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Blackjack basic strategy is just the mathematically best way to play every possible hand in the game. This means that computers have done simulations and calculations about the expected value of every possible decision. When you make the decision that has the highest EV in each of those situations, you’re said to be using basic strategy.

Blackjack is the most popular table game in the casino, and offers excellent odds. The house edge is a tiny 0.5% if you learn the basic strategy (covered below). That's just about the best odds on any game as you're likely to find, making blackjack very attractive for those willing to put in just a little bit of work to learn the strategy (a couple of hours or so).

I’m a proponent of memorizing basic strategy so well that you’re able to play perfectly without having to think about these decisions. Basic strategy isn’t powerful enough to get you a mathematical edge over the casinos, though. You’ll still be playing at a disadvantage.

But that disadvantage will be as low as it possibly can be, and it will be FAR lower than your mathematical disadvantage (the house edge) on any other game. Lots of people want to learn to beat blackjack. Basic strategy alone won’t do it for you. You’ll have to learn a legitimate advantage gambling technique to flip the odds in your direction. For most people, this means learning how to count cards.

Counting cards, though, won’t get you an edge if you’re not able to implement basic strategy. This post offers some advice on the easiest and fastest way to learn basic strategy.

• Learn the Rules Learn the Basic strategy of the game Practice using the Basic strategy Learn how to count cards Play, train, and practice a lot; If you follow these recommendations, you will quickly learn to play Blackjack well. Combine theoretical and practical training. Feel free to learn! How to win at Blackjack.
• Blackjack strategy charts are the most popular and effective way to learn basic strategy. The chart contains rules and permutations which can be directly used in any online blackjack game, as well as some land-based casinos.
• Play Online Blackjack and learn how to play Blackjack games online. ⭐ Find the best Blackjack Games and earn consistent bonuses at CasinoTalk.

A Simplified Basic Strategy Is Probably the Best Way to Start

I’ve seen multiple “simplified” versions of basic strategy. Most of these are a fine place to start. I’ve seen online versions of this, but I’ve also seen simplified strategies in books. The simplified strategy I present below is based on Kevin Blackwood’s Play Blackjack Like the Pros, which I highly recommend by the way.

This simplified basic strategy only has 10 rules to follow:

• Always stand on a hard total of 17+.
• Hit a hard 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 versus a dealer 7+. Otherwise, stand.
• Double down on 11 if the dealer has anything but an ace, in which case you should hit.
• Double down on 10 if the dealer has anything but a 10 or an ace, in which case you should hit.
• Double down on 9 if the dealer has a 3, 4, 5, or 6. Otherwise, hit.
• Always hit a hard 8 or less.
• Always split aces or 8s.
• Never split 5s or 10s.
• Always stand on soft 18+.
• Always hit soft 17 or less.

That’s not a lot of memorizing to do, and it’s a great starting point. You can probably memorize this simplified blackjack basic strategy in less than an hour, in fact. The difference between this and using the full version of basic strategy is probably only about 0.2%.

In other words, if you were facing a game where the house edge were 0.5%, and you use this instead of the full basic strategy, you’re still playing a game where the house edge is only 0.7%. That’s better than almost any other game in the casino still.

It crosses my mind that some of the expressions and phrases used in that short simplified version of blackjack basic strategy might be unfamiliar to some readers. Here are some definitions and explanations:

Expected value is the mathematically projected value of a bet in a specific situation. It’s either positive or negative, and it’s the product of the amount you can win multiplied by the probability of winning, minus the product of the amount you can lose multiplied by the probability of losing.

When discussing basic strategy, expected value is the predicted value of a given decision in a given situation. A bet with a positive expectations is one in which you have a mathematical advantage over your opponent. If a bet has a negative expectation, your opponent has a mathematical edge over you.

To stand in blackjack is to refuse any additional cards and stay with the total you have.

A hard total in blackjack is one in which you can’t count an ace as 1 or 11. This could be because your hand doesn’t have an ace in it, but it could also be because you have a hand where you’re already having to count the ace as 1 to avoid going bust.

To bust in blackjack is to reach a total of 22 or higher. If you bust, you automatically lose immediately.

Doubling down is agreeing to take one (and exactly) one more card from the dealer while simultaneously doubling the size of your bet.

To hit is to accept an additional card from the dealer. The only limit you have to the number of times you can hit is if you go bust. At that point, you can’t take any more cards because you’ve automatically lose.

To split is to separate a pair of cards on you first hand to create 2 new hands. This requires putting up an additional bet for the new hand. It also requires using each of those cards to be the first card in each of those 2 new hands. Those 2 hands are played out separately as if they were just additional starting hands.

A soft total is a hand that contains an ace which can count as 1 or 11. The thing about soft hands is that they’re harder to bust, because you can always change the value to 1. The total, when describing a soft total, is always counting the ace as 11. Once you have to count the ace as 1 to avoid busting, you have a hard total.

The house edge is the predicted amount of money you’ll lose in the long run of the game, on average, per bet. It’s expressed as a percentage of your action. If I saw that the house edge is 0.5%, this means that in the long run, you’re expected to lose 50 cents for every $100 you bet on the game.

Most casino games have a house edge of over 1%, and in most cases, it’s considerably more than 1%. The house edge in blackjack varies based on how closely you adhere to basic strategy decisions. The closer you get to following basic strategy perfectly, the closer you get to that predicted house edge.

Many players are so bad at basic strategy that they’re giving the casino an edge of 2% to 4%.

The house edge can be used to predict how much money you’ll lose in the long run. You multiply how much action you’ve brought by the house edge to get the expected loss.

Here’s an example:

You’re playing for $25 per hand, and you play for 12 hours per visit to the casino. You’ll probably average 100 hands of blackjack per hour, for $2500 in action per hour. Over 12 hours, that’s $30,000 in action. If the house edge is 0.5%, your expected loss for the trip on blackjack is $150. If you’re using the simplified basic strategy above, the expected loss for the trip on blackjack is $210. That’s a lot of entertainment for your money, especially compared to other games.

Take roulette, for example. The house edge for roulette is 5.26%. Assume you bet $25 per spin of the wheel in roulette and see 50 spins per hour. (Roulette is a slower game than blackjack.) That’s $1250 per hour in action, or $15,000 for the entire trip. Your expected loss on that action, though, is $789. That’s a HUGE difference.

Another factor I like to consider is whether my decisions make any difference when I’m playing a gambling game. I enjoy the challenge of making correct decisions that affect the outcome. There’s no opportunity for that in games like roulette, but in blackjack, there’s a mental factor that I enjoy.

This Simplified Basic Strategy Presented as a Chart or Table

Most presentations of basic strategy are done in the form of a chart or a table. I find it easier to memorize a list of 10 rules, but if you’re a visual learner, you might find the following tables easier to remember:

HARD HANDS

PAIRS*

*Play any other pair according to its hard total.

SOFT HANDS

S – Stand

H – Hit

D – Double

You can find this information presented in other charts and tables and in other forms. This is NOT the only simplified blackjack basic strategy on the internet.

If your ultimate goal is to keep the house edge as low as possible, you should memorize all of basic strategy. If you want to be a card counter and get an edge over the casino, you need as much help as you can get mathematically. If you just want to milk the casinos for comps, you can do that in blackjack, too, but that’s most effective when you play perfect basic strategy.

And even though we’re only talking about a difference of 0.2% or less, I think you should milk the game for everything it’s worth. To do that, you need to take the next step and master the full basic strategy. The easiest way to do that, to my mind, is to start learning the exceptions to that list of 10 rules in the simplified basic strategy above. Here are those exceptions:

HARD HANDS

Here are the exceptions to make to basic strategy in some situations involving hard hands:

• With a hard total of 12, you’ll hit if the dealer has a 2 or 3 showing. Otherwise, follow the strategy above.

That’s it. Now you know basic strategy for hard hands, perfectly.

SPLITTING PAIRS

You’ll notice that the simplified strategy only addresses 4 sets of pairs. To really master basic strategy, you need to know how to handle the other pairs, too. The only way to learn this is to memorize them:

• Split 2s, 3s, or 7s if the dealer has a 2 through 7.
• Split 4s if the dealer has a 5 or 6.
• Split 6s if the dealer has a 2 through 6.
• Split 9s of the dealer has a 2 through 6 or an 8 or 9. (Stand if the dealer has a 7, 10, or ace.)

SOFT HANDS

And here are the exceptions for soft totals:

• Double on soft 13 or 14 if the dealer has a 5 or 6. (Otherwise, hit.)
• Double on soft 15 or 16 if the dealer has a 4, 5, or 6. (Otherwise, hit.)
• Double on soft 17 if the dealer has a 3, 4, 5, or 6. (Otherwise, hit.)
• Double on soft 18 if the dealer has a

Basic Strategy for Insurance

Insurance is a side bet you can place when the dealer has an ace showing. The bet size is half your original bet, and if you win insurance, you get paid off at 2 to 1 on that bet. You win the insurance bet if the dealer has a 10 in the hole.

Of course, if the dealer has a 10 in the hole, he has a blackjack, so you lose your original bet immediately. Since the insurance bet is half the size of your original bet, and it pays off at 2 to 1, it’s a wash. You’ll win as much on the insurance bet as you’ll lose on your original bet.

The idea behind insurance is that the dealer has a reasonably high probability of having a 10 in the hole. The following cards in the deck are worth 10:

• 10
• Jack
• Queen
• King

There are 4 of each of these cards, for 16 cards total. 16/52 is close to 1 in 3, but not quite. It’s still a negative expectation bet. But…If you’re counting cards, and if the deck is rich in 10s—in other worse, the count is significantly positive—the insurance bet becomes a positive expectation situation.

If you’re just a basic strategy player, the rule of basic strategy is simple: Never take the insurance bet when it’s offered, no matter how much the dealer or the other players at the table seem to think it’s a good idea.

Blackjack basic strategy is easier to remember if you take it piecemeal. Some situations don’t come up often enough to make a huge difference to your bottom line, and they can be safely ignored to simplify the strategy. For example, if you have a hard 12 versus a 2 or 3, you should hit.

But you don’t lose much in that situation by standing instead. By just treating that 12 like a 13, 14, 15, or 16, you simplify what you need to remember tremendously. For players who are just learning basic strategy, learning the simple strategy first is the way to go. Once you’ve mastered that, you can start learning the rest of the possible situations which will come up.

If your goal is to become an advantage gambler (or a comp wizard), you should invest the time and effort to mastering every aspect of blackjack basic strategy. But if you’re just a recreational gambler, you’re probably just fine using the simplified basic strategy I’ve presented.

Unless you haven’t been paying attention to my blog, you already know that blackjack is a game of skill. You probably also already know that there’s a mathematically optimal way to play every hand. This mathematically optimal way of playing each hand is called “basic strategy.”

If you’ve visited a casino gift shop, you’ve probably seen the little laminated basic strategy cards. Those are fine to use in the casino, but they’re not always ideal. The dealers and the casinos don’t mind you using such cards, but it’s more fun to just know the correct play in each situation.

When I was learning blackjack, I was stressed out about having to commit a multi-colored table to memory. My brain just doesn’t work well that way. I have some thoughts about an effective way to learn using a basic strategy table that I’ll share below, but I have other ideas about the best ways to learn basic strategy, too.

The most important idea I have, though, is that you should be able to learn basic strategy in less than an hour.

Yes, there are close to 200 individual situations in blackjack where you need to know the correct move. The thing is, though, that many hands in many situations should be played the same way.

If you’re willing to sacrifice a small percentage back to the casino, you don’t even need to memorize the entire basic strategy. You can just start by memorizing a simplified version of basic strategy.

Whether You Should Surrender

The first question you should ask is whether you should surrender.

The good news is that you’ll almost never surrender. With the simplified strategy I want you to memorize, you only need to surrender if you have a hard total of 16 versus a dealer up-card of 10.

A “hard” total, by the way, is a total without an ace. A total with an ace is called a “soft” total because you can change the value of that ace to 1 if it would otherwise bust your hand. In some cases, after you’ve hit a few times, a hand with an ace can become a hard total. If you MUST count the ace as 1 to avoid busting, it’s a hard total.

But that’s the only time you need to worry about surrendering.

It’s not hard to remember, because everyone knows 16 is a lousy hand.

And everyone knows that a dealer 10 is a bummer, too.

Whether You Should Split

If you get 2 cards of the same rank, you have the option to “split” your hand. To do this, you place a 2^nd bet, the same size as your initial bet. The 2 cards are separated into 2 new hands, with a bet on each of them. Each hand is then dealt another card, and you play each hand as if it were a brand-new hand.

But you don’t always split when you have a pair of cards of the same rank. It depends on the cards, and it also sometimes depends on the dealer’s face up card.

You’ll always split aces or 8s. If you have a pair of aces, you really have a soft total of 12. That’s not a terrible hand, but you have a lot of cards worth 10 in the deck. It’s worth it to get 2 hands that start off with an ace as their first card, because a lot of the time you’ll wind up with a total of 21.

If you have a pair of 8s, you have a hard total of 16. We already talked about what a lousy situation that is. But if you split, you’ll have 2 hands with 8 as the first card in the hand. If you get a 10 for your next card, you have a total of 18, which is respectable. That will happen often enough that it’s worthwhile to split those 8s.

You’ll never split 4s, 5s, or 10s. A pair of 4s is the same as a hard total of 8. That’s just like having an 8 as your starting card when you split, which isn’t terrible. It’s impossible to bust with one card dealt to a total of 8, and you’ll almost certainly improve to a strong hand.

If you split, you’d wind up with 2 hands where your starting card is 4, which isn’t anything to write home about. If you get a 10 as your next card, you’re looking at figuring out what to do with a hard total of 14, which is a drag. It’s not as bad as a hard total of 16, but it’s a drag, nonetheless.

A pair of 5s is the same thing as a hard total of 10, which is a great starting hand. If you get a 10 or an ace, you have a total of 20 or 21, which is almost unbeatable.

On the other hand, if you split those 5s, you wind up with 2 hands where 5 is the starting card. You’re looking at potentially getting a hard total of 15, which is a hand that’s likely to bust if you hit it, but unlikely to win if you stand.

A pair of 10s is a hard total of 20. That’s so hard to beat that it’s never wise to break it into 2 hands, even though those 2 hands would be good, too. Starting a hand with your first card as a 10 isn’t a bad deal at all.

With any other pair, you’ll split if the dealer has a 6 or lower showing. Otherwise, you’ll treat the card as its corresponding hard total. When the dealer has a 6 or lower showing, he’s got a higher than average chance of going bust. Any time you can get more money into action when the dealer is likely to go bust, you should go for it.

It’s incorrect to always assume that the dealer has a 10 in the hole, and it’s also incorrect to always assume that the next card you’re going to be dealt is going to be a 10.

But the fact is, you have more cards in the deck worth 10 than any other single value, so if you do make that assumption, you’ll come closer to basic strategy than you might otherwise.

Whether You Should Double Down

Another option you have, which is one we haven’t discussed yet, is the option to double down. To double down, you double the size of your bet. You also agree to take one more card and no more.

When you have a hard 9, 10, or 11, you MIGHT double down. You’ll double down with a 9 if the dealer has a 6 or lower; otherwise you’ll just hit. If you have a 10 or 11, you’ll double down as long as your hand is higher than the dealer’s up-card. Otherwise, you’ll just stand.

You’ve probably noticed by now that the dealer having a 6 or lower is a big determining factor for these basic strategy decisions. Keep that in mind. If the dealer has a 6 or lower showing, that’s better for you. Sometimes it means you should play your hand more conservatively.

You should treat a soft total of 16, 17, or 18 the same way you’d treat a hard 9. You double down if the dealer has a 6 or less, and you hit if the dealer has a 7 or more.

Those are the only 6 totals you’ll double down on:

1. Hard 9
2. Hard 10
3. Hard 11
4. Soft 16
5. Soft 17
6. Soft 18

Whether You Should Hit or Stand?

If none of the situations above apply to you—you don’t surrender, you can’t split your cards, you’re not going to double down—then your only decision is whether to hit or stand.

This will be the decision you’ll be faced with most of the time.

You’ll always hit a hard hand of 8 or lower. There’s no downside to doing this. It’s impossible to bust the hand, so any card you get will improve your total.

If you have a hard total of 12 through 16, you’ll stand if the dealer has a 6 or less. If the dealer has a 7 or more, you’ll hit. Any total of 12 through 16 is susceptible to going bust, but if the dealer has a 7 or higher showing, you have to risk it to have the best chance of winning. If you stand on a 12 through 16, you’re hoping that the dealer will bust.

If you have a hard total of 17 or higher, you’ll always stand. The probability of busting such a hand is just too high to ignore.

You’ll always hit any soft total of 15 or less. Again, it’s impossible to bust, so you might as well try to improve your hand.

You’ll always stand on a soft total of 19 or higher. It’s ungrateful to ask for a hand stronger than a 19, even if it is impossible to bust such a hand. The probability of improving your hand is negligible. Chances are, you’ll wind up with a total worse than you started with.

We already discussed how to play a soft 16, 17, or 18, in the section on doubling down. I won’t repeat those instructions here.

Summing this Basic Strategy Up as a Single List

If you want all the rules for how to play your hands in a single list, here it is:

1. Surrender a hard 16 versus a dealer 10.
2. Always split aces or 8s.
3. Never split 4s, 5s, or 10s.
4. With any other pair, split if the dealer has a 6 or lower showing. Otherwise, treat the hand as its corresponding hard total.
5. Double down on hard 9, soft 16, soft 17, or a soft 18 if the dealer has a 6 or lower showing; otherwise, hit.
6. Double down on hard 10 or hard 11 if your total is higher than the dealer’s up-card. Otherwise, stand.
7. Always hit a hard 8 or lower.
8. Hit a hard 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 if the dealer has a 6 or lower. Otherwise, hit.
9. Always stand on a hard 17 or higher.
10. Always hit a soft 15 or lower.
11. Always stand on a soft 19 or higher.

That’s it–a simplified basic strategy that’s summed up in 11 guidelines for how to play your hands.

I’ve put this list of guidelines in hierarchical order, too. This means you make a decision based on the first thing that comes up.

For example, with a hard 16, the first thing you do is decide whether or not to surrender. If that doesn’t apply, you continue to go down the list until you get to #8.

With a pair of aces, you have a soft total of 12. You split that, so you never get to the guideline which recommends hitting such a total.

Wait—This Seems TOO Easy

If you think this version of basic strategy seems too, easy, well, that’s because it’s a simplified basic strategy. There are a couple of places where the correct strategy was ignored to keep the strategy simple.

For example, with a hard total of 12 versus a dealer up-card of 2, the actual correct strategy is to hit, but the strategy I’ve shared above suggests standing.

But even with all the “mistakes” included in this simplified basic strategy, the house edge is only 0.1% or 0.2% higher than it would be if you memorized basic strategy exactly.

Most of the blackjack players I know don’t have basic strategy memorized that well. In fact, most of them memorize a basic strategy that’s correct for a game where the dealer stands on a soft 17.

But in most casinos, the standard is for the dealer to hit a soft 17.

How To Learn Blackjack Basic Strategy Tactics

Any rules change can change what the correct basic strategy is. In other words, there’s not one basic strategy to memorize.

Each game under its own rules has a correct basic strategy. Since there are multiple blackjack games out there to choose from, you’re almost always going to be playing with a basic strategy that’s slightly incorrect anyway.

So why not memorize a simplified basic strategy and give up that 0.1% or 0.2%?

Best Way To Learn Blackjack Basic Strategy

In fact, unless you’re counting cards, it’s not going to make that much difference.

How Much Do these “Simplifications” Cost in Dollars?

We can estimate the cost of these simplifications with ease. Your predicted hourly loss at any gambling game is just the amount of money you’re putting into action each hour multiplied by the house edge of the game.

Let’s assume you’re playing for $20 per hand, and you’re at a table where you’re getting 75 hands per hour.

That’s $1500 you’re putting into action each hour.

Let’s say that the game conditions are such that the house edge would be 0.5% if you were playing with PERFECT basic strategy.

Your predicted hourly loss for that game is $1500 X 0.5%, or $7.50/hour.

Now let’s assume that you’re using the simplified basic strategy above, and instead of facing a 0.5% house edge, you’re facing a house edge of 0.65% instead.

Now your predicted hourly loss is $9.75.

That’s an extra $2.25/hour, sure, but keep this in mind, too…

How To Memorize Blackjack Basic Strategy

If you play any negative expectation game long enough, you’ll eventually go broke. It’s just a question of how long it will take.

Anyone can memorize the simplified basic strategy I’ve shared in an hour or less.

Not everyone can memorize the entirety of the 100% accurate basic strategy in less than an hour.

Learning by Using a Blackjack Strategy Chart

Basic strategy is usually presented using a table or chart. Along the top are listed the 10 possible up-cards the dealer has, and along the left side are the possible totals the player might have.

The resulting table includes the correct decision for every hand. This is usually color-coded, with green being the most common color indicating you should hit and red being the most common color indicating you should stand.

If you want to learn basic strategy this way, I have a suggestion for how it might be easier to do.

Create a table in your favorite word processing program, but leave the decisions blank.

Sit down with a pen and a printout of your blank basic strategy chart.

Fill out the correct decisions as best you can, then compare it to the chart you’re trying to memorize. Spend some time studying the decision points you missed.

Then re-test.

Blackjack Apprenticeship Basic Strategy

Keep going back to this test repeatedly until you can do it perfectly. Even then, don’t stop studying. Everyone forgets stuff if they don’t revisit it periodically.

Conclusion

How To Learn Blackjack Basic Strategy Step By Step

Blackjack basic strategy isn’t nearly as hard as you might have thought it was. You can memorize the simplified basic strategy presented in this post in less than an hour easily. When you do, you can deal with a house edge of about 0.65% if you pick good games.

How To Learn Blackjack Basic Strategy Games

It might be worth your while to memorize a more advanced version of basic strategy, but for my money, this one works just fine. I prefer to spend less time studying and more time playing.