• Best Single Deck Blackjack Strategy
• Blackjack Basic Strategy 2 Deck
• Best Double Deck Blackjack Strategy
• Blackjack Strategy Trainer
• Double Deck Blackjack Strategy

Single Deck Blackjack Strategy. With a single deck, early surrender and all of these other rules allowed, the player would actually enjoy about a 1% advantage over the house when playing with perfect strategy. Of course, casinos never offer tables that favor the player or tell them how to win with blackjack strategy cards. Benefits of 1 or 2 Deck Casinos. There are a number of benefits to playing at 1 or 2 deck blackjack casinos. More player blackjacks. The odds of being dealt a natural blackjack in a single deck game is 4.82%. With 8 decks your odds decrease to 4.75%. Less dealer blackjacks.

Although a less common variant in the modern casino, double-deck blackjack alters the optimised splitting plays. As with single-deck blackjack, you should always split if you have a pair of eights or a pair of aces. However, in double-deck blackjack, the dealer’s action on soft 17 (to stand or hit) doesn’t influence the split bet strategy. Best Double Deck Blackjack Strategy Tactics. Double Deck Blackjack Rules. With double deck blackjack, two decks are in play. One interesting rule change is that dealers stand on soft 17s. In standard blackjack, dealer hitting is required there, and dealers have a chance to catch low cards like 2.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BLACKJACK

WHAT IS THE CORRECT BLACKJACK BASIC STRATEGY?

There is only one correct basic strategy for this game given a set of established rules. However, since all casinos don’t offer the same rules the strategy can be slightly different from game to game. The number of decks used also affects the strategy slightly. A player should always play his hand using the applicable basic strategy chart unless he is card counting or has additional knowledge of the situation. Card counters often refer to basic strategy as the playing strategy for a neutral deck. As the count rises and falls the optimum playing strategy will also change. Check out our FAQfile for more important questions like this about blackjack.

BASIC STRATEGY HISTORY

The first scientific and mathematically sound attempts to devise a basic strategy were published by Roger Baldwin, et al in 1953. In 1962, Edward Thorp published his findings of an optimal blackjack strategy using a high-speed digital computer. Julian Braun continued this work and published what most players know today as the correct basic strategy of the game. Further refinements for single and double deck were made by Peter Griffin who published what is considered, by most professional players today, as the exact basic strategy of the game.

Although the majority of the playing strategies shown have been known for many years you may find differences of opinion on some of the finer points of play. Don’t labor over these fine points! Instead, you might even consider misplaying some of them to camouflage your play as a card counter.

For many years, Stanford Wong’s Basic Blackjack were the player’s best resources for the “correct” basic strategy for any number of decks and rules. These charts are organized by rule and rule variation. Players are advised to check the particular casino or casino area rules to determine which chart and possibly which portions of the charts are applicable.

Although casino rules can change overnight, players were often (prior to 2000) advised to compare rules with those of the Las Vegas Strip casinos. On the Strip you were often able to find games where you can double down on any two cards and in which the dealer stood of soft 17. In Downtown Las Vegas most casinos would have their dealers hit soft 17. In Reno, dealers generally hit soft 17 and you were usually allowed to double only on 10 or 11. Many of the larger casinos allowed doubling after splitting and some even offered late surrender. Be sure you understand all the rules and options available to you before you step inside a casino. In recent years, many casinos are now forcing 6:5 blackjack rules on the public. This is a terrible rule for the player as it adds about 1.39% more to the casino edge against you.

ORDER YOUR BASIC STRATEGY CARDS NOW!

INSURANCE, SIDE BETS AND BLACKJACK VARIATIONS

The basic strategy for the insurance decision is to never take insurance unless you are counting cards and know when to take this side bet. If you find a casino that offers a side bet(e.g., Royal Match, Over/Under 13, etc) you should not play any of these bets at any time — unless you have mastered a specific optimized count to overcome their usual high house edge . The basic strategy for Multiple-Action blackjack (and similar games) is the same as regular blackjack.

Best Single Deck Blackjack Strategy

READING THE BASIC STRATEGY CHART(S)

• Dealer’s up-card is shown along the top of the chart.
• Player’s hand is shown vertically on the left side of the chart.
• Always hit hands less than 9 unless otherwise indicated.
• Always stand on A,9 or higher. Always treat 5,5 as a 10.
• If soft doubling is not allowed stand on A,7 Vs 2 – 8.

CORRECT BASIC STRATEGY (GENERIC)

This is a generic multi-deck strategy where the dealer stands on soft-17 and double after splits is allowed. Refer to the full charts on this page for all rule variations and fine points for single, double and multi-deck games. When trying to make a decision, first decide if surrendering is an option, then whether to split or double and finally whether you should hit or stand.

SURRENDER

Surrender hard 16 (but not 88 pair) vs dealer 9, 10 or Ace.
Surrender hard 15 vs dealer 10.

SPLIT

Always split Aces and 8s.
Never split 10s and 5s.
Split 2s and 3s vs dealer 4-7.
Split 4s vs dealer 5-6.
Split 6s vs dealer 2-6.
Split 7s vs dealer 2-7.
Split 9s vs dealer 2-6 and 8-9.

DOUBLE DOWN

Double hard 9 vs dealer 3-6.
Double hard 10 vs dealer 2-9.
Double hard 11 vs dealer 2-10.
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

Stand on hard 12 vs dealer 4-6.
Stand on hard 13-16 vs dealer 2-6.
Stand on hard 17 or more.
Stand on soft 19 (A8) or more.
Hit hard 11 or less.
Hit soft 17 (A6) or less.
Hit soft 18 (A7) vs dealer 9, 10 and Ace.

IF DEALER HITS SOFT 17

Surrender 15, 88 and 17 vs dealer Ace.
Double 11 vs dealer Ace.
Double soft 18 (A7) vs dealer 2.
Double soft 19 (A8) vs dealer 6.

A PROVEN WINNING SYSTEM

The correct basic strategy is a proven winning system for the game of twenty-one. It is a strategy which maximizes the player’s expectation given only knowledge of the player’s hand and the dealer’s up-card. In the good old days when single deck was plentiful and rules were great, these non-counting strategies could actually give the player a small advantage. Today, casino managers are aware of the power of basic strategy and generally do not offer games that can be beaten off the top of the deck. However, players should keep their eyes open for promotional games which do surface from time to time!

Basic strategy is powerful! All card counters must master it before moving on to the fine art of card counting. Basic strategy is not difficult! A person with average intelligence can memorize it in just a few hours. Basic strategy is the way to play! Every time you make a play on a hunch or intuition and ignore the “correct” basic strategy play you increase the casino advantage against you.

For example, a pit boss witnessing a player standing on an A-7 versus a ten valued dealer up-card would generally consider this player a novice or an idiot. If you stand on this hand you will win it about 41% of the time. If you hit the hand you increase your chances to 43%. Why would anyone not hit this hand? You can’t bust (at least not initially) and you stand a good chance of improving it. But every time I play this game I witness players standing on A-7 vs 10 with the hope that the dealer doesn’t have a nine or ten in the hole. Don’t be an idiot! Trust in basic strategy and play it perfectly. Your bankroll will thank you for it.

OTHER GOOD RESOURCES

• Spanish 21 by Michael Shackleford
• Blackjack B.S. Engine by '>Ken Smith
  
• Ultimate Guide to Blackjack by Michael Shackleford

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FAQ 3: Portions of the above article were originally published as a Frequently Asked Question in Volume 4 Issue 4 of Blackjack Review Magazine

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Nowadays casino online is very popular among the admirers of such games like blackjack, roulette, slots and many others. There are several reasons for this: it is a great way to spend your free time and earn some money as well. Blackjack is a classic game which exists for a long time and during this time players tried to figure out how to hit the jackpot. We have prepared detailed information about the blackjack strategy 8 deck – one of the most popular and effective for blackjack. This strategy will help to increase the winning chances and teach you how to play in the right way. Follow the particular strategy if you are eager to succeed.

The basic strategy for this game is a set of rules that allows increasing the winning odds of a certain player. Probably you have noticed that sometimes it is very hard to earn money playing blackjack if you are not using blackjack strategy chart 8 decks. The approach is based on computer simulation and statistics and provides the most viable options. You should be aware that this approach can’t guarantee 100% success. Nevertheless, you can be certain that with this approach you are more likely to win.

8 deck blackjack strategy card

Blackjack Basic Strategy 2 Deck

First of all, you should remember that the number of card decks influences the way you are going to play and the approach you are going to use in order to win. So if you use blackjack basic strategy 8 deck, you are recommended to do the following:

Best Double Deck Blackjack Strategy

• The player isn’t advised to play insurance bet because this bet raises the house edge.
• If there is a situation in which you can’t re-split a hand, the best solution is to treat the hand as a hard total hand.

During this multiple deck game doubling after a split can be done. In the chart for this game you can notice color-coded cells which indicate the best play: D = double, P = split, S = stand, H = hit. Moreover, the player should remember that the approach works when the dealer stands on a soft 17, it happens almost always if we talk about the 8 deck game. In the case, if the dealer hits a soft seventeen, you should double on eleven against an ace.

Blackjack Strategy Trainer

There is a table which the player should memorize in order to use this approach during the game. You can also practice at home in order to be sure that you know everything before you are going to start playing for real money.

Double Deck Blackjack Strategy

All rules of this method are crucial but you should remember perfectly the rules that contain words ‘always’ and ‘never’. So read the table carefully and try to memorize everything in order not to lose money during the game. This approach will definitely help you maximize the chances and become closer to the victory.