Each decision you make while playing blackjack has a positive or negative
impact on your potential profit or loss. Every situation you have while playing
has a single best way to play.

If you make the correct play it either makes you the most money in the long
run or loses the least amount of money in the long run. This is called basic
strategy.

The most basic strategy for beginners is called the Hi-Lo strategy. This is the type that you practice in our simulator. In this strategy, high cards (10 - Ace, including face cards) are assigned. Blackjack Basic Strategy When players begin playing the game of real money blackjack, they want to start by making sure to put a good money management plan in place and making a point to be a disciplined player. Blackjack is a fantastic card game, but players want to make sure they see the best results possible.

Some hands lose money in the long run and some win in the long run, so your
job is to make the best possible play to maximize the wins and minimize the
losses.

When you read about the expected house edge in blackjack games based on the
rules the percentages are based on perfect basic strategy. If you don’t use the
proper strategy you give the house a higher edge against you. This can add an
extra one or two percent to the house edge, depending on how far from the proper
strategy you stray.

You can usually find blackjack games with rules that offer a house edge of
less than 1%, and can often find games with a house edge under a half percent.
If you don’t use basic strategy you can be playing with a house edge of 1.5% to
3% instead of a half percent.

This quickly adds up.

Here’s an example:

If your average bet is $100 and you play 100 hands per hour and you give the
casino and extra 1% you lose an extra $100 per hour. By giving them an extra 2%
it’s $200 per hour.

If you want to play blackjack the first thing you need to do is decide to
always make the best possible play.

You probably realize that there are hundreds of hands when you combine all of
the possible hands you can have with the different up cards the dealer can have.

The good news is that by using a simple chart you can quickly find the best
play. And you can use a strategy chart or card at the table while playing in a
live casino or when playing online.

If you play in a live casino some of the other players may try to pressure
you if you take too long to make a decision. But it’s none of their business and
you can play any way you want as long as you don’t hold up the game too long.

If you’re worried about holding up the game sit in the middle of the table or
to the dealer’s right hand side so you have longer before you have to act. This
gives you more time to consult your strategy chart before being force to make a
decision.

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You don’t even need to memorize the best plays.

But with a little effort and time you can quickly memorize the most common
plays and in time memorize all of the best plays.

The next section has a chart and the following section has the hand by hand
explanations. Then you’ll find a section explaining a few ways to start
memorizing all of the plays.

Basic Strategy Chart

This is the most universal basic strategy chart and can be used in all
blackjack games with any rule combinations. A few small adjustments can be made
against certain rules combinations, but it becomes complicated to memorize
multiple charts. We’ve included a short section later explaining these
adjustments for the dedicated player.

The dealer’s up card is listed across the top. Your cards are listed down the
first column to the left. Simply go down the left column until you find your
cards and then go across to the column with the dealer’s card to find the best
play.

The key for each play is as follows:

Hit – Hit
Stand – Stand
DblH – Double
DblS – Double if permitted, otherwise stand
Split – Split
SplitD – Split if double after split is permitted, otherwise hit
SUR – Surrender if permitted, otherwise hit

Dealer Up Card

Your Hand	Two	Three	Four	Five	Six	Seven	Eight	Nine	10	Ace
2 – 2	SplitD	SplitD	Split	Split	Split	Split	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
3 – 3	SplitD	SplitD	Split	Split	Split	Split	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
4 – 4	Hit	Hit	Hit	SplitD	SplitD	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
5 – 5	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit
6 – 6	SplitD	Split	Split	Split	Split	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
7 – 7	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
8 – 8	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split
9 – 9	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Stand	Split	Split	Stand	Stand
10 – 10	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand
Ace – Ace	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split	Split
Two	Three	Four	Five	Six	Seven	Eight	Nine	10	Ace
Soft 13	Hit	Hit	Hit	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Soft 14	Hit	Hit	Hit	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Soft 15	Hit	Hit	DblH	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Soft 16	Hit	Hit	DblH	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Soft 17	Hit	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Soft 18	Stand	DblS	DblS	DblS	DblS	Stand	Stand	Hit	Hit	Hit
Soft 19	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand
Soft 20	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand
Soft 21	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand	Stand
Two	Three	Four	Five	Six	Seven	Eight	Nine	10	Ace
Hard 4	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Hard 5	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Hard 6	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Hard 7	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Hard 8	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Hard 9	Hit	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit	Hit
Hard 10	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	Hit	Hit
Hard 11	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	DblH	Hit
Hard 12

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