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Blackjack Strategy: The Blackjack Basic Strategy |
The blackjack basic strategy is the cornerstone of all successful blackjack strategies. The basic strategy is like a gift to blackjack players. Following the blackjack basic strategy is your best path to winning blackjack.
You might have heard of advanced blackjack strategies like card counting and shuffle tracking. These are exciting strategies, but you must start with the fundamentals. And the fundamentals means the blackjack basic strategy. The blackjack basic strategy is the foundation upon which all other winning blackjack strategies are built. Winning Blackjack Requires Both Skill and LuckSome people like playing the slots or keno or roulette because it gives them a few minutes (or hours) of mindless pleasure. For some people, if they have to think, it's not recreation, and so luck-based games are the ideal form of gambling for them. But other folks like a bit of a challenge when they gamble; they want to be involved to a certain extent in the decision-making process and they want an element of skill to be required. For these people, a game like blackjack, which combines the luck of the cards along with the all-important skill factor, is the ideal gambling game. This is why blackjack is the most popular table game in on-land and online casinos.In luck-based casino games, the player is basically a passive observer. After you place your bet, all you can do is cross your fingers and hope for the best as the roulette wheel turns, the slots reels spin, or the craps dice roll down the table. When you play blackjack, on the other hand, you are definitely an active participant in the blackjack game. After you place your bet and the cards are dealt, you play your hand. You decide whether to hit or stand, or to split, double down, or surrender. And if you base these decisions on a system of play called the blackjack basic strategy, you can actually keep the house advantage down to a relatively low percentage, thus increasing your own odds of winning at blackjack. Computers Made Blackjack Basic Strategy PossibleBlackjack basic strategy was developed when computers came along. They made it possible to input all the possible card combinations — the player's two cards and dealer's up card — and to analyze the results of every possible player's move over billions of simulated hands in order to determine the best move in the given circumstances. The blackjack basic strategy "tells" a player when to hit or stand, when to double down or split or surrender, all based on the value of the player's hand and the dealer's up card.At this point, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Whoa, there are a zillion card combinations — how can I ever learn them all?" That's a natural reaction but there is no need to panic. There are two ways to tackle the blackjack basic strategy and they're both "doable." First of all, the easiest thing to do is to go online and find a printable blackjack basic strategy chart. This is a chart with the dealer's possible cards running across the top and the player's two-card total running along the side. Find the point where the actual combination intersects, and the chart tells you what to do. If you play blackjack online, you don't even have to memorize the chart; you can print it out, keep it near your computer, and refer to it whenever you play blackjack online. Stick to the blackjack basic strategy chart like glue and you have a good chance of winning fairly consistently. It's possible that the more you play, the more you'll find that the right moves are coming naturally or you may just have to keep referring to the chart with every hand. Either way is fine, provided you're playing in an online casino. You Can Learn the Blackjack Basic Strategy
In other words, put the numbers into words — you'll have an easier time understanding and remembering this way. A good analogy would be someone who doesn't try to remember phone numbers but rather stores them in his cell phone "phone book" and automatically dials from there. It's easy and convenient — until you don't have your mobile phone with you and you're left clueless and numberless. Sometimes, it pays to utilize the old brain cells — it may be a pain in the short term but it almost always pays off in the long term. Understanding the Blackjack Basic Strategy ChartThe blackjack basic strategy chart is based on three fundamental principles of blackjack strategy. The first is that there are more 10-value cards than any other card in the blackjack deck. (This is because jacks, queens, and kings all count as 10.) The second is that you have free will and the dealer does not. (You may stand or hit whenever you want to, but the dealer's play is dictated by the blackjack rules.) The third is that a soft hand (a hand with an ace counting as 11) cannot bust. (Your ace can change its value from 11 to 1, if necessary.)With these principles in mind, take a look at the blackjack basic strategy chart. First, look at the possible player's hands running down the side of the chart. You will see three groups of blackjack hands: hard hands, soft hands, and pairs. Each type of blackjack hand has its own strategy considerations. Now look across the top of the blackjack basic strategy table. You will see all of the dealer's possible up cards. And where your two-card hand intersects the dealer's up card, you will find the optimal blackjack strategy for that particular scenario. The Blackjack Basic Strategy in ActionTo understand how the blackjack basic strategy works, it helps to look at a few examples. If you have 14 and the dealer has a 6, the blackjack basic strategy table tells you to stand. Why? Because there is a good probability that the dealer's hole card is a 10, giving him 16, and, lacking free will, he must hit, creating a high probability of busting. So the best blackjack strategy is to stand pat with your 14 and watch the dealer bust.But suppose you have the same 14, but the dealer is showing an 8. Now the dealer has a good chance of having a hand of 18, so the blackjack basic strategy chart tells you to hit. Sure, there is a chance you might bust, but in this case your 14 is probably not good enough to win so you must take that risk. Now suppose you have a soft 14: an ace and a 3. The blackjack basic strategy chart tells you to double down against a dealer's 5 or 6, and to hit against any other dealer's up card. Why? Because your soft hand cannot bust, so you have everything to gain and nothing to lose by hitting. So now you get the idea. The blackjack basic strategy table is not an inscrutable puzzle. It is firmly rooted in logic and blackjack probability theory. You can learn it and understand it, and once you understand it, you will be able to remember it. The Right Strategy Chart for Your Blackjack GameThere are a lot of different blackjack games in the blackjack casino. Each blackjack game has its own rules, which affect the blackjack probabilities and, consequently, the blackjack strategy. Depending on whether the dealer stands or hits on soft 17, on the number of decks being used, and on other blackjack rules variations, there will be differences in the blackjack basic strategy charts for different blackjack games. The differences are slight, but when you are playing blackjack for real money, even slight differences in strategy can have an impact on whether you come out ahead or behind for the day. So make sure you are using the right blackjack basic strategy table for your particular blackjack game.There Are No Guarantees When Playing BlackjackThe blackjack basic strategy chart is a great tool, but it certainly does not guarantee that you will every blackjack hand. If you have that mistaken impression, you are bound to be disappointed. No matter how faithfully you follow the blackjack basic strategy, you are bound to still lose plenty of blackjack games. The blackjack basic strategy table promises only that, over the long run, for any particular situation, the indicated move will enable you to win more often — or to lose less often — than any other move in that situation. But that is a pretty good promise.Your Key to Winning BlackjackEither way — whether you keep the chart in your head or on your desk — the most important thing is to follow it, especially if you are playing blackjack for real money. Don't let impulse overtake discipline — a good way to lose is to play by the seat of your pants instead of by the rules of the basic strategy. Luck does play a significant role in a game of blackjack but, armed with the blackjack basic strategy, you can still come out a winner.
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