Blackjack Strategies ♠ Blackjack Basic Strategy

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games played worldwide that is also known as 21. In comparison to other casino games, you will find that blackjack is very different as it's not a guessing game or a game of pure luck. Blackjack is different because certain strategies can be applied in order to improve and increase your chances of winning.
Obviously if you apply a good strategy it doesn' necessarily mean that you will keep wining all the time but if you find a nice balance between luck and skill then you could potentially improve your game.
For several years there was no blackjack strategy, the game was played a bit like poker, players would have to guess their opponents next move and take risks. It was a game of chance and luck just like most games played in casinos.All this changed after years when a casino based in Las Vegas changed the rules of the game slightly and started offering bonuses in order to make the game more popular and mainstream.
Blackjack - Basic Strategy
The rules of Blackjack are relatively straightforward, but this simplicity is only surface deep - at its heart, Blackjack is a minefield of decisions, as the various combinations throw up new dilemmas. Played optimally, Blackjack offers a 0.5% edge to the casino. That's one of the lowest edges you'll come up against on any casino game, which is one of the reasons why players are drawn so much to it. However, this game isn't like Roulette, where it's relatively straightforward to achieve the optimum playing strategy. In Blackjack, you'll need to make a lot of right decisions, or else the house edge will actually be an awful lot bigger than 0.5%. In this article, we'll try and get you playing like a pro. First, though, let's run quickly through the basic rules:
Two cards are dealt to the dealer, and to each of the players - individuals only ever compete directly against the dealer, not the other players.
The objective is to get a hand that adds up to a higher score than that of the dealer, with 21 the best score of all. If the hand goes over 21, the player (or dealer) goes bust.
The cards from 2 - 10 are assigned values equivalent to their face value, and Jacks, Queens and Kings all score 10. Much of the subtlety of Blackjack comes from the Ace.
While the other cards have a fixed score, the Ace can represent either 1 or 11. The actual score of the Ace in any situation is, theoretically, the choice of the player. In reality, the dealer generally calculate the best hand and assume the player agrees. An opening hand of an Ace and any ten-point card is the 'Blackjack' of the game's title. If either the player or the dealer score a Blackjack, that person will win. If it was a player who got a Blackjack, the dealer will carry on playing if there are other players involved.

General Play
For much of the time, your big decisions will revolve around whether to hit (draw another card) or stand (stick with what you've got). Comparing your hand to the dealer's should be instrumental in making up your mind. Here's what to do depending on what the dealer's card is: 2-6 - If the dealer has a low card, there's a good chance they'll go bust trying to accumulate a good hand.
This is less likely if they have 2 or 3, but very likely indeed if they have 4-6. You want to be standing on 12 or 13, rather than going higher and risking going bust. 7-10 (including J, Q and K) - These are trickier situations, as the dealer will probably come up with a good hand. It pays to be a little more aggressive here.
Don't be prepared to stand until you have secured 17 or more. That's especially if the dealer has a card with a value of 10. Ace - The ace is incredibly versatile, and the dealer in possession of this card has a great chance of winning. You need a minimum of 17 to compete, so be very aggressive.
Doubling Down and Splitting
Some players may look at features like Doubling Down and Splitting, and regard them as gimmicks, additional bets that can be safely ignored. That would be a huge mistake though. Knowing how to use some of these options is key to obtaining that low 0.5% house edge. If you're not using these features, or are using them at the wrong times, you're damaging your chances of success.
Doubling Down
This option means that you can pay an extra bet and elect to have just one more card. It's not very different from hitting, except that you can only do it once, and you're paying money in order to get this advantage. Put like that, it seems like an imposition. However, it's actually a very powerful move that means you can increase your bet having already seen that the odds are in your favour.
Most of the time, though, the odds won't be in your favour, so you have to be very selective with your doubling down. Here are the times when you'll win long-term if you double down: Your hand adds up to 7 or 8, and one of your cards in an ace, and the dealer has a 6 or lower Your hand adds up to 9, and the dealer has a 6 or lower Your hand adds up to 10 or 11, and the dealer has an 8 or lower It's important to note that, in many of these situations, your advantage is only in the region of 53-56%. Even the best scenarios (mostly involving a hand that adds up to 11) only carry a winning percentage that climbs up towards 65%. So you should expect to lose quite a few double down bets.
That can be very annoying, but you mustn't be put off. When you double down in the situations above, the odds are clearly in your favour (even if only slightly). Play them time after time, and you will make money on those bets.
Splitting
If a player's original hand is a pair, they'll be given the option of 'splitting' them. If the player takes this up, they'll double their bet. Their hand will then be split into two, and each card will be played through as a separate hand. So if you had a pair of 5s, for instance, you might end up with the 'first' hand being 58, and a 'second' hand of 5J. The art of splitting is much misunderstood.
Many inexperienced players see it as a chance to give themselves double the chances of winning. In fact, you should always regard split cards as two separate hands. Ideally, you want to only be splitting when you have a great chance to win with both hands. Otherwise, don't. 2-6 - You shouldn't really be splitting pairs of these cards. Played together, these cards are often low enough not to result in a bust bank, and yet there's a good chance of drawing a ten-point card and turning them into a strong winning hand.
If you split them, though, you'll end up with two fairly weak opening cards, and the hands could go either way. Pairs of 4s, 5s and 6s should never ever be split. The jury is still out on the very lowest cards, although pros would generally opt not to split 2s or 3s. 7-8 - These pairs cause more problems. A hand of 14 or 16 will rarely be good enough to win. Yet another card may well result in you going bust. Under the circumstances, you should always split 8s, and will probably want to split 7s too.
However, if the dealer has a high card (9 or upwards), then you should probably avoid the split if you have 7s. 9-10 - A starting hand of 20 will almost certainly be good enough by itself to win, so don't split 10s. 9s also give you a strong hand, and probably shouldn't be split if the dealer has a 10 or ace. Having said that, 9s give you a great chance of cleaning up if the dealer's hand is weak, so split assuming that the dealer has an 8 or lower. Ace - Split aces are very versatile, and could well throw up a Blackjack, so always split them. Your winning odds are very high in this situation, so push it.
Insurance
Doubling Down and Splitting can cause numerous dilemmas. Insurance, though, is much more straightforward. Quite simply, ignore it. The insurance option means that If the dealer draws an ace, the player has the option of taking out 'insurance' with an extra bet. If the dealer then draws a card with a value of 10, and scores a Blackjack, the player will lose their initial bet, but get double the extra bet as compensation.
This seems a good move, but actually isn't. Even if you are successful in winning your 'insurance' bet, you'll only break even. And since there's only a 30.8% chance that a Blackjack will be turned up, the insurance bet will be wasted far more often than not. If you can count cards, it'll make sens to play this option if you know a lot of high cards are due.
For general players, though, insurance will prove a losing proposition over the long term.