What is Bluejay's Half-Bankroll blackjack strategy?

21 Oct 2019

Emma Hall 21 Oct 2019

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We look at a unique strategy that grinds down the 1% house edge into dust...

The one thing you need to be aware of when implementing any blackjack betting strategy is that the house always has the edge and in the long run your expectation is an overall loss.

Although this loss is relatively small in statistical terms (around 1%), it could be pretty significant in terms of your dollars spent if you risk your bankroll over a large number of hands.

This knowledge is important when discussing the half-bankroll blackjack betting strategy because there is a way to exploit this long-term disadvantage and that's play short.

Over the course of one hand you will be less prone to absorbing this overall disadvantage and if you can use certain betting methods you won't have to contend with this -1% expectation.

The Full Bet

So how can you overcome this 1% I hear you cry?

Well, the simplest way to do this is by betting 100% of your stack on a single hand of blackjack. Following this strategy will theoretically cause you to avoid the 1% disadvantage by putting you a position where you'll either lose 100% or win 100% of the time.

Although this strategy won't suit everyone, the basic principle it's trying to exploit is that the fewer hands you play the less significant the house edge becomes. Thus, if you can make one single shot you'll find the casino's advantage is greatly reduced.

The Half Bet

Of course, betting your entire bankroll on a single hand of blackjack probably isn't the best thing to do, so to take this concept a step further you can use the half-bankroll betting system. As the name suggests, with this method you divide your bankroll into two parts and make two equal sized bets.

In theory this technique means you'll stand more chance of breaking even than making a profit, but it also means you stand less chance of losing. Indeed, using the half-bankroll betting method you'll encounter the following outcomes:

Win, Win. (You doubled your money)
Lose, Lose. (You lost all your money)
Win, Lose. (You broke even)
Lose, Win. (You broke even)

When to Quit

While the prospect of breaking even probably isn't enough to get you to try the half-bankroll method, the strategy takes an interesting twist when you add the caveat that you'll quit after you win a hand.

For example, let's say you split your $20 into two parts and with you first $10 you win and walk away from the table. In this scenario you theoretically decrease your chances of breaking even and increase your chance of a profit.

Putting this in terms we've used before, the potential outcomes are: