Blackjack fans must already be familiar with the ‘Charlie’ rules of this card game. However, if you are a beginner and just starting to familiarize yourself with this popular casino game, learning about this rule may come in handy. There are multiple ‘Charlie’ rules in blackjack you can benefit from, but in this article, we will focus on the 6 Card Charlie, specifically.
Blackjack Charlie rules in general refer to a hand or hands that manage to get a certain number of cards without going bust. This means an automatic win for the player, irrelevant of the hand of the dealer. These rules can greatly benefit players since they have an advantage over the dealer, as well as increasing their chances of beating them.
6 Card Charlie
Now, the number of cards required to win the Charlie will determine its name. So, if we are talking about the 6 Card Charlie, the number of cards you will need without busting is six. In the same way, 5 Card Charlie refers to 5 cards to a single hand which automatically wins without busting, and 7 Card Charlie for a 7-card single hand.
In addition, the Charlie rules do have a significant negative impact on the house edge. For example, when you play a 6 Card Charlie game, the house edge is lowered by 0.16% paired with a 99.84% RTP. To summarize, to benefit from the Six Card Charlie game, you will need 6 cards out of the shoe without busting.
However, this rule is mostly present in the online casino sphere. With that in mind, it is important to note that not all online venues will class a Charlie as an automatic win. Players who wish to benefit from this rule should definitely do their research and familiarize themselves with the table rules before placing their bets.
The 6 Card Charlie does hold certain advantages, but it is certainly not without flaws. First, the odds of reaching 6 cards and not busting are pretty low. Statistically, a 6 Cards Charlie blackjack hand occurs proximately once in every 400 hands. This means that the odds of such a win happening are 400:1. Secondly, there are only a handful of blackjack games featuring this interesting rule. After all, online casinos like to play it safe, so not many developers are prone to building this feature in when developing their blackjack titles.
6 Card Charlie Strategy
The 6 Card Charlie rule is pretty easy to figure out, and there are not any specific strategies players should utilize in order to take advantage of it. However, there are certain tips and tricks you can implore when it comes to hitting and standing if you wish to score a 6 Card Charlie win in blackjack.
When the Charlie rule is a part of a blackjack game, it can change the standard strategy from which players should never deviate. There are times when a player should never split 2’s, 3’s, or 4’s since the totals are already low. Then again, with 6 Card Charlie, splitting these low hands can sometimes be better as they can produce more low hands.
Aces are a part of another surprising strategy. Namely, players should split Aces in all circumstances, except when the dealer has an Ace, as well. A starting hand of 2 sounds pretty nice, but splitting the Aces provides too high of an opportunity to win both hands by standard rules. Hence, splitting the Aces is always the appropriate move.
Furthermore, you should always be careful not the risk too much trying to score a Charlie. When a hand is one card away from a Charlie, a hard total of 18+ should never be hit, regardless of the dealer’s cards. Alternatively, a hard total of 17 should only be hit when the dealer shows 1, 2, 9, 10, or Ace. Pretty soon you will realize that soft totals are much easier to work with while playing blackjack featuring a Charlie rule. Players should always hit any soft total that is one card away from a Charlie.
Final Word
You can always find some very precise blackjack strategies charts regarding the Charlie rule and deviations from basic strategies. We recommend players find a blackjack strategy chart that applies specifically to the rules of the game they chose to play. That being said, when it comes to the 6 Card Charlie rule, you can still rely on the basic strategy and achieve optimal results.