If you’re a blackjack player, you need to know the best basic blackjack strategy in order to make your every blackjack session a profitable one. There are many strategies available, but the best basic blackjack strategy is not complicated. Here, I’ll tell you the best basic strategy and then teach you how to test your blackjack strategy to see if it’s right for you.
The Best Basic Blackjack Strategy
The best basic blackjack strategy is to know when to surrender. Surrendering means even if the dealer has blackjack, you will still beat the dealer by having a smaller hand. However, you will not win any more than you gamble with. So even though you might have a better hand than the dealer, you will still lose if the dealer has blackjack.
Your next best strategy for basic blackjack is to make sure the dealer has to hit to a 17 or higher. If the dealer has a 5 or 6 as their up card, you can still lose even though you have a better hand. The rule of thumb here is that if the house has a 4, 5 or 6 as their up card, you will have a better chance of winning by having a hand with a value of at least 12.
Your third strategy is to make sure the dealer goes bust when they have a 9 as their up card. This is one of the best times you’ll ever win at blackjack. If the dealer has a 9 as their up card, you will have a total of 15. Depending on the table rules, you might be allowed to double down or double your bet following your original bet. Doing so allows you to bet $10 twice, which is $20 in total. Since you twice bet $10, you’ll get only $30 for your $10 bet and $20 profit, for a total of $40 profit. But you didn’t ask for this. You were told to bet $10. So you have to ask yourself “Why are you doubling down in this situation?” The answer is that the house might have a natural advantage over you, and not letting you double down might allow you to beat the house.
Your next strategy is going to be to become very skilled and understand that there are more than four decks of cards. When you see that you’re losing with one deck, you can pick the other deck up, and your play will be much better. Many players can’t believe that there are more decks, and they start to shuffle them more frequently which makes their play terrible. Your next big move is going to be to start moving the decks aggressively. Much of this has to do with personal preference, but by my estimation, the best way to move decks is to stack them on top of each other, and then shuffle. The only time you should probably try moving decks is during a tournament when the number of players is very low.
Moving decks also sets up your play for success with the least amount of stress. I know, how can that be stress free when you have to juggle so many decks? Simply put, it’s stress free because you’re saving all that stress for the times that you’re not sure you’re going to win. That’s right, when you’re not sure of your hand in a particular hand, you’re better off throwing it away. You’re not going to win every hand, so it’s not worth it. Play every hand strategically, and you’ll be good enough to win.