Basic BlackJack Strategy


Contrary to what some gamblers may think, blackjack is not just an improbable game. A majority of blackjack games are guessing games. With any blackjack hand, there is a correct strategy as well as an ineffective strategy. The basic strategy is the best strategy. The best strategy is the one that is mathematically optimal, that is, it will maximize your wins and minimize your losses over time.

Other card games such as poker are not based on a basic strategy. For instance, there is no basic strategy in poker. A poker player plays his hands based on whether or not that his opponent holds a strong hand or may be lying, and if he himself is holding a strong hand or may decide to attempt to bluff.

There is no basic strategy for any game of cards, as long that your opponent is able to decide what to do with his hands. For a long time, there was no basic blackjack strategy as it was not a game played in a casino in which the dealer was required to show one card and then play according to house rules. It was more of a type of game in which both dealer's cards were concealed, and the dealer was able to play in any way he liked, and players were able to fool the dealer using their own play.

The American casinos made important changes in the rules for Twenty-One . They required players to expose one of the dealer's cards and make it mandatory that the dealer use a hit/stand strategy. They fundamentally changed the game from a game of poker that was basedmoreon psychology, to a pure mathematical game, as in the sense that the player's strategy was concerned.

What is the reason that the basic Strategy is Effective ... The "Odds" The Basic Strategy Works

For our purposes we'll begin by assuming that the present dealers are playing a fair game. No sleight-of-hand, no chicanery. We're not likely to forget the First Rule of Professional Gamblers, but we're going to briefly ignore it until we can comprehend the logic of the game and expose the strategy behind it that will eliminate the majority of the house's mathematical edge. The majority of games played in casinos these days are fair and fair. If you are faced with an unfavorable game, it's not on your level, you won't attempt to beat it.

In the game of honest dealing computer scientists have analyzed every possible hand you can hold against each possible upcard from the dealer to come up with the best basic strategy for the game. The fact that this fundamental strategy was almost perfect amazed mathematicians, who were the first to make use of computers to analyze computer data. This was due to four GIs with desk jobs in the mid-1950s and a lot of time. They didn't have computers however, they had spent three years using mechanical adding machines to run through all of the possible outcomes of the hands dealt. This may have been the most value Uncle Sam ever got from four GIs' salaries!

We also know that some fairly accurate equivalences of the fundamental strategy were worked out by various professional gamblers in Nevada prior to the time computers came into the picture. These guys figured out the strategy by trading hands with their kitchen tables. Certain decisions required thousands, tens or thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of hand. They, as do most professionals in the field did not publish their strategies due to the fact that they were professionals. Blackjack was their lifeline and they'd logged many hours working it out. They would not divulge to anyone what they knew.

One thing is certain: the casinos didn't know the best strategy for playing the game. It was the same for players who had read the most reputable books on the subject. Many of the old Hoyle's guides advised players to always remain on sums of 15 or16 regardless of the dealer's card was as well as to split tens and not split nines and to stand on soft 17. The "smart" gamblers of that time, who had studied these books on gambling by trusted experts, played a variety of games which are still extremely costly today.

Many people don't get the logic behind basic strategy. Let me offer an example. Blackjack strategy tells me to hit when my hand totals 14 and the dealer shows me a 10-upcard. It is the correct mathematical way to play. Sometimes you'll hit the 14 and then draw an 8 9, 10, or 10 and bust. It will be apparent that the dealer turned over his hole card, which is an ace. This shows that, in order to be able to stand on your 14, the dealer must be at 16. He could have busted with that 10. Therefore, by playingplay games on zoom , you lost the chance to have won if you had played against the basic strategy.


Some players argue that there isn't a single strategy that works every all the time. Blackjack is, as they say is a game of guessing.

To understand basic strategy, you need to start thinking as a professional player, and that's why you need to understand the concept of "the blackjack odds."

Let me discuss the fundamental logic behind the strategy with a different scenario which illustrates how the math of statistics and probability works. Let's say I have a jar with 100 marbles. 50 of the marbles in the jar are black, while the other fifty are white. Blindfolded, reach in and pick one marble. But, before you start, you must place a bet of $1 on the marble you choose will be either black or white. You'll win $1 if you can guess the correct color. If not, you lose $ 1.

Are you guessing?

Absolutely.free games to playto predict the color of marble you'll take out before the time. If you win, it's just luck. If you lose you're in bad luck.

What if you knew 90 percent of the marbles on the list are black, and 10% are white? Now, would you put your money on white or black prior to drawing? If you were a smart person, you would select the black. Although it is possible get white marbles out however, you're more likely to land one that is black. This could be a guessing exercise, and you may lose $1 if you do get lucky enough to find one that is white, but if you bet on black, the odds are favorable.

Professional gamblers earn their living by always thinking about "the odds" and only placing bets when the odds are favorable. The bet involves the gambler bet on black as the odds to win are 9 to 1. If you place your bet on white, the odds are 9:1 against you.

There is a chance that you will lose If the dealer has a 10 upcard. However, the odds are against your chances when the dealer displays 10.

You may win some hands by using your instincts but you'll also lose at the final. There is only one correct choice for any given game, and that decision is based strictly on the math. If you decide to hit or stand or double down or split a pair, depends on what the laws of probability tell you what your expected outcome to be for each of these possibilities.