How much should I bet at blackjack tables?

Lesson description

How much should you bet in blackjack to have fun and leave with some winnings? Mr Blackjack is here to discuss adjusting bet sizes for long sessions and hot/cold streaks.

When you enter a casino, there are a lot of factors that can make it tricky for new players to know how much to bet. Blackjack tables will have different betting limits, and you may be sitting next to other players that wager high and fast or are tight throughout the game.

Distractions aside, players must consider their bet sizes if they want to play blackjack longer than five minutes. In this video, we'll tell you a basic rule of thumb for deciding on your bet sizes and how to adapt them when you have the advantage in the game.

Your bets should always be related to your overall bankroll on the table at any given time. Should you start with $200, your bet sizing should be somewhere between 5-10%.

Regular players should always adjust their bet sizes according to when they have the advantage in the game. Bet more when you are on a roll, rather than increasing your bet when you are on a downswing.

So, if I have $200 in my bankroll, my initial bet should be $10-20 when you have $200.

When your stack of chips is at $400, you should bet more. Keeping in mind the 5-10% rule, this would increase to $20-40 bets.

This will allow you to manage to lose 3-4 hands in a row without going broke. Remember that blackjack is a marathon and not a sprint.

If you are on a hot streak and you are winning 3-4 hands in a row, it’s a good idea to press your bets when you are in a favorable position to do so.

This means doubling, tripling, and even quintupling your bet size when the shoe is favorable. We cover this in detail in our card counting videos, which discuss Ace tracking and Hi-Lo counts.

You can only bet well at the blackjack tables if you know how much money you have to work with. Our next video covers everything you need to know about calculating a realistic bankroll and how you can make it grow.