The greatest opportunity the game of blackjack offers you is doubling your bets. Bet by bet, you swing like a pendulum around the table, oscillating between periods of ups and downs, and your game eventually becomes monotonous. However, doubling your stakes acts as an adrenaline shock. Suddenly the risk of loss doubles, but also the amount of potential winnings doubles. If you’re a true gambler, you simply can’t do without doubling your bets. Nothing else will not give you so many thrills.

Nevertheless, it is worth bearing in mind that there is a certain strategy for doubling your bets. You can’t just say the catchphrase and throw money wherever you want. Such an act will put your chips at unnecessary risk. You should be wise and try to master blackjack strategy.

Be aggressive with 9, 10, and 11

The most important rule: 

• If your starting hand has a total of 9, 10, or 11, there’s a good chance that if you draw another card, you’ll end up with a total between 19 and 21.
• In other words, you’re likely to win the hand. 
• Consequently, in a situation like this, don’t just take another card – double your bets. 
• The golden rule of gambling is to go all-in. 
• Even if you’re looking to de-risk and prefer not to bet heavily, you still can’t resist the temptation to gamble with a strong opening hand of 6-4 or 7-2. 

Increase your winnings to the max while the odds are playing in your favor.

Do I split fives? Absolutely not!

With low-value pocket pairs, the vast majority of the time, players prefer to raise their bets via splits. Got two twos? It doesn’t make sense to keep playing the starting hand with a 4. In this case, it makes sense to split twos and try your luck with two separate hands. The same applies to a hand of two threes, and possibly fours and sixes, depending on the dealer’s top card. But what about the fives? Don’t split under any circumstances! The temptation to split a pair of 5-5s in order to double your winnings is certainly great, but enlightened blackjack players don’t do that. The best strategy relative to the ten is to double up in an attempt to win on both bets on the same hand. As is obvious, knowing when to split pairs in blackjack is quite important!

Be creative with the ace

Once you get a hand like A-6 or A-7, you might want to just try to win on it with a ready sum of 17 or 18 without changing cards. However, in this situation, that’s the least you can do. By doubling your bet, you can increase your profits. It’s not out of the question that if you take a wild card, you might as well stay at 17 or 18, thus doubling your profit if you outbid the dealer. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll draw the magic three or four and score the coveted 21 points! Most starting hands with an ace up your sleeve – literally anything from A-7 to A-2 – give you a chance to double your bet and win big.

Think about the dealer’s top card

All of the above rules depend on the dealer’s top card. In general, if you have a high value starting hand, it’s best to be aggressive. On the other hand, if both you and the dealer each hold a nine, you could be in trouble. Similarly, it makes sense to double up on a 5-5 hand, but what will you do if the dealer has a ten himself? When making any decisions, you must consider not only your cards, but also the dealer’s hand. Don’t forget that you’re not playing blackjack in a vacuum.

Follow these tips and you’ll be doubling your bets at the right time and thus ensuring that you can win the most money.