BLACKJACK BASIC STRATEGY

How Basic Strategy Works

At its heart, basic strategy involves comparing your hand to the dealer’s upcard and making the play that will yield the most value.

The strategy is commonly shown using a chart with a number grid:

·     Rows: your hand total (hard totals, soft totals,or pairs).

·     Columns: dealer’s up card (2 through Ace).

·     Cells: the correct action (H = Hit, S = Stand, D= Double, P = Split, R = Surrender).

The Decisions Explained

·     Hit: Add another card to your hand.

·     Stand: You don’t want further cards, because you are confident your hand will be better than the dealer’s.

·     Double Down: Double your bet for an extracard. Powerful when odds favour you.

·     Split: If given a pair, split into two hands, doubling the bet. Some are always a split (Aces, 8s) and some never (5s,10s).

·     Surrender: In some casinos, if the player has a bad hand or realises they cannot beat the dealer’s hand, they can lose half of their bet by surrendering the hand. (Employed especially when the odds are least favourable.

Example Scenarios

·     You have 16 vs dealer 10: The book says hit (as bad as 16 is, standing loses far more frequently).

·     You hold 11 and the dealer shows 6: Double down, best chance of making a strong hand.

·     You have 8, 8 vs dealer 9: You can also stand on 16, however, if the dealer is making winning hands, you are not going to make money. Two hits at 18 are better than a feeble 16.

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Basic Strategy Decisions in Detail

Hard Totals (without an Ace or with an Ace as 1)

·     8 or less: Always hit.

·     9: Double against dealer 3–6, otherwise hit.

·     10: Double vs 2–9, otherwise hit.

·     11: Double 2–10, hit Ace.

·     12–16: Stand on 2–6, hit on 7–Ace.

·     17 or more: Always stand.

Soft Totals (Ace with any other card)

·     A,2 or A,3: Double against 5–6, otherwise hit.

·     A, 4 or A, 5: Double vs 4–6, otherwise hit.

·     A,6: Double against 3-6, otherwise hit.

·     A,7: Stand vs 2, 7, 8; Double down vs3–6; Hit vs 9–Ace.

·     A,8 or A,9: Always stand.

Pairs

·     A,A: Always split.

·     8,8: Always split.

·     2: Split vs 2–7, otherwise hit.

·     4–4: Split vs 5–6, otherwise hit.

·     5,5: Never split, treat like 10 and double vs 2–9.

·     6,6: Split against 2–6, otherwise hit.

·     7,7: Split against 2–7, otherwise hit.

·     9,9: Split vs 2–6, 8, 9; stand vs 7, 10,A.

·     10,10: Never split; stand.

Surrender

·     Surrender 16 vs 9–Ace. (if available)

·     Surrender 15 vs dealer 10. (if available)

These are the essence of basic strategy, minimising errors and providing players the best possible mathematical chance.

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Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Traps are common even with a chart in hand.

·     Splitting 10s: This one is tempting, but two 10s (20) is one of the best hands to get in blackjack. Never split it.

·     Standing on “Dangerous” Hands: Once you have more cards in your hand, you might feel it’s reckless, say, to hit with 12 or 13, but it’s actually more risky not to against the dealer 7–Ace.

·     Overusing Insurance: Insurance appears so enticing (“protect your hand”), but it is a totally sucker bet. Basic strategy, almost always recommends avoiding this.

·     Confusing Soft and Hard Totals: An Ace can count as 1 or 11. Soft hands give leeway; many beginners miss this.

·     Ignoring Dealer’s Up card: You always make your decisions based on all the available information, never just your own hand.