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Blackjack Strategy

Blackjack is a game of skill where players can gain an edge over the casino by using basic strategy. Basic strategy involves making optimal play decisions based on the dealer's upcard and the player's hand to minimize the house edge. It recommends standing, hitting, doubling down or splitting in different situations based on statistical analysis of card probabilities. Following the basic strategy guidelines can reduce the casino's normal house edge from around 0.5% to roughly 0.25-0.50%.

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Giuseppe Leto
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220 views4 pages

Blackjack Strategy

Blackjack is a game of skill where players can gain an edge over the casino by using basic strategy. Basic strategy involves making optimal play decisions based on the dealer's upcard and the player's hand to minimize the house edge. It recommends standing, hitting, doubling down or splitting in different situations based on statistical analysis of card probabilities. Following the basic strategy guidelines can reduce the casino's normal house edge from around 0.5% to roughly 0.25-0.50%.

Uploaded by

Giuseppe Leto
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Blackjack Strategy - Blackjack Systems

Blackjack is in part a game of skill, not pure luck. A good blackjack player can
change the casino's normal edge by playing with a good strategy/system, and
can even on occasion gain an edge over the casino.

It is important to keep some things in mind when playing Blackjack:

The way to win is to get a better hand than the dealer. Many players forget
this and play solely to get as close to 21 as possible, and end up busting
more often than they should.
The dealer has the advantage in that all players go first. If a player busts
first he/she loses even if the dealer busts later in the game.
The dealer has to follow a set of rules regardless of his position. Even if
the dealer has a winning hand with a total of 16 he still has to take another
card and may bust.

Basic Game Strategy


One way to improve the chance of winning is to use statistical analysis to predict
the outcome of various hands. The player then plays the way that is statistically
the most likely to result in a win.

Because the dealer must play using the house rules he/she must always hit with
a hand of 16 or less and stand with a hand of 17 or more (some casinos allow
the dealer to hit on a soft 17). One of the dealer's cards is face-up for all to see,
and the following predictions for the dealer going bust have been computed.

Dealers face-up card


2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ace
is:
Percentage chance of
35 37 40 42 42 26 24 23 23 17
busting:

It can now be seen that the dealer has a better chance of busting when his face-
up card is a six or smaller value card, and less if the face-up card has a value of
seven or more. Using this information the following blackjack strategy was
developed:

Hard Hand Rules (When an Ace must be counted as one)

• A player who is dealt a hand totalling 12 to 16 when the dealer is showing


a low value card (2 to 6) should stand. There is a high probability that the
dealer will bust and the player will then win.
• A player who is dealt a hand totalling 12 to 16 when the dealer is showing
a high value card (7 to Ace) should take a card. There is a low probability
that the dealer will bust and the player should try to improve his hand in
order to win with a higher total.
• If the player is dealt a hand totaling 17 to 21 he/she should stand, the
probability of busting on a hit is high.

Soft Hand Rules (Ace counted as a one OR an eleven)


Most casinos allow an ace to be played as either a 1 or 11, whichever value is
most beneficial to the holder. When a player has an ace that is being used as an
11, it's referred to as a "soft hand". These hands are played differently as the
player cannot draw to a soft hand and bust (the player just revalues the Ace to
count as 1 instead of 11).

The basic strategy for playing soft hands is to double down when the dealer has
a high probability of busting (low value face-up cards).

Players
Strategy
Hand
Soft 19 or
Stand
20
Soft 18 Stand if the dealer is showing 2,7 or 8.
Hit if the dealer is showing 9,10 or Ace.
Double if the dealer is showing 3,4,5 or 6.
Soft 17 Hit if the dealer is showing 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 or
Ace.
Double if the dealer is showing 3,4,5 or 6.
Soft 16 or Hit if the dealer is showing 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10
15 or Ace.
Double if the dealer is showing 4,5 or 6.
Soft 14 or Hit if the dealer is showing 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9,
13 10 or Ace.
Double if the dealer is showing 5 or 6.

In the event that you are dealt a card that changes your hand from a soft hand
(Ace = 11) to a hard hand (Ace = 1) then change strategies to the hard hand
rules discussed previously.

Doubling Down Strategy


Doubling down allows you to put more money on the table when the odds of
winning are good, and you should always bet the maximum amount allowed in
these situations. Doubling down should only be done when the player has a
better chance of winning than the dealer, or when you stand to earn more profit
by doubling down than by hitting the hand.

Casinos have different rules for doubling down; usually you can only double
down after you receive your initial two cards and before you draw a third card,
but some casinos only allow the option on certain hand values (usually 9, 10 or
11).

Hard Hand Rules for Doubling Down


Double down when:
• Player has hard 11 and the dealer is showing 2 through 10.
• Player has hard 10 and the dealer is showing 2 through 9.
• Player has hard 9 and the dealer is showing 3 through 6.

Soft Hand Rules for Doubling Down


Double down when:

• Player has (A, 6) or (A, 7) and the dealer is showing 3 through 6.


• Player has (A, 4) or (A, 5) and the dealer is showing 4 through 6.
• Player has (A, 2) or (A, 3) and the dealer is showing 5 or 6.

Splitting Pairs Strategy


Some players split all pairs regardless of the pair value - this is not a smart
strategy. You should never split a pair of tens or a pair of fives. With two tens you
have a total of 20 which is more than likely to be a winning hand, while a pair of
fives total 10 and you have a better chance of drawing a 10 than any other value
for a win. You should always split Aces and eights. Again you have a better
chance of drawing a card worth 10 than any other and then you have either 21
(for Aces) or 18 (for eights) - both are hard for the dealer to beat.

All other splitting decisions are made depending on the dealer's face-up card in
general split when the dealer is showing a low value face-up card. Split when:

• Player has a pair of 2's, 3's or 7,s and the dealer is showing 2 through 7.
• Player has a pair of 4's and the dealer is showing 5 or 6.
• Player has a pair of 6's and the dealer is showing 2 through 6.
• Player has a pair of 9's and the dealer is showing 2 through 6, 8 or 9. - If
the dealer is showing a 7 and you assume he/she has a hole card worth
10 then your 18 will beat it so you don't split.

Surrendering
This is not a popular blackjack option, and is not offered in many casinos. You
surrender when you have a hand that has a very poor chance of winning. Upon
surrendering you stop playing and lose one-half of your bet (thus keeping one-
half of the bet rather than losing it all).

When playing multiple deck blackjack games you should only surrender
when:

• The player has a hard 15 and the dealer is showing a 10


• The player has a hard 16 and the dealer is showing a 9, 10 or Ace.

When playing two deck Blackjack games you should only surrender when:

• The player has a hard 15 and the dealer is showing a 10


• The player has a hard 16 and the dealer is showing a 10
• The player has a pair of 7's and the dealer is showing a 10

Insurance
As a general rule you should not take insurance, it is a bad bet. We all get our
gut feelings sometimes, but the odds are never in your favor.

Where to Play Online Blackjack


Blackjack Ballroom - Take Vegas Home!
The high-rollers choice for online gambling. Higher table limits, exceptional comps, player
rewards for frequent players, and exquisite games backed by a high- end ultra- secure gaming
platform.

All Rights Reserved – Casino-Browser - http://www.casino-browser.com

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