The Basic Blackjack Strategy

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Winning at Blackjack is part skill and part luck. A player using a good basic blackjack strategy can reduce the online casinos advantage to a minimum, and under certain very favorable conditions, can even gain an edge over the casino.

Hard vs. Soft Totals

Before we begin to explain the blackjack strategy in details, it is necessary to distinguish between hard and soft totals. Any original hand which has an Ace valued as 11 is called a soft total. For example, a hand consisting of a 5 and Ace is referred to as a soft 16. Any hand containing either no Aces or an Ace valued as 1 is a hard total. For example, a hand consisting of a 5 and a 9 is a hard 14. Contrast this with a hand consisting of a 3 and Ace which is a soft 14. A further example of a hard total is a hand consisting of a 10, 8 and Ace. This is a hard 19 because, although the hand contains an Ace, the Ace is valued as 1 and not 11.

Why is it important to distinguish between hard and soft totals? Simply put, because the strategies of play are different depending on whether a total is hard or soft, particularly where doubling down on soft totals is allowed. Let us begin our analysis with hard totals.

There are certain variables that alter the casino's advantage one way or the other, and thus have an effect on the correct basic strategy that should be used. These strategies include:

Hard Total Strategy

There are two factors which determine whether the player should hit, stand, double down, etc. These two factors are the dealer's upcard and the player's original hand.

(A) Dealer Upcard of 7, 8, 9, 10 or A

Under the circumstances where the dealer has a 7, 8, 9, 10 or A, the odds are great that the dealer has a total of at least 17. The dealer likely has a 10-value card as his hole card because there are 16 of 52 or 31% if the cards in the deck are 10-value cards. What do we do if the dealer's upcard is a 7 or higher? General rule is that if our original hand is a hard 17 or higher, we should definitely stand as the odds of busting if given another card are very high.

Aside from this general hard total strategy, you need to follow the following strategy in playing Blackjack to have some advantage over the house:

Player's Hand Less Than 17

If you have an original hand less than 17, and the dealer's upcard is 7 or greater, you will either hit or double down. With the dealer having at least a 17, which is what we must assume given the odds, you will lose if you stand on a total less than 17. Therefore, you must hit or double down in order to improve your total.

Player's Hand Of 11

If you have a hand of 11, you should always double down because the odds of getting a 10-value card are great (31% of cards in deck are 10-value cards). Since the odds are so great, you should maximize your profits given an original hand of 11, therefore, you should double down.

Player's Hand Of 10

If the dealer has an upcard of 9 or less, double down. If the dealer has a 10 or A as an upcard, then hit without double down because under such circumstances, the dealer likely has a total of 20 or 21.

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