Blackjack

Basic Strategy

If the prospect of breaking even does not offer you sufficient monetary inducement to take the time to learn basic strategy, then I will appeal to your ego. I would conservatively estimate that less than one in every 100 players plays basic strategy perfectly. By learning to do so, you will place yourself in the 99th percentile among all of the world's players.

Though the complete basic strategy should eventually be mastered, you can get by with an abbreviated version. The recommendations in this short version are presented in the order that you will be confronted with the decisions, not in the order of their importance. Rules #3 and #4 are by far the most important. A soft 17 is a total containing an ace, i.e., (A,6) or (A,2,4)

By adhering to the six rules in this simple strategy, a player can cut the casino's advantage at 21 to between 1% and 2%. To reduce that advantage even further, you must learn the entire basic strategy. Study the tables on the next page. They address every possible situation you will face in a blackjack game. When you've learned to play basic strategy perfectly, you will possess the tools necessary to play with a very low house edge. The lowest of any table game and far better than slots.

Keep in mind that basic strategy is not someone's subjective impression of how each hand should be played, but rather a mathematically optimal, computer-derived strategy for playing 21. It is completely accurate and must be followed to the letter. Every time you deviate from basic strategy, you cost yourself money.

It will take between four and eight hours of study to learn the complete basic strategy. The combinations down the left hand side of the chart represent your hand. The numbers across the top represent the dealer's up card. Example: You hold (A,4) and the dealer shows a 6, your play is to double down. Where there is a slash (i.e., D/H), the first play is versus a single deck and the second is versus multiple decks. The most important tables are Hit-Stand and Hard Double. They are also easiest to learn.

Learning Basic Strategy

Most players will never learn to play basic strategy perfectly because they can't (or won't) spend the 6-8 hours of serious study that is necessary to memorize this chart. It can be tedious. A better alternative is computer learning. A computer lets you practice by actually playing. As you play against computer-generated hands, the program alerts you to errors as you make them. Since it's more like playing a game than doing a chore, you learn faster and more completely. Casino Verite is the best software on the market for this. It's available from our online catalog. Click here to buy Casino Verite.