.basic strategy.

It is in everyone's best interest to learn and play basic strategy when playing blackjack at the casino. A blackjack player who does not know how to play whatsoever has a 3-5% disadvantage compared to the house, a player who picks and chooses when they play basic strategy has about a 2% disadvantage compared to the house and a blackjack player who plays basic strategy is only at a .5% disadvantage compared to the house. So as you can see basic strategy if played correctly can significantly improve your odds. However it is not necessarily about improving YOUR odds, but decreasing the house odds. A lot of people do not understand that every time you hit when you shouldn’t or stay when you shouldn’t affects the outcome of the hand. I hate to break it to you, but the shufflers do not stack the deck. In order for the shufflers to stack the deck they would have to be able to read everyone at the table’s mind and know exactly when you were and weren’t going to hit in order to ensure I had the better hand. C’mon now, I think that’s more than a little bit out of the realm of possibility. Nope, it’s not the shufflers, it’s your buddy sitting next to you that stood on his 12 against my face card, or hit his fifteen against my six that caused me to draw to 21.

There are a number of ways to learn basic strategy. Heck, you don’t even have to LEARN it; you can buy or print off a basic strategy card. But for those of you who know nothing about basic strategy I’ll give you a few pointers. As a player you are always supposed to assume that the dealer has a ten in the hole, so if I’m showing an 8, then you would assume that I have an 18. The dealer’s bust cards are 2-6. What that means is that if I have an ten in the hole and am showing a 2-6 that I will have to take another card to get to a stopping point (the dealer stands at 17). So if I HAVE to take a card why would you run the risk of busting? So if the dealer is showing a 2-6 and you have a hand that could bust, 12-16, you do not want to hit. If I am showing a 7 or above (made hand) as a player you will want to hit any hand up to 16. On sixteen there is no right or wrong answer of whether to hit or stand. But whatever you decide to do you need to stick with it. Consistency is the key. A soft hand consists of an ace, which is either 1 or 11, and a card other than a face card or ten. You should always hit your soft hands up to 18, or ace 7, it’s a free hit, and you must as well try and better your hand. Of course there are variations in basic strategy, it all depends on what “book” you read. Some people hit their 12s and 13s against my 2, some people don’t.

As a final note, keep in mind that contrary to popular belief it is not just YOUR money that you’re playing. Today I had a player bettings $100 for him and $25 for me, the set up was perfect, I had a 5 showing, he had a 19. Then Joe Blow beside him decides to double down (double your money, only receive one card) on his pair of 3s (6) instead of splitting them as basic strategy would tell you to do. Needless to say he drew a 2, and then I flipped over my hole card which was a 10, and drew a 6 for 21! All because this guy either didn’t know or choose not to play basic strategy. Needless to say it was not a happy table and I was NOT a happy dealer!