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Blackjack Basic Strategy

Posted on July 31, 2015 | No Comments on Blackjack Basic Strategy

Basic strategy is a must for anyone who plays blackjack, be that with friends, at a USA online casino or at a bricks and mortar casino. Quite simply, basic strategy is the only way to play blackjack if you care about the nickels and dimes – and dollars!

Basic strategy is the name given to the method of playing blackjack that gives players the best mathematical chance of winning. Basic strategy, which is usually expressed as a chart, tells you precisely what decision to make in any given situation in blackjack and applies equally to online blackjack, mobile blackjack and indeed any form of the great casino card game.

Basic strategy tells you, based on the value of your two cards and the dealer’s one revealed card, whether you should hit, stand, split, double, surrender or take insurance. Some of those decisions are easy – never take insurance; always, and we do mean always, split eights – but others are more complex: for example should you hit a soft 18 to a dealer showing a nine (the answer is yes, assuming standard rules apply and four to eight decks are being used)?

Basic strategy, which was “invented” by four keen minds who were serving in the US army at the time, varies according to the precise rule variants the casino you are playing in uses but in general most decisions remain the same. It’s easy to find basic strategy charts and when you’re playing at an online blackjack site, referring to the guide is a quick and easy way to give yourself the best odds of winning.

Any blackjack ruleset has a house edge but in order to achieve that house edge you MUST follow the rules of basic strategy. Whilst it may not always seem the right call, the fact is that basic strategy has been mathematically and scientifically tested and it really does give you the greatest chance of success.

Of course, when you hit on a 16 you may well bust and lose that individual hand, but over time you will win more hands by doing as basic strategy tells you than you will following your gut, listening to your friends or anything else. So, in short, if you like to play blackjack online and like winning, make basic strategy your new friend.

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