Blackjack Strategy

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Blackjack is a statistically simple game. The odds never change and you always know the probabilities of each move you make. Using fundamental blackjack strategies allows you to easily make the proper decisions that put the odds and probability in your favor. The only way the odds and probabilities can differ is depending on the number of decks in play, whether or not the dealer hits or stands on “soft 17” and whether doubling and splitting are allowed and under what conditions. It is important to know these conditions before you play.

 

Let’s start with the basics, in Blackjack the closest to 21 without going over wins. This is between you and the dealer and not the other players around you. The Ace can be a 1 or an 11 depending on how you use it. A "soft hand" is a hand containing an Ace that is counted as 11. A "hard hand" is a hand contains no Aces or the Ace is counted as a 1.

 

All of your decisions are based on the value of the dealer's up card. Here are the basic scenarios:

• The dealer card dealt face up is a 7 or higher - Draw cards (Hit) until you have a hard hand of 17 or higher, or a soft hand of 18 or higher. This is a general rule and sometimes can be changed when the dealers up card is a ten or face card.

• The dealer card dealt face up is 6 or lower - Draw cards (Hit) until you have at least 12. Stop when you have 12 or higher. This again is a general rule and sometimes can be changed when the dealers up card is a two. I find the success rate of going against a two to be lower when you are looking for the dealer to bust.

• Double down when your first two cards total 10 or 11 - If the dealer has a 9 or lower. When you double down, you double your bet after receiving your first two cards. When you double down you can only receive one more card.

• Always split aces, eights, and sevens. Do not split any other pairs. When you split a pair they become two separate hands. You play each hand as individual hands and they both require a bet.

A basic strategy for online blackjack is best represented in tabular form (see below). A blackjack strategy table provides a guide to playing each hand based on the possible hands you could hold along one axis and the dealer's possible cards along the other axis. Based on your hand and the dealer's card, strategy charts will tell you the best move for your situation (example: If you must stand, hit, surrender, double down or split). It's as simple as remembering these values of a basic strategy chart if you want to move you game to the next level and improve your online blackjack odds.

 

H	Hit
Dh	Double Down If Allowed Otherwise Hit
Sp	Split
S	Stand
Hs	Split If Allowed To Double Down Otherwise Hit
Rh	Surrender If Allowed Otherwise Hit
Ds	Double Down If Allowed Otherwise Stand

 

Dealers Hand

Your Hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
2 to 8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
9	H	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
10	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H
11	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	Rh	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	Rh	Rh	Rh
17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
18	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
19	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
20	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
21	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
A,2	H	H	H	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,3	H	H	H	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,4	H	H	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,5	H	H	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,6	H	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H	H	H	H
A,7	S	Ds	Ds	Ds	Ds	S	S	H	H	H
A,8	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
2,2	Hs	Hs	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H
3,3	Hs	Hs	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	Hs	Hs	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	Dh	H	H
6,6	Hs	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H	H
7,7	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H
8,8	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp
9,9	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	S	Sp	Sp	S	S
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,A	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp