Understanding Blackjack Strategy

A remarkable amount of players believe that the only way to become a proficient Blackjack player is through the rare skill of card counting. Fortunately there are very few people in the world who have the memory and mathematical ability to pull of this tactic, yet there are still thousands of great Blackjack players. This is is all down to basic Blackjack strategy. There are a few golden rules that can be learned and implemented in order to boost a new Blackjack player from the standard of novice to a proficient, money-making player.

The system boils down to a few rules on what to do when certain situations arise on the Blackjack table, such as knowing when to hit, split, double down, etc. The vital thing to remember when using basic Blackjack strategy is that it will only be useful if all actions, from sticking and hitting to splitting and doubling, absolutely need to be followed.

Firstly, a player should always take note of the dealers ‘up card’, as noting this will influence any action that you will be taking at the Blackjack table. The next thing to remember is to always hit on a hand of 11 or less, as it is not possible to go bust with a hand of 11 points or less; making it pointless to not accept another card. In a game of Blackjack, an Ace can be either 11 or 1; many people forget this fact and simply accept an Ace to be the highest possible value, which can seriously hamper a person’s performance during a game. On the other side of the coin, a player should never hit on a hand of 17 or more (with the only exception to this rule being a ‘soft 17′ hand). The above can be broken down into hitting below 12 and standing above 16; if dealt a hand between 12 and 16, a player should hit if the dealer has a card between 7 and Ace, and stand if the dealer has an up-facing card below 7. With regards to splitting, a player should always split Aces and 8s and never split 5s and 10s. Splitting requires a player to always act if their hand reaches a value of 11, and never if it totals less than 8. If a value of 10 is reached, then a player should again consult the dealer’s up card and only double down if it is between 2 and 9.