Blackjack is the most popular casino game, and one of the few gambling games where players have a chance to beat the house. It is possible to reduce the house edge to less than 1% by following a simple strategy and knowing when to hit, stand, double down, and split. It also helps to know how much you can expect to win from each hand and when to walk away.

While all casinos have a house advantage, it is possible to reduce it to a minimum by learning basic strategy and playing within your bankroll. The best way to learn is to memorize the blackjack charts that will tell you what to do given the value of your hand and the dealer’s visible card. The charts will also tell you when to surrender and when to buy insurance. There are slight variations in basic strategy depending on the number of decks being used and the rules of the particular casino.

Novice players play their hands too conservatively, and they give the house a big advantage. They hesitate to hit a 16 against a dealer’s 7, and they fail to double down and split pairs as often as they should. In contrast, expert players exploit every opportunity to maximize their wins, and they will double down and split far more frequently than novices do. They will also take bigger risks when they have the opportunity to do so. This makes them more likely to bust, but it also means that they will hit their big hands more often than the average player.

Card counting is another technique that gives a player a legal advantage over the house. It is not difficult to learn, but it requires a good memory and an understanding of probability theory. It is also against the rules of most casinos, and a player can get kicked out if caught.

There are some card counting methods that don’t require the player to remember which cards have been played, but it is necessary to understand how to count. The basic system is to assign numerical values to each card, with aces and face cards counted as +1, jacks and queens as 0, and tens as -1. The player keeps track of the count as the cards are dealt, and the player acts accordingly.

Whether or not you want to count cards is up to you. It can be a fun and rewarding hobby, but it is also an expensive one. The important thing is to keep the house advantage as low as possible, and to never play based on emotion. A wise player will walk away when a table is cold, and will wait for it to warm up again before returning. It is also a good idea to be a mute at the blackjack tables, so that you can blend in better with the other players and avoid being noticed. This will also help you to concentrate more on your game.