|
The Basic Strategy
The first thing all players need to learn about blackjack
is the basic strategy. This is basically the best way to play
all possible scenarios that you will face without taking into
consideration which cards have already been dealt from the
deck. We list the basic strategy for four of more decks when
the dealer stands on soft 17. This is the most common from
of blackjack you will see. These moves can be played
and very useful under any rules, so we advise you to learn
them if you do not already know them. Your hand is listed
along the left vertical column and the dealer's up card is
listed along the top column.
Key to table:
Orange = Hit
Red = Stand
Green = Double if allowed,
otherwise hit
Beige = Split
|
DEALERS CARD SHOWING |
Y
O
U
R
H
A
N
D
Y
O
U
R
H
A
N
D
|
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
A |
| 17+ |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
| 16 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 15 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 14 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 13 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 12 |
H |
H |
S |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 11 |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
| 10 |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
| 9 |
H |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 5-8 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| A,10 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
| A,9 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
| A,8 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
| A,7 |
S |
D |
D |
D |
D |
S |
S |
H |
H |
H |
| A,6 |
H |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| A,5 |
H |
H |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| A,4 |
H |
H |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| A,3 |
H |
H |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| A,2 |
H |
H |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| A,A |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
| 10,10 |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
S |
| 9,9 |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
S |
SP |
SP |
S |
S |
| 8,8 |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
| 7,7 |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 6,6 |
H |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 5,5 |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
D |
H |
H |
| 4,4 |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 3,3 |
H |
H |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
H |
H |
H |
H |
| 2,2 |
H |
H |
SP |
SP |
SP |
SP |
H |
H |
H |
H |
Insurance
Never take insurance, even when you have blackjack. If you
count cards, then you might be able to get away with it if
the deck is loaded with tens, but if you do not count cards,
then you should ALWAYS decline it. Below we show the
house advantage on the insurance bet based on the number of
decks being dealt.
|
House Advantage on Insurance |
Number
of Decks |
House
Advantage |
| 1 |
5.882% |
| 2 |
6.796% |
| 4 |
7.246% |
| 6 |
7.395% |
| 8 |
7.470% |
Surrender
Occasionally with blackjack games dealt from 6 or 8 decks
you will have the option to surrender. Surrendering is when
you (the player) forfeits half of your bet to end the hand
and discontinue the bet. You may only surrender after the
dealer checks for blackjack. The table below lists the unfortunate
situations in which you will want to consider surrendering.
|
Basic Surrender Strategy |
Player's
Hand |
Dealer's
Card |
| 9 |
10 |
A |
| 15 |
N |
Y |
N |
| 16 |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Composition-dependent strategy
Basic strategy is based on a player's point total and the dealer's visible card. A player's ideal decision may depend on the composition of his or her hand, not just the information considered in the basic strategy. For example, a player should ordinarily stand when holding 12 against a dealer 4. However, in a single deck game, the player should hit if his or her 12 consists of a 10 and a 2; this is because the player wants to receive any card other than a 10 if hitting, and the 10 in the player's hand is one less card available to cause a bust for the player or the dealer.
However, in situations where basic and composition-dependent strategy lead to different actions, the difference in expected value between the two decisions will be small. Additionally, as the number of decks used in a blackjack game rises, both the number of situations where composition determines the correct strategy and the house edge improvement from using a composition-dependent strategy will fall. Using a composition-dependent strategy only reduces house edge by 0.0031% in a six-deck game, less than one tenth the improvement in a single-deck game (0.0387%).
Shuffle tracking
There are well-established techniques other than card counting that can swing the advantage of casino blackjack towards the player. All such techniques are based on the value of the cards to the player and the casino, as originally conceived by Edward O. Thorp. One such technique, mainly applicable in multi-deck games (aka shoes), involves tracking groups of cards (aka slugs, clumps, packs) during the play of the shoe, following them through the shuffle and then playing and betting accordingly when those cards come into play from the new shoe. This technique, which is admittedly much more difficult than straight card counting and requires excellent eyesight and powers of visual estimation, has the additional benefit of fooling the casino people who are monitoring the player's actions and the count, since the shuffle tracker could be, at times, betting and/or playing opposite to how a straightforward card counter would.
Arnold Snyder's articles in Blackjack Forum magazine brought shuffle tracking to the general public. His book, The Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook, mathematically analyzed the player edge available from shuffle tracking based on the actual size of the tracked slug. Jerry L. Patterson also developed and published a shuffle-tracking method for tracking favorable clumps of cards and cutting them into play and tracking unfavorable clumps of cards and cutting them out of play. Other legal methods of gaining a player advantage at blackjack include a wide variety of techniques for gaining information about the dealer hole-card or the next card to be dealt.
Card tracking is restricted when the casino uses a half-cut, or what is known inside houses as 'The Big C'. This is when the shoe is cut halfway, meaning that only half of the shoe will be played, so on an 8-deck shoe, only 4 decks will be played and thereafter shuffled. As card tracking relies on the principles of elimination, the half-cut makes it virtually impossible to eliminate or predict the remaining cards. Another exception to card tracking is the introduction of automatic shuffler machines, thereby making it impossible to track cards because the shoe is non-stop.
Where to play Blackjack:
|
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