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The Basic Strategy in
 BLACKJACK
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There
are two games to help you expedite learning Blackjack Basic Strategy. |
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I
suggest trying the Basic
Strategy Test Game first. |
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The
Hit or Stand has better graphics
and allows you to complete the hand whereas the Basic Strategy Test game
only attacks your knowledge on BS without the completion of the hand thus
rendering a faster way to learn.
The best way, I have found, to
memorize the basic strategy is notice patterns and to try to understand why you
should play every situation as the chart says. Then make flash cards and go over
and over them until you know it cold. Do not deal out cards to yourself because
the soft totals and the pairs will not occur often enough to test your knowledge.
I have broken down
the basic strategy chart into three sections to help you memorize patterns.
Pairs, soft totals and hard totals.
Las Vegas strip, Stand on soft 17
(S17) Double any two cards (DA2), Double after split (DAS), Re-Split Aces (RSA)
Late Surrender
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Aces and 8's |
ALWAYS SPLIT aces & 8's |
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2's, 3's, & 7's |
2 to 7 SPLIT otherwise hit |
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4's |
5 & 6 SPLIT otherwise hit |
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5's |
2 to 9 DOUBLE otherwise hit |
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6's |
2 to 6 SPLIT otherwise hit |
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9's |
7, 10, A STAND otherwise
SPLIT |
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10's |
NEVER SPLIT 10's |
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SOFT
TOTALS
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Ace, 2
& 3 |
DOUBLE 5
& 6 otherwise hit |
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Ace, 4
& 5 |
DOUBLE 4,
5, 6 otherwise hit |
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Ace 6 |
DOUBLE
3,4,5,6 otherwise hit |
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Ace 7 |
2, 7 or 8
STAND
3,4,5,6 DOUBLE A,9,10
HIT |
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HARD
TOTALS
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9 |
3 to 6
DOUBLE otherwise hit |
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10 |
2 to 9 DOUBLE otherwise
hit |
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11 |
2 to 10 DOUBLE otherwise
hit |
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12 |
4 to 6
STAND otherwise hit |
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13 |
2 to 6 STAND otherwise
hit |
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14 |
2 to 6 STAND otherwise
hit |
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15 |
2 to 6 STAND
SURRENDER
10
otherwise
hit |
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16 |
2 to 6 STAND,
SURRENDER
9,10,A
otherwise
hit |
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Summary
of Multiple Deck Basic Strategy Chart
In
order to understand basic strategy we have found it better to teach you as the
player learning, rather than write the following text as if you are the
dealer.
The
basic strategy for multiple decks can be summarized as follows:
Hard
Hitting and Staying
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If
you (meaning the player) can bust by taking another card (that is if you have 12 or higher),
always stay when the dealer is showing a 6 or less. |
The
only two exceptions to this rule are when you have a 12 and the dealer is
showing a 2 or 3, in which case you hit.
Logic
behind this rule: Take a look at the grid
chart. As you can see, when the dealer is showing 6 or less, she is much
more likely to bust. This makes sense if you think about it. Since about a
third of the cards are tens, if the dealer is showing 7 or higher, a third of
the time they will have 17 or higher without even taking another card. Whereas
if the dealer is showing 6 or lower, no matter what the dealer has underneath,
she will have to hit again, increasing the odds that she will bust (the only
exception of course is when the dealer has an ace under the 6). Always play
as if the dealer has a ten as the hole card. If the dealer has a 6, pretend
she has 16. If you have a hard 12, and the dealer has a 6 showing, stay and hope
that the dealer busts. Don't hit and bust before the dealer does.
When
the dealer is showing a 2,3,4,5, or six, she is more likely to bust. For this
reason, these cards are commonly referred to as the dealer's bust cards.
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If
the dealer is showing a 7 or higher, always hit until you have 17 or more
points. |
Logic:
When the dealer is showing a 7, pretend she has 17. If you have 16 against her
7, you will lose if you don't hit, so hit. There is no sense in ever hitting a
hard 17, you will break more often than create a winning hand, so stay, even if
the dealer is showing 8 or higher.
Hard
Doubling
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Always
double 11 except against an ace. |
Logic:
If you get a ten, you have a perfect 21. Since the dealer will bust only about
11% of the time with an ace showing, this is the only time you don't double on
an 11, since if you don't get the ten or, you have a greater chance of losing. Remember,
you must follow basic strategy always, without exception (unless you are
counting cards). If the dealer is showing 10 and you have 11, with a 100 dollar
bet up, you must double, don't think. Always follow basic strategy.
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Double
tens against everything except an ace or ten. |
Logic:
Doubling ten against a ten is foolish. Even if you do get another ten, the
dealer is probably going to push you with her own twenty. Not worth the risk.
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Double
nines against a 3,4,5, or 6. |
Logic:
Even if you do get a 10, 19 is not such a great hand. Double nines against only
against the dealer's worst bust cards.
Soft
Hitting and Staying
Hitting
and staying for soft hands is somewhat different than from hard hands.
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Always
hit a soft 17 and lower (except if doubling). |
Logic:
It may seem strange to hit 17, but this time if you get hit with a 10 you still
have 17, if you get an ace, two, three, or four, you've improved your hand. Even
if you do get stuck with a hard hand such as 13 after getting a 6, you'd be
surprised at how often you can turn that into a good hand by taking another
card.
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Hit
soft 18 against 9,10, A. |
Logic:
You have to assume that there's a 10 under the 9. This means that you have 18,
and she has 19. Although it seems crazy to hit 18, you must always do so against
a 9,10, or ace. Soft 18 is the highest hand you will ever hit.
Soft
Doubling
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Double
soft 17 and 18 against 3,4,5,6. Double soft 15 and 16
against 4,5,6. Double soft 13 and 14 against 5,6. |
Logic:
When
you double on a soft 13 against a 5, you are hoping that you either get a good
card (5,6,7 or 8), or that the dealer busts. Its a good move. Think about it.
Splitting
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Always
split Aces and 8's. |
Logic:
Two aces combined are either 2 or 12 points, not a great hand. But two separate
aces are two 11's. If you get a ten on either of them, you should end up pushing
in the worst case (that is, you win with the 21 and lose the other hand). 16 is
the worst hand you can get, it's much better to have two eights. Many players
don't like splitting eights against a 9,10, or Ace, because if they end up with
two 18's and the dealer has a ten in the hole, then the lose both hands. But
it's still the correct move.
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Never
Split 10's and 5's. |
Logic:
20 is a very strong hand, don't risk creating two losing hands by splitting.
Splitting 20's and hitting a hard hand against a break card are the two things
that other players will hate you the most for doing. Splitting two fives easily
creates two losing hands, instead of a winning hand. NEVER SPLIT 5's or 10's
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Split
9's against everything except a 7,10, or an Ace. |
Logic:
18 is not really a winning hand, and two separate nines have a lot of potential
for winning, especially against a break card. Again, if you assume that the
dealer always has a 10 as the hole card, this decision makes perfect sense. If
you have two 9's, and the dealer is showing a 7, you probably have her beat, so
stay. On the other hand, two 9's against an ace or a 10 is probably going to
lose either way, so it's better to lose one hand instead of two, so stay. Split
two 9's against a dealer's 9 in the hopes of getting two 19's and pushing,
instead of losing with 18 against 19
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Split
2's, 3's, and, 7's against 7 or less. |
Logic:
When the dealer is showing her weakest cards, take advantage of the situation by
creating as many hands as you can. Hopefully, you will get more splits and
doubles and the dealer will end up busting or get stuck with a weak 17.
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Split
6's against 6 or less. |
Logic:
Same reasoning as above. Split 6's against all her bust cards, but not the 7:
It's too easy to get stuck with a 16, with the dealer getting 17.
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Split
4's against 5's and 6's. |
Logic:
Split 4's against the dealer's weakest cards only, as two separate fours can
easily turn into two losing hands if you get a ten on them.
Surrendering
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Surrender
all 16's (except two 8's, which you split) against a 9, 10, or Ace.
If you are not allowed to surrender, just hit. |
Logic:
16 is the worst hand you can get. When the dealer is showing a 9,10, or Ace, you
will lose more than 75% of the time if you either hit or stay. Surrendering is
an excellent choice that will save you lots of money over time.
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Surrender
15 against a 10. Again, if you are not allowed to surrender, hit. |
Logic:
15 is not as bad as 16. Surrender only against tens.
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Dealer's Up Card |
Probability
of Breaking |
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2 |
35.4% |
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3 |
37.4 |
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4 |
39.4 |
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5 |
41.6 |
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6 |
42.3 |
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7 |
26.2 |
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8 |
24.5 |
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9 |
22.8 |
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10 |
21.2 |
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A |
11.5 |
Insurance
Do not take insurance, even
if you have a blackjack. Card counters can get away with making smart insurance
bets when the deck is rich in tens but the non-counting player should always
decline it. The following table shows the house edge on the insurance bet
depending on the number of decks used.
| House
Edge on Insurance |
Number
of Decks |
House
Edge |
| 1 |
5.882% |
| 2 |
6.796% |
| 4 |
7.246% |
| 6 |
7.395% |
| 8 |
7.470% |
Surrender
Sometimes in a 6 or 8 deck
game the player has the option to surrender. To be specific the player may
forfeit half their bet to be excused from playing out their hand. Obviously this
option should only be taken in the worst hands when the net return is less than
50%. In late surrender (the only kind I have ever seen) the player may only opt
to surrender after the dealer checks for a blackjack. The following table is a
basic guide for when to surrender (Y=yes, N=no).
| Basic
Surrender Strategy |
Player's
Hand |
Dealer's
Card |
| 9 |
10 |
A |
| 15 |
N |
Y |
N |
| 16 |
Y |
Y |
Y |
A GREAT GAME
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