1 Introduction

So, how to play Blackjack? At every stage, you will have several options. You have to choose between hit, stand, double, split or surrender. The table that tells you the best choice for your hand total and dealer open card is called Basic Strategy (BS). BS gives you the best action without having to keep of the cards that have already been dealt.

How many player hand total and dealer open card combinations are possible? BS can be broken down to three tables. Hard hand table, soft hand table and split hand table. For hard hand, player total can be from 4 to 21. A total of 18 possible values are possible. Dealer open card can be one of 10 values. Thus hard hand table will have 180 combinations. For soft hand, player can have 10 possible values. Thus soft hand table will have 100 combinations. Split hand table will have 100 combinations. We have a total of 380 combinations. This seems to be a daunting number. But as you will see in later sections, these combinations can be easily memorized using simple rules.

2 Basic Strategy Table

To read a BS table, first determine if split is possible. For example if your cards are 7 and 7, then you must check the split table first. If split is not possible or if the split table says don’t split, then determine if the player hand is a hard hand or soft hand. Check the corresponding table.

Player hand is in rows. Dealer open card is in columns.

3 Reading Basic Strategy Tables

Following sections tell you what you must do for each action.

3.1 HIT (hit)

You must draw an additional card.

3.2 STD (stand)

You must stand (should not draw any more cards).

3.3 DBL (double)

You must double. Some times double may not be possible. For example, you may have an 11 with 3 cards. In this case you must hit.

3.4 DOS (double else stand)

You must double. Some times double may not be possible. For example, you may have a Soft 18 with 3 cards. In this case you must stand.

3.5 SUR (surrender)

You must surrender you bet. Some times surrender may not be possible. For example, you may have a 16 with 3 cards. In this case, you must hit.

3.6 SOS (surrender else stand)

You must surrender you bet. Some times surrender may not be possible. For example, you may have a 17 with 3 cards. In this case, you must stand.

3.7 No entry

In split table, you may see no entry or a “-“. This means do not split. Determine if your hand is a hard hand or a soft hand. Then refer to the corresponding table.

4 Split hand table

Dealer open card

5 Hard hand table

Dealer open card

6 Soft hand table

Dealer open card

7 Learning Basic Strategy tables

It may seem difficult to memorize close to 400 combinations. But by remembering some basic rules given in the next sections, it is easy to memorize the tables. Make sure your tables are in color so that you can easily see the pattern. After that you just need to practice.

7.1 Split hand table

· For (2, 2), (3, 3), (7, 7) split only when dealer open card is 2 – 7

· For (4, 4) split only when dealer open card is 5 or 6

· Never splits 5s or 10s

· For (6, 6) split only if dealer open card is 2 – 6

· For (8, 8) split for all dealer open cards except A

· For (9, 9) split for dealer open card 2 – 6 and 8 – 9

· Always split Aces

7.1 Hard hand table

· For player hand total ≤ 8, always hit

· For player hand total of 9, DBL when dealer open card is 3 – 6, else HIT

· For player hand total of 10, DBL when dealer open card is 2 – 9, else HIT

· For player hand total ≥ 12, STD when dealer open card is 2 – 6, except for 12 vs 2 and 12 vs 3, where you should HIT

· For player hand total 12 – 14, HIT when dealer open card is 7 – A

· For player hand total 15, HIT for dealer open card 7 – 9. SUR for 10 and A.

· For player hand total 16, HIT for dealer open card 7 – 8. SUR for 9 – A.

· For player hand total 17, STD for all dealer open cards except A. For A stand else surrender (SOS).

· For player hand total ≥ 18, always STD

7.2 Soft hand table

· For 13, 14 HIT for all dealer open cards except for 5 – 6. For dealer open card of 5 or 6, DBL.

· For 15, 16 HIT for all dealer open cards except for 4 – 6. For 4 – 6 DBL.

· For 17, HIT for all dealer open cards except for 3 – 6. For 3 – 6 DBL.

· For 18, double else stand (DOS) for dealer open cards 2 – 6. For 7 – 8 STD. For 9 – A HIT.

· For 19, STD for all dealer open cards except for 6. For 6, double else stand.

· For 20, 21 and Blackjack always STD

7.3 Insurance

Always decline insurance.

8 Examples

Player cards	Dealer open card	BS action	Comments
2, 3	5	HIT	Look at hard hand table entry for player hand 5 and dealer open card 5
8, 8	6	SPT	Look at split table entry for (8, 8) vs 6
9, 9	7	STD	Entry in split table for (9,9) vs 7 is “-“. So, look at hard hand table 18 vs 7.
A, 4	4	DBL	Look at entry in soft table for 15 vs 4
Queen, 5	Jack	SUR	Look at entry in hard table for 15 vs 10
2, 3, 6	7	HIT	Hard table entry for 11 vs 7 is DBL. But DBL is not possible. So, HIT.
4, 8, 4	A	HIT	Hard table entry for 16 vs A is SUR. SUR is not possible. So, HIT.
4, 9, 4	A	STD	Hard table entry for 17 vs A is SOS. Surrender is not possible. So, STD.
A, 3, 5	6	STD	Soft table entry for 19 vs 6 is DOS. Double is not possible. So, STD.

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