Blackjack Strategy:

How to Win in Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the few casino games that are beatable in

the long run. It means that by using a basic blackjack strategy
you can have an advantage over the casino and eventually step
away from the blackjack table as a winner.

Here you can find the basic blackjack strategy explained in a

simplified manner.

The blackjack strategy is based on the mathematical

probabilities of the game and it provides you guidance on the
best decisions to make at every possible situation during the
game.

It takes about an hour to memorize this strategy but it is worth

every minute. This does not man you will win every single
blackjack game from now on, but with the help of the blackjack
strategy, patience and persistence, you can significantly
improve your chances of beating the casino in the long run.

Note that some blackjack rules vary from one casino to another.
In some casinos, both brick and mortar and internet casinos,
blackjack is played with one card deck while in others the
blackjack game occupies four decks or more.

In addition, in some of the casinos the dealer hits on a soft

17 while in others he is required to stand and doubling after
splitting is allowed only in some of the casinos.

Here you can find a basic strategy to a single deck blackjack

game where the dealer hits on soft 17. Playing other blackjack
variants would require you to make some adjustments for a few
borderline occurrences.

First, here is a short introduction to the terms mentioned

here:
blackjack - the first two cards being dealt to a player are an
ace and a ten value card

natural - a ten value card and an ace

face card - King, Queen and Jack

soft hand - a hand that can use the ace as one or eleven

stiff hand - a hand between twelve through sixteen

hard hand - a hand that does not have an ace or a hand that
cannot use the ace as eleven

draw or hit - to draw additional cards

hole card - the face down card dealt to the dealer

insurance - side bet for up to half of the original bet when the
dealer is showing an ace

press - to increase the amount being wagered after a win

usually by the original amount

split - to make two hands from a pair

push - when the dealer and player have identical card

values. No winner or loser.

stand - to not draw any more cards

surrender - an option where the player may give up half of

their bet

bust - when the dealer or player draws cards that total more
than 21
Hitting or Drawing cards

If you are not satisfied with the total of your first two cards,
you can draw additional card(s) until you stand or bust. Taking
additional cards may be called "drawing" to hitting.

Standing

If you are satisfied with your first two cards, you can choose
not to draw any more cards - to stand.

Split

If you have been dealt two cards with the same face value, you
can choose to split them into two separate hands by placing
a second wager of equal value and drawing cards as usual. At
many online casinos, if you split two aces, you only get one
additional card for each hand. Secondly, if you split two aces
and one of your hands totals 21, this is not considered to be
a blackjack, it's 21. Some online casinos do not allow you to
split a split hand.

Double Down

If you have been dealt two cards and think that a third card
will give you a better chance to beat the dealer?s hand, you
can choose to double down. If you decide to "double down",
your bet is doubled and you draw only one more card.

Insurance

Insurance is really a separate game or gamble in itself, and

as such, isn't recommended. You would take out insurance
when you thought that the dealer has blackjack, effectively
enabling you to protect your bet. A situation might be where
the dealer?s first card is an ace and you think that the dealer?s
hole card is of value 10, you could buy insurance against
dealer blackjack. The cost of the insurance bet would be half
of your original bet. If the dealer does have blackjack, the
insurance pays 2:1, effectively matching the amount of your
original wager. If you have bought insurance and the dealer
doesn't have blackjack, you'll lose your insurance bet. Let's
say you and the dealer both have blackjack, the game ends in
a push.

Surrender

A very few casinos offer players the option to surrender. When

surrender is available, a player who isn't satisfied with the
cards he was dealt, may "surrender" or give them up and lose
half of his bet.

Finally, here is a basic blackjack strategy:

When your initial two card hand sums up to 8 or less: hit

When your hand sums up to 9 and the dealer hand value is

between 3 and 6: double if else: hit when your hand sums up
to 10 and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 9: double; if
else:

When your hand sums up to 11 and the dealer hand value is

between 2 and 10: double; if else hit.

When your hand sums up to 13, 14, 15, or 16 and the dealer
hand value is between 2 and 6: stand; if else hit.

When your hand sums up to 17: stand.

when your initial two card hand contains Ace 2 or Ace 3 and the
dealer has either 5 or 6: double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 4 or Ace 5 and the dealer has 4,
5 or 6: double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 6 and the dealer has 3, 4, 5 or 6:

double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 7 and the dealer has 2, 7 or 8:

stand; if he has 3, 4, 5 or 6: double; if else: hit.

When your hand contains Ace 8 or Ace 9: stand

When your hand contains a pair of 2s or 3s and the dealer hand
value is between 2 and 7: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 4s and the dealer has either
4 or 5: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 5s and the dealer hand value
is between 2 and 9: double; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 6s and the dealer hand value
is between 2 and 6: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 7s and the dealer hand value
is between 2 and 7: split; if else: hit

When your hand contains a pair of 8s: split

When your hand contains a pair of 9s and the dealer hand value
is between 2 and 7 and either 8 or 9: split; if else: stand

When your hand contains a pair of 10s: stand

When your hand contains a pair of 8s: split