One thing that you need to learn early on in blackjack is that you’re always going to learn new things about the game. The second you stop learning new things is the second you should stop playing the game. There are always improvements to implement into your game and only the best players will take the time to study the game. In this article we’re going to go over some beginner blackjack tips that you need to learn before playing blackjack for real money.

* The first tip I want to share with you is the simplest to remember. You shouldn’t buy insurance when it’s offered to you in blackjack. The only time you should buy insurance is if you’ve been counting the cards and there is a good chance the dealer has blackjack.

* When the dealer is showing a card with a value of 10 you need to make sure you continue taking cards until you have at least 17. Even at 17 you’re statistically going to lose a lot of hands still, but if you hit at 17 you’re also really likely to bust which you don’t want too do.

* When the dealer is showing a low valued card such as a 2-6 then you really want to be careful about taking cards on your turn. When the dealer’s up card is a 2-6 the dealer will be likely to bust his hand, which means that you don’t want to bust your hand beforehand.

* An obvious rule of thumb that you need to know if you don’t already is that you need to double down whenever you have 11. Most people will even double down when they have 10, but this is completely up to you. Once you start counting cards you’ll have a better idea of when to double down and when not too, but for now just double down every time you have 11.

* You should always make sure when you’re dealt aces that you split them. Most people also say that you should split your 8’s every time as well, but this can backfire and cost you two bets instead of just one. Some people say that you should split your 10’s as well, but this isn’t correct. You should never split up an already made 20 because over the long run it will cost you money.

Once you have the basic blackjack strategy under your belt and you’re winning some money I would recommend learning some card counting systems. There is a built-in house edge when you play blackjack, but by counting cards you can lower the edge significantly. Blackjack is a game of luck, but there is also a lot of strategy involved with how you play your cards and how you manage your bets. You’re not going to win in a blackjack session if you go through it betting the same amount every time. In blackjack it’s all about swings in the deck and you need to take advantage of those swings. When you’re winning hands you need to increase your bet size and vice versa for when you’re losing hands.