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Basic Blackjack Strategy Explained 


 

Blackjack players from all over the world simply adore this game. It's fun, it's exciting and it gives immense satisfaction to people who know how to play their cards right. While getting familiar with the game's rules is not a difficult task at all, when it comes to mastering basic blackjack strategy, things become a little bit more complicated. The process requires players to invest many long hours in memorizing numerous rule charts, which can sometimes diminish the overall excitement of the game.

With such an abundance of blackjack strategy charts being out there, we believe that, for starters, it is best to memorize the one offered below. This strategy is the most useful in any possible situation, without any prior knowledge regarding card distribution in the deck. At the top of the chart you will find the basic strategy for four or more decks when the dealer hits on soft 17 (a hand in which an Ace's value is regarded as 11), which is the most played game in casinos.

X X 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A
X 5 H H H H H H H H H H
X 6 H H H H H H H H H H
X 7 H H H H H H H H H H
X 8 H H H H H H H H H H
X 9 H D D D D H H H H H
X 10 D D D D D D D D H H
X 11 D D D D D D D D D H
X 12 H H S S S H H H H H
X 13 S S S S S H H H H H
X 14 S S S S S H H H H H
X 15 S S S S S H H H H H
X 16 S S S S S H H H H H
X 17 S S S S S S S S S S
X 18 S S S S S S S S S S
X 19 S S S S S S S S S S
X 20 S S S S S S S S S S
X 21 S S S S S S S S S S
A 2 H H H D D H H H H H
A 3 H H H D D H H H H H
A 4 H H D D D H H H H H
A 5 H H D D D H H H H H
A 6 H D D D D H H H H H
A 7 S D D D D 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 SP SP SP SP SP SP H H H H
3 3 SP SP SP SP SP SP H H H H
4 4 H H H SP SP H H H H H
5 5 D D D D D D D D H H
6 6 SP 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

Here goes the key to reading the above chart:

S= Stand
H= Hit
Dh= Double (if doubling is not allowed then hit)
Ds= Double (if doubling is not allowed then stand)
SP= Split
SU= Surrender (if surrendering is not allowed then hit)

While the above basic blackjack strategy chart offers players the most profitable play in any given situation based on numerous hands played in the long run, there is another rather basic strategy designed to help players in the short run. This strategy is called card counting. Using this particular strategy, players who keep track of the cards that have already been used, are able to determine when the cards still remaining in the deck give them an edge over the house.

Card counting is a widely used strategy among today's players. It is profitable not only because it gives players an opportunity to place larger bets when they have an advantage over the house, but also because it allows player to use the info regarding the remaining cards to better the basic strategy for particular hands already played. For instance, with several tens still remaining in the deck, a player can double down in more situations. This is because there are higher odds of creating a strong hand.

However, despite the profitability of the card counting blackjack strategy, card counters should be careful not to signal that they are, in fact, card counting. Although the use of this strategy is not considered illegal in most casinos in the United States, casino operators are not very pleased when spotting a card counter. This can sometimes become grounds for being escorted out of the gaming establishment!

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