Many women have steered cleared from the blackjack tables for a combination of reasons. There’s the perception of blackjack being a man’s game, one that is intimidating and only for the more experienced at the game. It can be hard to get the confidence needed to play well when new to the casino – that’s a fact.
However, thanks to the anonymity and prevalence of online casinos, women players can sign up to reputable online casinos, make a deposit, and learn how to play real money 21 – but only if you are an overseas player residing in a country where online gambling is legal (unfortunately, online casinos are illegal in Australia). We take a look at why more women should engage more in the game and how to get started.
Featured Casinos
Blackjack requires concentration
Women are renowned for their multi-tasking skills and still being able to concentrate. Since the game requires a lot of concentration, you will have no problem focusing and learning the basic strategy while playing the game.
We recommend starting off with a standard blackjack title, such as Net Entertainment’s Classic Blackjack title, to learn the basic strategy. Do a simple Google search for the title’s strategy or simply look for a standard blackjack strategy with four decks of cards. Once you have this down you can try variants with differing rules.
Women are proven to take less risks
Studies performed on gambling and gender have proven men are more likely to take bigger risks and place bigger wagers. While this can pay off sometimes, it can also be quite detrimental to the bankroll. Women can play 21 and stick to low risk wagers which will overall make the experience a lot more fun when learning to play.
We recommend opting for a low limit blackjack title such as, NetEnt’s low limit Blackjack Classic, to keep your bankroll balanced when learning how to play.
21 is straightforward
While there is a lot of concentration required, the game is incredibly straightforward when it comes to the actions required to proceed. For example, once you understand Hit means to receive another card, Stand means no more cards and Double Down means to double the wager and receive one more card before ending the round, it is quite easy to get the hang of the game.
This removes some of the intimidation factor land-based tables seem to have. Once you have played the standard variants, you can try the unique variants such as Double Exposure, Pontoon, Super fun 21 and more to increase your skills even more.
Blackjack has a lower house edge than pokies
Studies have also proven women prefer pokies over table games, but this is based on land-based studies and we believe it’s down to the intimidation factor table games can have. But when you take a look at the house edge of the two game categories the choice of blackjack over the pokies is obvious.
Pokies at land-based casinos have quite a high house edge of anywhere between 20% to 30%, while blackjack can be as low as 0.50% for experienced players and around 1.5% for other players using the basic strategy.
Internet gambling is a different story. Pokies online can have a house edge as low as 2%, though the average is between 4% and 10%, while online blackjack variants can be as low as 0.13% (Microgaming’s Classic Blackjack title offers this house edge), provided perfect basic strategy is employed.
This shows it is better to play blackjack than the pokies, and yet another reason why more women should jump on the 21 band wagon.
Women are underestimated at the blackjack tables
Once you’ve learnt how to play online and have the basic strategy down pat, you can take your experience to land-based venues and watch as everyone at the 21 tables underestimate your abilities. This can be quite infuriating but take it to your advantage as if you’re good you will take everyone by surprise, including the dealer, and end up with more chips than anyone at the tables as they get distracted by your newfound unexpected skills.
How to play blackjack online
If we have convinced you to try 21 the best place to start is online, as mentioned above. This will build your confidence as you are playing anonymously – no one will know your gender or treat you differently as you are versing the house – which is Random Number Generator software and is fair provided you play at reputable sites.
Simply follow the links to sign up and use the number of deposit methods, such as MasterCard and Visa, to fund your casino account. Then head to the blackjack category and pick your preferred variant. You will find the titles we have mentioned throughout the article at these sites too.
Once you have built up enough confidence via these games you can try the live dealer variants, which see other players sitting at your table, to get the feel for the land-based experience with a human dealer determining the outcome.
Once you’re ready you can take the confidence and skills you’ve gain online to land-based casinos and show the opposite gender just how good women are at 21.