The Blackjack Basic Strategy Engine above provides a simple way to memorize a variety of different profitable decisions, such as when to split, double, surrender, hit, or stand. A standard basic strategy chart can only provide you with the strategy for one set of rules, such as dealer hits on soft 17, limiting your mastery to just one game. By utilising the basic strategy, newbies can quickly become seasoned blackjack players. If you look up for a basic blackjack strategy, you will come across charts with all possible hands that you may be holding and the moves you are advised to make under different circumstances. This video is a supplement to Blackjack Basic Strategy for Infinite Decks and Blackjack House Edge with Infinite Decks, two videos by the Wizard of Odds, Michael Shackleford. The Wizard calculates the complete blackjack basic strategy and house edge, starting from a blank Excel spreadsheet, without using computer programming. Basic strategy is not enough! We get emails from people all the time talking about how they downloaded our blackjack charts, took them to a casino, and won some money. That’s great news for them, but it could have easily gone the other way. Basic strategy cannot overcome the house edge even if you get lucky with it from time to time. The most important things to know about Blackjack are the Blackjack basic strategy chart. Playing according to this strategy chart is the best way to play in whichever possible situation. When it comes to beating Blackjack, the strategy chart makes everything easier. For you to memorise this chart, it takes a lot of practice. Although in blackjack, just like in any other casino game, the house has an advantage. However, the game of 21 is the perfect casino entertainment for many players as it has one of the lowest house edges. Using basic strategy can even make your chances of winning better. There is definitely a benefit when blackjack players use basic strategy. The blackjack strategy chart was invented decade after the card counting, the most famous and effective cheating method in the history of blackjack. Let's have a close look at the basic blackjack strategy chart: There are various blackjack charts specially designed for soft hand, hard hand and splitting pairs. But the above given chart helps.
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Introduction
The following basic strategy table is appropriate for European blackjack, at least the variation I saw played in Berlin and Hamburg, and specifically excepting the United Kingdom. The specific rules are as follows:
- Six decks (this chart is also accurate for 4 or 8 decks)
- Dealer stands on soft 17
- Player may only double on hard totals of 9-11
- Player may double after a split
- No-peek (player loses total bet, including after doubling or splitting, if dealer has blackjack)
The house edge under this rules is 0.62%.
To use the basic strategy look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands.
United Kingdom Blackjack
Prior to September 1, 2007, splitting fours, fives, and tens was not allowed. This only affected the basic strategy player with fours, increasing the house edge by 0.003%. I have heard that with the new law allowing all splits, doubling on any first two cards is also permitted, at least at the Grosvenor casinos. Following is the basic strategy for post 9/1/07 U.K. rules.
Early Surrender
If you should find a table that allows early surrender then take it with any of the following hands. I have heard rumors such games exist in Russia, and I know they do in Macau, except against a dealer ace.
- 12 to 17 vs. ace, including a pair of 6's, 7's or 8's
- 5 to 7 vs. ace, including a pair of 3's
- 14 to 16 vs 10, including pair of 7's or 8's
- 16 vs 9
On This Page
Introduction
To use the basic strategy, look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. There are two charts depending on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17.
Other basic strategy rules.
- Never take insurance or 'even money.'
- If there is no row for splitting (fives and tens), then look up your hand as a hard total (10 or 20).
- If you can't split because of a limit on re-splitting, then look up your hand as a hard total.
If you play a mixture of six-deck games, some where the dealer hits a soft 17, and some where he stands, and you only wish to memorize one strategy, I would recommend you memorize the one where the dealer stands on soft 17. The cost in errors due to playing the wrong strategy is 2.3 times higher playing a stand on soft 17 game, with the hit on 17 strategy, than vise versa.
Basic Strategy in Text
For the benefit of my blind readers, here is the above strategy in text form, when the dealer stands on soft 17 and surrender is allowed. To use the strategy, start at the top, and follow the first rule that applies.
Surrender
- Surrender hard 16 (but not a pair of 8s) vs. dealer 9, 10, or A, and hard 15 vs. dealer 10.
Split
- Always split aces and 8s.
- Never split 5s and 10s.
- Split 2s and 3s against a dealer 4-7, and against a 2 or 3 if DAS is allowed.
- Split 4s only if DAS is allowed and the dealer shows a 5 or 6.
- Split 6s against a dealer 3-6, and against a 2 if DAS is allowed.
- Split 7s against a dealer 2-7.
- Split 9s against a dealer 2-6 or 8-9.
Double
- Double hard 9 vs. dealer 3-6.
- Double hard 10 except against a dealer 10 or A.
- Double hard 11 except against a dealer A.
- Double soft 13 or 14 vs. dealer 5-6.
- Double soft 15 or 16 vs. dealer 4-6.
- Double soft 17 or 18 vs. dealer 3-6.
Hit or Stand
- Always hit hard 11 or less.
- Stand on hard 12 against a dealer 4-6, otherwise hit.
- Stand on hard 13-16 against a dealer 2-6, otherwise hit.
- Always stand on hard 17 or more.
- Always hit soft 17 or less.
- Stand on soft 18 except hit against a dealer 9, 10, or A.
- Always stand on soft 19 or more.
As I've said many times, the above strategy will be fine under any set of rules. However, for you perfectionists out there, here are the modifications to make if the dealer hits a soft 17.
- Surrender 15, a pair of 8s, and 17 vs. dealer A.
- Double 11 vs. dealer A.
- Double soft 18 vs. dealer 2.
- Double soft 19 vs. dealer 6.
Blackjack Basic Strategy
My thanks to Kelly for putting together the above text strategy.