Blackjack is often proclaimed as one of the games of skill that you’ll find in a casino. There’s no doubt that you have more element of choice during the game than most other casino games. In fact the smart blackjack player will consistently outperform a poor player – if you adopt a solid basic strategy then you can do very well with online blackjack.
The professional Blackjack players will all play according to ‘basic strategy’, which is a series of rules that determine how you play a specific hand. These rules are quite specific and have been tried and tested by gamblers, mathematicians and even computers down the years as the most effective way to play the game of blackjack. The House edge, is therefore determined unlike most other games on the basis of the strength of the player. A decent player using Blackjack basic strategy can reduce the ‘house edge’ to about .5% which is amongst the best odds you’ll find in a casino.
The full basic Blackjack strategy is quite extensive so here’s a simplified version that will bring the house edge down significantly. It’s not the complete system but it’s a great place to start.
Hard Hands
| Cards | Action |
|---|---|
| 9 or lower | Hit |
| 10 or 11 | Double if total is more than dealers up card. Otherwise Hit |
| 12-16 | Hit When Dealers card is more than 7. Otherwise Stand |
| 17 or higher | Stand |
Soft Hands
| Cards | Action |
|---|---|
| 13-18 | Double when dealers card is 5 or 6 |
| 17 or lower | Hit |
| 18 | Hit when dealer has 9 or more. Stand when they have 2,3,4 and 7 |
| 19 or higher | Stand |
The other thing to consider is pairs, never split a pair of aces or 8s. Never split 10s, 5s, or 4s. But split all other pairs when the dealers card is showing 6 or less. Oh and forget about insurance – never take it in Blackjack.
As I mentioned this is a cut down version, there’s more to basic strategy than this – but it’s a very good start. Practice playing in the free game first until you play those concepts without thinking. I’ll put up the full Basic strategy of Blackjack up very soon when I can get all the tables working properly on this site !
Good luck and don’t play like a dummy!