Blackjack Strategy

Strategy is important for any game, and blackjack strategy allows you to stop relying purely on luck and chance and develop a proper gameplan that you can utilize to improve your winning chances. When we talk of blackjack strategy, there are basically two main strategies – standard blackjack strategy, which basically means playing blackjack as well as the game can be played according to the statistics, and card-counting. There are other kinds of blackjack strategy as well besides these two, but these are the only ones that will actually affect your winning chances.  If you are an amateur player or a beginner at blackjack, it is best to start with basic blackjack strategy and slowly move upwards to learn more complex theories. Do note that card counting is a dead art in the online world, as internet casino software automatically re-shuffles with each deal. Keeping this in mind, we will discuss the main type of blackjack tactics – basic blackjack strategy – in brief.

Basic Blackjack Strategy
Basic blackjack strategy is effectively a guide that deals with the fundamentals of sound blackjack playing. It involves the use of tables and charts, called strategy charts, which contain details on the different moves that you and the dealer would have during a game of blackjack.

The strategy chart in blackjack has two columns, with the left column having your possible hands and the right column having the hands that a dealer might possibly have. Depending on the number of decks and rules, the basic blackjack strategy can vary.

There are other things you should know about basic blackjack strategy: for instance, a strategy chart would also contain certain abbreviations of terms that are commonly used to describe the moves you should make or opt for. The abbreviations are necessary considering a strategy chart is not too big in size.

Here are some of the commonly found abbreviations in blackjack strategy charts, and also their expansions:

• S – Stand
• P – Split
• H – Hit
• D – Double if allowed, otherwise hit
• Ds – Double if allowed, otherwise stand
• H/R – Surrender if allowed, otherwise hit
• H/P – Split if there is a possibility of doubling after splitting, otherwise hit
• S/R – Surrender if allowed, otherwise stand
• P/R- Surrender if allowed, otherwise split

The key to successfully using basic blackjack strategy lies in being able to decipher the contents of the charts, and thereby figure out the best moves to make. This means you need to know by heart the different moves listed in them. While that may not be possible right from the beginning, you will definitely be able to do so after you use these charts for a while.

Some Pointers to Basic Blackjack Strategy
As part of learning some basic blackjack strategy, here are some things you can do to ensure you win some. The pointers mentioned here work in the context of the dealer’s up card value.

One of the things that you can do when the dealer’s up card has a value of 7 or more is to continue pulling cards from the deck until your hard count (value with an Ace valued at 11) has a minimum value of 17. Alternately, you could do this till your soft count (Ace counts as 1 point) value is at least 18.

If your total hand value is 10 or 11, and the dealer's showing nine or less, you can opt to double down which could increase your winnings. In case you don't know what the term ‘double down’ means, it's basically doubling your wager after you are dealt your first two cards. These are some pointers to basic blackjack strategy that you can adopt to improve your chances of winning the game.