The beauty of blackjack is that there is an ultimate solution to the game – there truly is an optimal way to play every hand based on calculated mathematical odds. Mathematicians proved this in the 1950s and developed comprehensive systems and strategy guides from their findings.

When you play blackjack in a live casino all you have at your disposal is your own understanding of blackjack strategy and how the game works. However, if you are playing blackjack online you can take advantage of a number of tools that can help you make the most of your online blackjack experience. From the instruction manual: “Blackjack PowerSim is a fast Windows blackjack simulator with executable program and support files, including source code, freely available courtesy of blackjackforumonline and ET Fan.” This software was available for free on Arnold Snyder ’s site. It was written in XBasic and is considered open source software.

You can practice on golf training aids for years and never come close to shooting par, but blackjack training tools at a bare minimum will give you the ideal basic strategy to beating the dealer…as long as those pesky cards are cooperating that day. So what exactly can blackjack training tools do for you and are they worth checking out?

Benefits of Training Tools

Even a beginner can grasp the fundamentals of blackjack in a matter of minutes and it’s this simplicity that makes it the most popular table game in every casino. However, before the novice takes a seat at a table for a game of Twenty-One with real money on the line, a blackjack training tool can prepare them for the rhythms and etiquette of the game, including hand signals and chip handling at a live casino.

It also takes the newcomer through the player choices available during the game, how to play each possible hand combination, and ideally reenforces the proper strategy of advantage betting.

Learning Basic Strategy

In his best-selling book Outliers, pop psychologist Malcolm Gladwell suggested the 10,000 Hour Rule, which maintains that it takes an enormous amount of practice to become a world class expert, regardless of the field. To become experts at the blackjack table, online trainers follow that same principle of relentless practice. Trainees learn by being dealt hands and playing them to conclusion and their strategy is then evaluated against accepted basic principles.

Some training tools work in real time with the player and warn them when they’ve made the wrong decision, which helps build the player’s knowledge and reinforces quick decision making. Other tools keep track of how many hands are played correctly, so you can go back and look at old results to determine if your overall blackjack knowledge is improving.

Certain tools may even take this a step further and award points with players achieving progressing levels of expertise. Most trainers allow settings to be changed to adjust decision times, rules variations, and the number of decks in play. This obviously means that players can reach a very high level of blackjack skill from the comfort of their own homes, providing that they are willing to put in the time and effort.

Blackjack Training Online

Learning Card Counting

There may only be one universally accepted basic strategy for how to play at the blackjack table but there are many methods for betting with an advantage, and each method comes in at different ranks on the “cheating scale”. Counting cards is the concept by which advanced players seek a slight edge over the house by identifying when a shoe is “rich” with ten-point value cards, and then adjust their wager appropriately.

Blackjack Training School

Many trainers teach this advanced method of card counting through online software programs. However, if only online blackjack is in your future, do not concern yourself with card counting since the cards are electronically shuffled after each and every game.

Blackjack Training

Cheat Sheets

Since basic blackjack strategy is formulated from rigid mathematical calculations, there are strategy charts that can be printed out or kept on your computer screen when playing 21 online. These “cheat sheets” tell the player whether to stand or hit, double or split, based on every possible permutation of cards dealt in a hand.

You can also find calculators for the House Edge for every possible rule combination, but make sure you have a lot of time for research because there are almost 7,000 of them.

Blackjack Training Software

So that’s what you can expect with blackjack training tools: perfect play is within your grasp. What’s that old line about how to get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice…