on your success at the tables.
Hi, Oscar’s system works fine sor far; I’ve won 11 games out of 17. I have one question about win/loss limits. Now my daily win/loss limit is 3000. I play only once in a day. But what if I halve my limits like this:
After I won 3000, I quit for the actual day.
After I lost 1500, I quit and I return after a while for a second session.
If I win this second session, my profit is 1500, but with one session I could lose 3000, so it’s better. If I lose the second session as well, my loss is 3000 for that day, so no difference. Has any logic in this?
My problem is that losing 1500 is more easy than losing 3000, so the session is very short, and I don’t “give the time” for the deck to became more favorable. But in my case, losing 1500 needs 5 losses in a row, so that could indicate that the deck is not a good one in that moment, right?
Thank you,
Janos
Nice work, Janos! If you are up to a limit of $3,000 you are doing great! Your question actually hints at why you are having such success. Splitting up sessions is a great idea, especially when playing blackjack online. Many blackjack players go wrong in this. They think they must win their daily goal in one session. It’s easy to get tired and lose focus. What you suggest helps to prevent that. We also love the fact that you aren’t losing sight of your loss limits even though you are splitting your session. You correctly point out that losing $1,500 in one session would then leave only $1,500 to lose in the second session. Indeed, if you won your limit in the second session you would still be $1,500 ahead. We do agree that losing five hands in a row is very possible and if it happens as soon as you sit down that could prevent you from working your way into a hot deck. How about this? You could begin with a lower minimum bet until you are able to determine if the deck is favorable or not. Keep your win/loss limit the same just adjust your bet size. Again, fantastic job and thanks for reading! Good luck at the tables!