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EASY WINNING ONLINE BLACKJACK STRATEGY
By Arnold Snyder
(Thank you to Arnold Snyder and the professional gamblers at Arnold Snyder's Blackjack Forum and Poker Tournament Formula for permission to print this strategy here.)
© 2005-2006 Arnold Snyder
If you want to skip the explanation, click here to go straight to the Easy Blackjack Strategy Chart.
The first step in learning how to play winning blackjack is to learn blackjack basic strategy. If you make your decisions by playing your hunches, you will lose in the long run.
There is only one correct play decision in blackjack for any given hand, and that decision is based strictly on mathematics. Whether or not you should hit or stand, double down or split a pair, depends on what the laws of probability show to be your long-term overall win and loss results for each of these possibilities. Mathematicians, using high speed computers, have analyzed every possible blackjack hand you might hold vs. every possible dealer up card.
Definition: Blackjack basic strategy is the mathematically optimum way to play your blackjack hands if you are not counting cards. Depending on the rules and the number of decks in use, blackjack basic strategy will usually cut the house edge to no more than about ½ percent over the player. This makes blackjack the least disadvantageous game in the casino, even if you are not a card counter. (Note: We can’t really use card counting strategies in online casinos because the online software programs shuffle the cards after every round.)
To explain why the various blackjack basic strategy decisions are best would require extensive mathematical proof. Unless you understand the math, and have a computer to work it out, you’ll have to accept basic strategy on faith. There is an underlying logic to basic strategy, however, which can be understood by anyone who understands the rules of blackjack.
Why Blackjack Basic Strategy Works
In a 52-card deck there are 16 ten-valued cards: four tens, four jacks, four queens, and four kings. (For purposes of simplification, when I refer to a card as a "ten" or "X," it is understood to mean any 10, Jack, Queen or King.) Every other denomination has only four cards, one of each suit. That means you are four times more likely to pull a ten out of the deck than, say, a deuce. Because of this, when the blackjack dealer’s upcard is "high"—7,8,9,X, or A—he has a greater likelihood of finishing with a strong total than when his upcard is "low"—2,3,4,5, or 6.
Thus, if the dealer’s upcard is a 7, 8, 9, X, or A, and you are holding a "stiff"—any blackjack hand totaling 12 through 16—you want to hit. When the dealer’s hand indicates strength, you do not want to stand with a weak hand. Even though, when you hit a stiff, you are more likely to bust than to make a pat hand, you must give your hand a better chance of beating the dealer’s by taking a hit. You will lose more money in the long run if you stand on these weak hands when the dealer shows strength. When the dealer shows strength, you have to at least try to fight back.
On the other hand, if the dealer’s up card is 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 and you are holding a stiff hand, you should stand. Since the dealer must hit his stiff hands, and since stiffs bust more often, hitting your weak hand is not advantageous.
Similarly, if the dealer’s up card indicates he may be stiff, it is more advantageous to double down or to split pairs, thereby getting more money onto the table when the dealer has a higher chance of busting. You double down and split pairs less often when the dealer shows a strong upcard.
This is the basic logic of blackjack basic strategy. There are exceptions to these oversimplified guidelines, as the actual basic strategy decision for any given hand is determined by working out all of the mathematical probabilities.
The Simplified Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart provided below is made up of ten easy rules, and will get you almost all of the value available to players from Basic Strategy in most games. If you only want to learn one easy chart, this is the one you should learn.
How to Practice Blackjack Basic Strategy
1. Study the ten rules for the Simplified Basic Strategy below.
Study the list one rule at a time. Don’t rush yourself. Write down each rule as you add it to your memorized list. Do this until you have mastered the list.
2. Practice with Cards
Place an ace face up on a table to represent the dealer’s up card. Shuffle the rest of the cards, then deal two cards face up to yourself. Do not deal the dealer a down card. Look at your two cards and the dealer’s ace and make your basic strategy decision. Check the chart to see if you are correct. Then go ahead and deal yourself the next two cards.
Go through the entire deck (25 hands), then change the dealer’s up card to a deuce, then to a 3, 4, 5, etc. You should be able to run through a full deck of player hands for all ten dealer up cards in less than half an hour once you are able to make your decisions without consulting the charts. You will get to the point where every decision will be instant. Strive for perfection. If you have the slightest doubt about any decision, consult the chart.
To practice your pair split decisions, which occur less frequently than other decisions, reverse the above exercise. Deal yourself a pair of aces, then run through the deck changing only the dealer’s up card. Then give yourself a pair of deuces, etc.
Don’t waste time with any exercise you don’t need. Your basic strategy for splitting aces, for instance, is always to split them. You don’t need to run through a whole deck of dealer up cards every day to practice this decision. Likewise, basic strategy tells you to always split 8s, and never to split 4s, 5s or 10s. You will learn these decisions quickly. Most of your study and practice for pair-splitting decisions should go toward learning when to split 2s, 3s, 6s, 7s and 9s.
If you learn to play basic strategy, most online casinos, as well as most live casinos, will have only a ½ percent edge over you. This means that in the long run, they will win about 50¢ for every $100 you bet. With some rules, the house advantage over basic strategy players is slightly more or less than this. Playing basic strategy accurately will greatly cut your losses.
Simplified Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart
Follow these rules for Blackjack Basic Strategy:
1. Never take insurance.
2. If the dealer’s upcard is 7, 8, 9, X or A, hit until you get to hard 17 or more.
3. If the dealer’s upcard is 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, stand on all your stiffs; hard 12 through 16.
4. Hit all soft hands of soft 17 (A,6) and below.
5. Stand on soft 18 (A,7) or higher.
6. Double down on 10 and 11 vs. any dealer up card from 2 through 9.
7. Always split aces and 8s.
8. Never split 4s, 5s or 10s.
9. Split all other pairs - 2s, 3s, 6s, 7s and 9s - vs. any dealer up card of 4, 5 or 6.
10. Surrender 16 vs. 9, X or A, if allowed.
Once you know blackjack basic strategy, your decisions will become automatic. Assuming you brush up on the ten simple rules above occasionally, you will not have to continue practicing basic strategy. Basic strategy is your single most powerful weapon in becoming a winner at casino blackjack.
For comprehensive professional blackjack strategy charts for any number of decks or blackjack rules, and for card counters or non-card counters, see Arnold Snyder's Blackjack Forum. Also see the Blackjack Forum site for further information on how professional gamblers beat casino games. All the information is accurate, and all of it is free.
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