The game of Blackjack, also known as 21 to some, is a very easy game to learn. While it does take knowledge and skill of the game to win, it is easy to figure out. Prior to playing blackjack, however, it is important to know the rules of the game so that you are fully prepared to play when you arrive at the table.
When determining your next play, blackjack strategy implies that you should always take into consideration the up card of the dealer. The dealer will have one card that is placed face down while the other card is placed face up and all players at the table will receive both of their cards face down.
When playing blackjack, you must know when you should hit and when you should stand; otherwise, you will find yourself making hunches and going with your gut instincts resulting in a higher chance of a loss. Not only is it important to understand about hitting and standing, it is just as important to know when you should double down or split your cards. Below, we will go into basic strategy for all of this.
To Hit or Stand?
You should always hit if you hold a hand that totals less than 12 and stand on any hand that totals 16 or more. If you have something in between 12 and 16 then you should hit if the dealer’s up card is between a 7 and an Ace and you should stand if the dealer’s up card is lower than 7. This is just simple, basic strategy.
Dealing with Soft Totals
This next strategy relates to soft totals, which is a hand that consists of an Ace and any other card. Now, if you have a soft total that equals 17 or lower but don’t have a second card that equals 10 then you want to hit. You want to stand with a soft hand that equals 19 or 20. You will want to double down if your soft hand totals 17 or lower and the dealer holds a 4 or a 5.
Doubling Down
When it comes to doubling down, you never want to do this if your hand equals less than 8 but you always want to should your hand total 11. If your hand totals 10 and the dealer has an up card of between two and nine then you want to double down.
Splitting Your Cards
As for splitting your cards, you always want to split your cards if you have a pair of eight’s or a pair of Ace’s and you never, ever want to split your 4’s, 5’s, 10’s or 10 value face cards (Jack, Queen, King).
This is all basic strategy that easy to implement in the game and easy to remember. Blackjack basic strategy is very crucial if you want to find success in this casino game as basic strategy helps to lower the casino’s house edge.
