What Is the EV of Blackjack?

Blackjack is a popular card game where the objective is to beat the dealer by having a hand value as close to 21 as possible without going over. However, there’s more to blackjack than just hoping for lucky cards. One important concept that all serious blackjack players need to understand is the expected value (EV) of the game.

So what exactly is EV and how does it relate to blackjack? In simple terms, EV is a measure of how much you can expect to win or lose on average when playing a game of chance. To calculate the EV, you need to take into account the probability of each possible outcome and its corresponding payout.

In blackjack, the EV can be positive or negative depending on various factors such as the rules of the game, your playing strategy and even luck. A positive EV means that on average, you can expect to win money over time while a negative EV means that you’re likely to lose money.

To better understand how EV works in blackjack, let’s take an example. Suppose you’re playing at a casino with a single deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17 and offers 3:2 payouts for natural blackjacks. If you play perfect basic strategy and make $10 bets, your expected value per hand would be around $0.50.

This means that over time, if you play many hands with this setup and bet $10 each time, you can expect to win about 50 cents per hand on average. Of course, this doesn’t mean that every single hand will end up with a profit of exactly 50 cents – some hands might win more while others might lose more – but over time it should even out.

On the other hand, if you play at a casino with different rules such as offering only 6:5 payouts for natural blackjacks or allowing the dealer to hit on soft 17, your EV would be much lower or even negative. In fact, some blackjack games have a house edge of over 2% which means that on average you’ll lose $2 for every $100 wagered.

So how can you use EV to boost your chances of winning in blackjack? One way is to choose games with high positive EV and avoid those with negative EV. This means doing your research and finding casinos that offer favorable rules and conditions for players.

Another way is to use a good playing strategy that maximizes your chances of winning each hand. By following basic strategy charts or using more advanced techniques such as card counting, you can reduce the house edge and increase your chances of winning.

In conclusion, the expected value (EV) is an important concept in blackjack that all serious players should understand. By calculating the EV, you can determine whether a particular game or strategy is likely to result in long-term profits or losses. To improve your chances of winning at blackjack, choose games with high positive EV and use effective playing strategies.