Blackjack Basic Strat
One of the most appealing aspects of blackjack is that there’s some element of skill involved. With many casino games, you are entirely reliant on luck, but with blackjack your actions affect the outcomes of hands.
Blackjack is still a game of chance; it’s just that luck isn’t the only factor that determines whether or not you win or lose.
What this means in practice is that you can actually improve your chances of winning. More accurately, in fact, it means that you can decrease your chances of losing.
Every decision you make, such as whether to hit or to stand, will have a direct impact on the result of a hand.
If you consistently make the correct decisions, you can reduce the house edge to a level where the casino’s advantage is almost obsolete.
On this page we explain how basic blackjack strategy can help you make correct decisions each and every time you play.
We explain how it works, how to use it, and we provide a sample strategy chart. We also look at a few blackjack strategies that don’t work.
- Basic strategy is the single most powerful tool in the blackjack player’s arsenal. It is basic strategy more than any other technique or trick that will sway the odds away from the casino and into your own pocket, making you a successful blackjack player. Learning black jack betting strategy takes time and effort.
- Basic strategy is just the rocket booster. It gets the shuttle high enough in the atmosphere for the shuttle to do the rest of the work. The rocket booster never makes it to space. You’ll need counting, deviations, true count conversions and betting strategy to actually beat the game of blackjack but that’s for later.
- EXAMPLES OF HOW TO USE THE BLACKJACK BASIC STRATEGY. Single-deck game with hard 17, you hold 16, dealer’s upcard is a 10. You should surrender. Double-deck game with soft 17, you hold 15, dealer’s upcard is an ace. You should hit (surrender only against dealer’s 10). Six-deck game with soft 17, you hold 16, dealer’s upcard is a 9.
Basic blackjack strategy tells you the mathematically correct way to play every single hand you are dealt. Each move has been decided by running billions of hands through a computer simulator. Professional Blackjack Strategy. Professional Blackjack Tips. Professional Blackjack Strategy. Winning Blackjack Systems. Silver Tiger Blackjack Strategy. Silver Tiger Blackjack Strategy. Golden Eagle Blackjack Strategy. Blackjack Strategy. Blackjack Strategies. Blackjack Strategies. Simple Blackjack Strategy. Basic Blackjack Strategy.
How Blackjack Strategy Works
You have some information to work with every time you have a decision to make at the blackjack table. You know what cards you have, and you can see one of the dealer’s cards. Based on this information, it’s possible to work out the probabilities of what could happen next.
This is because there’s a fixed number of cards in the decks, and a fixed probability for each of those cards being dealt.
This is done by comparing the probabilities of all the possible combinations of cards that could be dealt, and determining how these combinations would impact the final outcome of the hand.
Once you know how the different actions you can take will affect your chances of winning, you can then choose the optimal one. There’s always a correct mathematical decision to make, and taking it enables you to keep the house edge to the absolute minimum.
That is essentially the whole point of blackjack strategy.
The problem with basic blackjack strategy is that it’s not always easy to establish the correct decision accurately. There are some complicated mathematical calculations required.
Unless you’re a genius, there’s a very small chance of you being able to make those calculations every time you play a hand. Thankfully, you don’t have to make any calculations.
These rules tell you exactly what action you should take in any given situation, based on the cards in your hand and the exposed dealer card.
By following them, you can apply basic blackjack strategy without using any math at all. All you have to do is learn the rules.
Given that there are hundreds of different situations you can find yourself in at the blackjack table, learning the rules for what to do in each one isn’t necessarily easy.
It might be pretty obvious that you should stand if you have 20 and the dealer is showing an eight, but situations such as having 12 when the dealer is showing a three are perhaps not so clear.
If you want to apply basic blackjack strategy perfectly, then you need to know what to do in every possible situation. This is where the use of strategy charts comes in handy.
A blackjack strategy chart is a matrix that shows all the possible combinations of your hand and the dealer’s exposed card. It shows the action you should take when facing each combination.
These charts are based on the correct rules for employing basic strategy, so if you do what the chart says, you’ll be making the right decision every time.
The following is an example of how a strategy chart looks. Along the top you have the dealer’s card, and down the side is your hand. Each individual cell shows what action you should take for the relevant combination.
The chart includes a key for the action each symbol in the cells represents.
You’ll notice that some of the actions are dependent on certain rules. For example, splitting is the right decision in some situations only if you are allowed to double after a split. This is because there are variants of blackjack where some of the rules are different.
The perfect strategy will vary depending on the exact rules of the blackjack variant you are playing. The chart shown above is the correct strategy for playing an eight deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17.
A few decisions would be slightly different if you were playing another game. These differences are, however, very marginal. If you follow the above chart for any variant, you will still play close to perfect hand.
Therefore, you stand a much better chance of winning more hands than you lose during a single session.
There are a few blackjack strategies that, for some reason, are popular among players even though they don’t work. These are as follows:
- Mimic the Dealer
- Never Bust
- Assume a Ten
- Progressive Betting
Mimic the dealer is a simple strategy where you simply act in the same way as a dealer would in any situation. You would never split, double, or surrender, because these options aren’t available to the dealer.
Basically, you would just hit on less than 17 and stand on 17 or higher, regardless of the dealer’s exposed card. This isn’t a good strategy at all, because splitting and doubling can be very advantageous to the player in the right situations.
Never bust is an equally simple strategy.
You just never hit if there’s a risk of going bust, so you always stand on 12 or higher. While this might seem like a safe approach, it actually increases the house edge.
A ten strategy works on the basis that you assume the next card will always be a ten, and that the dealer’s unexposed is a ten. Players often work on this assumption due to the fact that cards valued at ten make up around 30% of the deck (remember jacks, queens, and kings are all valued at ten).
However, 70% of the cards aren’t valued at ten, so you are still more likely not to get a ten. As such, this strategy doesn’t really work and increases the house edge.
Progressive betting is increasing or decreasing your bet size based on the result of your previous bet. This is a strategy that can be used in any form of betting, and there are several different progressive betting systems in existence.
They don’t have any effect on the house edge, because your chances of winning or losing a hand don’t change based on how much you bet.
They can also be very dangerous, particularly when aligned with systems such as the Martingale where you keep increasing your stake after a loss. One bad run can result in the loss of your entire bankroll.
Most people recognize that unlike many casino games, blackjack is a game of strategy. It’s immediately obvious when you sit down to play a little blackjack; players have to make a large number of decisions on almost every hand, and the choices you make often make the difference between winning and losing.
Blackjack strategy can be broken down into two major components: basic strategy and card counting. Basic strategy comprises all of the playing decisions a player should make in order to keep the house edge as low as possible. In other words, a basic strategy chart would tell you the mathematically best play in every possible situation you might encounter during the course of play.
Every good blackjack strategy starts with a full understanding of basic strategy. Without that foundation, other, more advanced strategies – namely, card counting strategies – will fail, as players will simply make too many basic mistakes to overcome. On the other hand, learning just basic strategy will allow you to go into any good blackjack game getting excellent odds, sometimes good enough that you’ll show a profit with the help of comps and other rewards programs. With that in mind, it’s always better to focus on learning basic strategy first, until you feel completely comfortable with it.
Editor’s Picks for Best Online Blackjack in 2020
- RTG Blackjack
- ViG Live Blackjack
- BTC Bonuses
- Live Dealer Blackjack
- 24/7 Live Support
- Trusted since 2007
- Online and mobile blackjack
- Great for U.S. based players
- New and fresh
- Classic & progressive blackjack
- Weekly blackjack tournaments
- Great for U.S. based players
$4,000
Blackjack Basic Strategy
A full basic strategy is quite complex since there are countless situations you could face during a blackjack hand that must be accounted for. There are several factors the player must take into account on each hand:
- The rules of the blackjack game they are playing;
- The score of their hand;
- The dealer’s up card;
- Whether they have the option to split and/or double.
The rules are particularly important because even small changes in the rules being used can noticeably change proper basic strategy. For instance, the right plays against a dealer that must stand on all 17s are not the right plays against a dealer who hits on soft 17. The number of decks, the ability to surrender (as well as when surrendering is offered) and other factors can also affect basic strategy.
With this in mind, it is very hard to suggest a single basic strategy that will work in any situation, especially in the scope of this article. Not only is basic strategy rather complex, but there are also countless versions of the rules which affect what basic strategy you should choose. Full basic strategy charts are available at my casinos (which don’t mind you playing basic strategy, since the casino will still hold a small edge), as well as in many great blackjack books and on some gambling websites.
Simplified Blackjack Strategy
On the other hand, it is fairly easy to suggest a simplified strategy that can help you get started in just about any typical blackjack game. This easy to memorize strategy won’t get you exactly the same odds as a full basic strategy chart, but you won’t be giving much up; the difference in the house edge until typical rules should be .2% or less when compared to perfect, optimal play. To give credit where it is due, this strategy is heavily based on one suggested at wizardofodds.com, an excellent gambling information site. Simply follow the few rules below, and you’ll avoid ever making any major blackjack mistakes!
- Double down if you have a 10 or 11 and the dealer has an up card that is worth less than your hand. Also double down with 9 if the dealer up card is a 3, 4, 5 or 6. In all cases, if you cannot double down, hit instead.
- With all other hands of 11 or less, hit.
- With hard hands of 17-21, always stand.
- With hard hands of 12-16, stand if the dealer is showing a six or lower, except hit hard 12 against the dealer’s 2 or 3. Hit if the dealer is showing a 7 or higher.
- With soft hands of 15 or lower, always hit.
- With soft hands of 19 or higher, always stand.
- With soft hands of 16-18, hit against a seven or higher, and double down if the dealer is showing a six or lower. If you cannot double down, hit instead.
- Always split eights or aces.
- Never split fours, fives, or tens.
- With all other pairs, split if the dealer is showing a six or lower, otherwise, play the hand according to the rules above, depending on your hand’s value.
- Never take insurance or “even money” on blackjacks – it is a sucker bet for the basic strategy player.
There you go! Eleven simple rules that will have you playing blackjack like a pro – or at least, close to it. This is a perfect strategy for anyone looking to quickly learn how to play blackjack very well, without taking the time to memorize an entire basic strategy. In addition, the simplicity of this system means you’re not likely to make mistakes at the table because you forget the correct play.
Card Counting
Many players aren’t content with simply minimizing the house edge. Instead, they want to have the edge for themselves! In blackjack, this is actually possible thanks to card counting.
Card counting works by tracking which cards have come out of the shoe. Because there are a limited number of cards available, it is often the case that the remaining cards in the shoe don’t actually resemble a random assortment. There may, for instance, be a case where very few tens come out on the first few hands of a new shoe. This tells us that the remaining shoe is very rich in tens, which is great for the player.
In general, tens and aces are the best cards for the player to have remaining in the deck, while low cards are the worst for the player. Card counters take advantage of this fact by wagering more money when they know that the deck is rich in cards that are good for the player. They also make other adjustments, such as taking insurance (normally a sucker bet) when the deck is very rich in tens, and occasionally changing their basic strategy plays based on the cards that have been seen so far. However, it is critical to have a complete understanding of basic strategy before moving on to card counting, since counting relies on your ability to make the right plays along with keeping track of the cards that have been dealt. For more information, check out our full article on card counting!
Bad Blackjack Strategy
One final word of warning: it’s often the case that you’ll get bad “advice” from other players at the blackjack table, which contradicts what you’ve read here or seen on a basic strategy chart. Most of the time, the other players will be well-intentioned, but simply don’t have a deep knowledge of blackjack. Often, these players use strategies like always assuming the dealer has a ten in the hole, which – while often pointing the player in the right direction – causes the player to lose more money than with basic strategy.
Advanced Blackjack Strategy Chart
Luckily, if you use basic strategy, you won’t be making any outlandish plays, which should keep anyone at the table from getting too angry at you or commenting on your play too often. Blackjack players are often a superstitious lot, and while nobody has any idea which card is coming next, many players will still get mad at a player who takes a card that would have busted the dealer, causing the dealer to win the hand instead. If that ever happens to you, don’t let it bother you; be confident that you’ve been playing proper blackjack strategy, and that your results will prove that in the long run.
