The Value of a Natural in Blackjack

The strongest combination of cards in blackjack is an ace and any ten-value card. Players refer to it as "natural." This is the hand every player hopes to draw on their first two cards when they play live blackjack online. A natural is also known as blackjack, but players stick to the former to avoid confusion since the game is known by the same name. You can't understate the importance of a natural in a game of blackjack. In this piece, our experts at Live CasinoRank take a look at the importance of blackjacks when you play live online games.

Naturals have a payout of 3:2, which is one of the reasons the hand is so important. Rather than get even money, players will get a payout of $300 for a bet of $200; with such payouts, it's no wonder players are keen to get a blackjack.

The Odds of Getting a Blackjack

To fully appreciate the importance of a natural in blackjack, we must go through the odds of getting one. While it's an amazing event, you can do little to increase the probability of getting a blackjack when playing live. You can either get a two-card total that adds up to 21 or get another total. You only have to make decisions when you have another total. If you get a blackjack, then you've beaten the dealer, and it's time to celebrate.

The odds are never 100% in your favor when playing online blackjack live dealers. You always have expectations below 100%. The difference makes up the house edge. Each payout possible in the game contributes to the expectation. All returns added together make up the total expectation of the game.

Expectation Explained

A game of blackjack views expectation as the probability of getting one of several outcomes. The outcomes are; winning, losing, drawing a natural, and push. The dealer takes your bet when your hand busts. Winning gets you even money save for situations where you draw the natural. A push indicates a tie between you and the dealer where you both have the same score on your cards. In this case, you keep your bet and win nothing from the dealer. Players that get the blackjack playing online are entitled to one form of online blackjack bonus tailored for live casino players.

The Mathematics Behind It

If you were to find the actual probability of drawing a blackjack, you would need a pretty straightforward formula. You start with the probability of drawing an ace as your first card. There are four aces in a deck of 52 cards, so this gives you 4/52 or 1/13. This is multiplied by the chance of getting a 10-value card on your next draw, whose probability is 16/51. Multiplying, you have 1/13 X 16/51 = 16/663 or 1 in 41.44. Converted into a percentage, this amounts to 4.83%. Knowing the math behind your chances is always important when playing live blackjack poker online.

Conclusion

With about a 5% chance of getting a natural, this is one of the most elusive hands for players. That and the fact that you win by barring a dealer's blackjack and you get to keep your bet if you don't win means players will always come into the game hoping for a natural. Since it's so hard to get a natural, players turn to basic strategy to raise their chances of winning.