Blackjack strategy

There is a whole lot of blackjack strategy that aims to increase the chance of winning. To start discussing the various blackjack strategy guide, we still need to look at the issue of "soft" and "hard hand".

The detail is in Asa, which can be 1 or 11 depending on which value is better for the player in the game. The expression "soft" refers to whether the player or dealer has among the cards of Asa, which gives a certain freedom in playing. For example, As and 5 can give a value of 6 or 16, and As and 7 gives 8 or 18 points. "Hard hand" ("hard") is a situation where there is no Ace in the cards and there is no possibility of such a manipulation result.

The strategy chosen by the player should depend on how many decks will be used to play blackjack - one, two, four or more. In connection with the card counting and the use of this system against casinos, the rules of blackjack game have been changed and now there are as many as 8 decks of cards that the dealer stores in a wooden box called a "shoe".

The basic strategy in blackjack is the mathematically calculated best decisions that a player can take in a given situation. They were developed by mathematicians from American universities based on computer simulations and are optimal if we take into account game statistics.

The mathematically correct way to play blackjack, called the basic strategy can reduce the casino's advantage to 0.5%. Basic blackjack strategy charts teach the player when exactly he should choose ("hit"), pass ("stand"), double ("double"), split pairs ("split") or surrender ("surrender"). The first four possibilities of play have been discussed before, while surrender is nothing more than the option of giving half of the placed bet. This happens when the player, seeing the cards he receives, knows that he has a low chance of winning and withdraws from the further game. Some casinos do not give this option to their players, others allow it only to a certain extent.

Basic charts blackjack strategy charts give the participant knowledge of how he should act in any situation that finds him at the table. These are blackjack blackjack games. Any charts needed for strategy must be learned by heart - this is the most important issue when it comes to basic strategy. However, it should be taken into account that using only basic strategy is not enough to achieve real success in blackjack. The basic strategy presented unfortunately does not guarantee 100% winnings in each game.

One more important issue to keep in mind. Namely, whether the dealer selects ("hit") or matches ("stand") in the case of "soft 17" ("soft 17"). "Soft 17", takes place when the player has received a card with a value of 6 and Asa, which takes 11 points - a total of 17 points. Any other combination that gives the sum of 17 (eg cards with a value of 7 and 10) is called "hard 17" (hard 17 "). It is up to the casino to decide what arrangements have been made. It is easy to check if the dealer is choosing whether he fits on the "soft 17" and on this basis select the chart he will use. Casinos that use a draw rule tend to have a less favorable win / player ratio.

Being in possession of a basic blackjack strategy chart, you must learn to read it. We have the option of playing "hard" and "soft hands" and the ability to separate pairs of cards.

With a "soft hand", if the player has an ace and a card with a value of 6 and the dealer's card is 7, the basic strategy recommends the participant choose the next card, or "hit". With "hard hand", if the sum of the player's cards is 14 and the dealer's card is revealed, then 5 should be folded, or "stand".


A few basic ones included in the sub-sections.

When should the player split the cards?

  • Always divide the Aces and cards with a value of 8
  • Never separate 10
  • Pair 9 if the dealer's exposed card is 2 to 9 (except 7), otherwise fold ("stand")
  • Divide the pair 7 if the dealer's face card is 2 to 7, otherwise choose ("hit").
  • Rules for "soft hands":
  • Soft 20 (As and 9) should always be folded
  • Soft 19 (Ace and 8) should be doubled if the dealer has a face-up card of 6, otherwise fold. Rules for a "hard hand" (if there is no Ace or Ace taking the value 1 instead of 11):
  • Hard 17 or more points must always be folded
  • Hard 16 should be folded if the inverted dealer's card is from 2 to 6, otherwise it must be selected.

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Blackjack card counting systems

Counting cards in blackjack consists in the fact that the player will convert the cards on the table and conclude that there is more cards high than low to give away, the advantage is on the player's side. How do you count cards in blackjack? This can be achieved by constantly watching the cards on the table. In the event of a situation where there are more high cards in the hand, he should significantly increase the stake of the game. If the mathematical advantage is on the side of the casino, the player should put as little as possible. Despite several losses and wins, the sum of results should be positive. Blackjack players who know the card counting systems can significantly tip the scales of victory in their favor.

How to count cards in a simple way? The card counting system was discovered by Edward Thorp. He divided the cards into three categories due to the value:

  • high - 10, Walet, Dama, Król, As
  • neutral - 7, 8, 9
  • low - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

The value of these groups is: -1 for high, 0 for neutral, 1 for low. Counting in this way the cards dealt out, you can see that if the result goes above zero, then there are more high cards in the hand and you should keep playing. The higher the value of the cards, the greater the player's advantage over the casino. It is important to pay attention to the number of decks in the game. How many decks, you have to divide the calculated value so many times that the result is correct.

Here's how the casino's advantage over the player is and vice versa depending on the result of the calculation.

As you can see, the advantage is small, but, using combinations of several strategies and playing a larger number of parties, it should bring tangible results.

In order to get the most out of this system, the Kelly fund management method was created. It assumes that for every percentage point of advantage over the casino, the player bets a given percentage of his funds. For example: having $ 100 and a 1.5% advantage, the player bets $ 1.5.

With knowledge about card counting, you can create a table based on these numbers.

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