General Blackjack Strategy

Introduction

To use the basic strategy, look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. There are two charts depending on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17.

If General Blackjack Strategy you want to play casino games on the Web, we have compiled a selection of the best online casinos for US players. This selection is based on promotions, bonuses, security, cash out options, reputation, software robustness, graphics, customer service, game diversity General Blackjack Strategy and the overall respect of the player. Play at RoyaleWin Online Casino, awarded Best Online Casino and enjoy 110% Welcome Deposit Bonus. Join RoyaleWin casino online today. Blackjack Card Counting is an age-old strategy used by many professional blackjack players. It is not that hard to learn, and can be very effective in minimizing losses and maximizing profits. It is recommended to get a good deal of practice in card counting before applying the strategy at a live casino so that the extensive security staff does. They developed the first reasonably accurate basic playing strategy for blackjack in the 1950s. The name of his best-selling book was Beat the Dealer. The objective of blackjack is to beat the dealer's hand either by having a total that exceeds the dealer's total, or by not going over 21 when the dealer does. Hide the ability to count cards. Many card counters are known for playing the game for hours on end with no breaks. It is important to blend in, so act like a tourist or a general beginner when taking a seat at the table. If there is a need to increase the bet, it is better to let the current bet rise.

Other basic strategy rules.

• Never take insurance or 'even money.'
• If there is no row for splitting (fives and tens), then look up your hand as a hard total (10 or 20).
• If you can't split because of a limit on re-splitting, then look up your hand as a hard total, except aces. In the extremely unlikely event you have a pair of aces you can't re-split and drawing to split aces is allowed, then double against a 6, otherwise hit.

If you play a mixture of six-deck games, some where the dealer hits a soft 17, and some where he stands, and you only wish to memorize one strategy, I would recommend you memorize the one where the dealer stands on soft 17. The cost in errors due to playing the wrong strategy is 2.3 times higher playing a stand on soft 17 game, with the hit on 17 strategy, than vise versa.

Basic Strategy in Text

For the benefit of my blind readers, here is the above strategy in text form, when the dealer stands on soft 17 and surrender is allowed. To use the strategy, start at the top, and follow the first rule that applies. How to win on slot machines in casinos.

Surrender

• Surrender hard 16 (but not a pair of 8s) vs. dealer 9, 10, or A, and hard 15 vs. dealer 10.

Split

• Always split aces and 8s.
• Never split 5s and 10s.
• Split 2s and 3s against a dealer 4-7, and against a 2 or 3 if DAS is allowed.
• Split 4s only if DAS is allowed and the dealer shows a 5 or 6.
• Split 6s against a dealer 3-6, and against a 2 if DAS is allowed.
• Split 7s against a dealer 2-7.
• Split 9s against a dealer 2-6 or 8-9.

Double

• Double hard 9 vs. dealer 3-6.
• Double hard 10 except against a dealer 10 or A.
• Double hard 11 except against a dealer A.
• Double soft 13 or 14 vs. dealer 5-6.
• Double soft 15 or 16 vs. dealer 4-6.
• Double soft 17 or 18 vs. dealer 3-6.

Hit or Stand

• Always hit hard 11 or less.
• Stand on hard 12 against a dealer 4-6, otherwise hit.
• Stand on hard 13-16 against a dealer 2-6, otherwise hit.
• Always stand on hard 17 or more.
• Always hit soft 17 or less.
• Stand on soft 18 except hit against a dealer 9, 10, or A.
• Always stand on soft 19 or more.

As I've said many times, the above strategy will be fine under any set of rules. However, for you perfectionists out there, here are the modifications to make if the dealer hits a soft 17.

• Surrender 15, a pair of 8s, and 17 vs. dealer A.
• Double 11 vs. dealer A.
• Double soft 18 vs. dealer 2.
• Double soft 19 vs. dealer 6.

My thanks to Kelly for putting together the above text strategy.

Counting cards is used to give a player an edge over the casino. Contrary to popular belief, counting cards is not that difficult to master.

Card counting is one of the great skills that can be mastered when playing blackjack and it can greatly increase the chances of winning. While some players think that counting cards is almost impossible, there are some easy ways to begin and these are covered with the following tips. One thing to remember is that card counting is frowned upon by gambling establishment, so players may also want to take some time to learn how to hide these skills after they are learned.

Tips on How to Count Cards

1. Always take time to review and choose the right card counting system. For beginners, the KO and Hi-Lo systems are great since they are a bit less complex. As players gain more confidence and can master these systems, they can start to use more advanced systems for better results.

2. Start with small stakes. Casino slots free bonus no deposit. When learning how to count cards, it is better to do this while only risking a small amount when playing. Start with $5 games or even lower if they are available and practice skills with these games. Once basic card counting skills are developed and mastered, try them with games for higher stakes.

3. Keep an eye on the bankroll. Most players will not have a good idea of how much money they will need to survive as a card counter. There will be plenty of losing hands, so make sure the bankroll can support the games that are being played.

4. Master the Hi-Lo Strategy of counting. With this, cards that have a value between 2 and 6 will be counted as 1. Cards between 7 and 9 have no value. Cards worth ten have -1 and aces also have a value of -1. Start with 0 and count the values to determine the possibility of the next card being hi or low.

5. Using the Hi-Lo strategy, increase bets when the count is positive, +2 or better. The higher the count, the more players should bet on the game. When the value is a high number, this means that more high valued cards are left in the deck.

6. Consider both cards in the hand. If one is holding a Jack and a 4, the values are -1 and +1, which will cancel each other out. This does not matter much as counting cards has everything to do with remembering the tally and being able to do it with speed and accuracy.

General Blackjack Strategy Games

7. Hide the ability to count cards. Many card counters are known for playing the game for hours on end with no breaks. It is important to blend in, so act like a tourist or a general beginner when taking a seat at the table.

8. If there is a need to increase the bet, it is better to let the current bet rise. Most live dealers are trained to shuffle the deck when there is a suspicious increase of betting at the table. Only increase bets in small increments and at random to avoid suspicion.

Blackjack Strategy Wizard Of Odds

Hit or Stand

• Always hit hard 11 or less.
• Stand on hard 12 against a dealer 4-6, otherwise hit.
• Stand on hard 13-16 against a dealer 2-6, otherwise hit.
• Always stand on hard 17 or more.
• Always hit soft 17 or less.
• Stand on soft 18 except hit against a dealer 9, 10, or A.
• Always stand on soft 19 or more.

As I've said many times, the above strategy will be fine under any set of rules. However, for you perfectionists out there, here are the modifications to make if the dealer hits a soft 17.

• Surrender 15, a pair of 8s, and 17 vs. dealer A.
• Double 11 vs. dealer A.
• Double soft 18 vs. dealer 2.
• Double soft 19 vs. dealer 6.

My thanks to Kelly for putting together the above text strategy.

Counting cards is used to give a player an edge over the casino. Contrary to popular belief, counting cards is not that difficult to master.

Card counting is one of the great skills that can be mastered when playing blackjack and it can greatly increase the chances of winning. While some players think that counting cards is almost impossible, there are some easy ways to begin and these are covered with the following tips. One thing to remember is that card counting is frowned upon by gambling establishment, so players may also want to take some time to learn how to hide these skills after they are learned.

Tips on How to Count Cards

1. Always take time to review and choose the right card counting system. For beginners, the KO and Hi-Lo systems are great since they are a bit less complex. As players gain more confidence and can master these systems, they can start to use more advanced systems for better results.

2. Start with small stakes. Casino slots free bonus no deposit. When learning how to count cards, it is better to do this while only risking a small amount when playing. Start with $5 games or even lower if they are available and practice skills with these games. Once basic card counting skills are developed and mastered, try them with games for higher stakes.

3. Keep an eye on the bankroll. Most players will not have a good idea of how much money they will need to survive as a card counter. There will be plenty of losing hands, so make sure the bankroll can support the games that are being played.

4. Master the Hi-Lo Strategy of counting. With this, cards that have a value between 2 and 6 will be counted as 1. Cards between 7 and 9 have no value. Cards worth ten have -1 and aces also have a value of -1. Start with 0 and count the values to determine the possibility of the next card being hi or low.

5. Using the Hi-Lo strategy, increase bets when the count is positive, +2 or better. The higher the count, the more players should bet on the game. When the value is a high number, this means that more high valued cards are left in the deck.

6. Consider both cards in the hand. If one is holding a Jack and a 4, the values are -1 and +1, which will cancel each other out. This does not matter much as counting cards has everything to do with remembering the tally and being able to do it with speed and accuracy.

General Blackjack Strategy Games

7. Hide the ability to count cards. Many card counters are known for playing the game for hours on end with no breaks. It is important to blend in, so act like a tourist or a general beginner when taking a seat at the table.

8. If there is a need to increase the bet, it is better to let the current bet rise. Most live dealers are trained to shuffle the deck when there is a suspicious increase of betting at the table. Only increase bets in small increments and at random to avoid suspicion.

Blackjack Strategy Wizard Of Odds

9. Keep it fun and have realistic expectations. Even though card counting can improve the chances of winning, there is never a guarantee.

10. Do not rely on card counting to be the ticket to winning. However, when used properly, especially with the Hi-Lo system, players will improve their game and make better decisions based on cards already played.

In Conclusion

These tips will not make any player a professional blackjack player, but they do provide a baseline for getting started with card counting. With a bit of practice and some knowledge, any player can successfully count cards and enjoy more winning hands.

Read Also:

Blackjack Strategy Chart

How to Hide Card Counting
Betting Systems for Baccarat