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Blackjack Basic Strategy
The best way to legitimately lower the house advantage in a game of blackjack is to play blackjack basic strategy. Blackjack basic strategy is a set of rules that governs when to hit, stand, double down and surrender based on your cards and the dealer’s upcard. This is a standard strategy that has been mathematically tested and refined using computer simulations and can reduce the house edge to as little as 0.5%. Adjustments can be made to account for variations in rules from table to table. There are also different strategies for single and multi deck games.
Any successful blackjack player must learn blackjack basic strategy. New players will often refer to a chart which shows your cards, the dealer’s up card and the decision you should make. The house gains some of its advantage by having the player act first.
How much of an edge can playing blackjack basic strategy get you? In a common game the casino’s advantage is about 5.75% including the 3 to 2 payout on blackjacks. Each part of basic strategy further reduces the house edge to nearly 0.5%
Beginning casino edge
5.75%
Perfect hitting and standing
-3.25%
Perfect doubling
-1.5%
Perfect pair splitting
-0.5%
Casino edge playing basic strategy
0.5%
The casino edge can be reduced further by playing at tables with rules favorable to the players. Games like single deck games with the dealer standing on soft 17 and doubling down after splitting can reduce the casino edge to 0.1%.
Basic strategy is also dependent on the number of decks. Each group of tables below shows when to hit, stand, double down and split for single and multi-deck blackjack games.
Multi Deck Blackjack Basic Strategy Dealers hand on top, Players hand on left.
Hard Totals
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
T
A
8
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
9
H
D
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
10
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
H
H
11
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
H
12
H
H
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
13
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
14
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
15
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
16
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
17-20
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
Soft Totals
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
T
A
A 2
H
H
H
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 3
H
H
H
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 4
H
H
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 5
H
H
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 6
H
D
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 7
S
D
D
D
D
S
S
H
H
H
A 8
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
A 9
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
Pairs
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
T
A
2 2
P *
P *
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
3 3
P *
P *
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
4 4
H
H
H
P
P
H
H
H
H
H
5 5
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
H
H
6 6
P*
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
H
7 7
P
P
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
8 8
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
9 9
P
P
P
P
P
S
P
P
S
S
10's
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
A's
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
H-hit, S-stand, D-double down, P-split
* HIT = If double after splitting is not allowed.
Single Deck Blackjack Basic Strategy
Dealers hand on top, Players hand on left.
Hard Totals
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
T
A
8
H
H
H
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
9
D
D
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
10
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
H
H
11
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
12
H
H
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
13
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
14
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
15
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
16
S
S
S
S
S
H
H
H
H
H
17-20
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
Soft Totals
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
T
A
A 2
H
H
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 3
H
H
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 4
H
H
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 5
H
H
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 6
D
D
D
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
A 7
S
D
D
D
D
S
S
H
H
H
A 8
S
S
S
S
D
S
S
S
S
S
A 9
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
Pairs
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
T
A
2 2
H
P
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
3 3
H
P
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
4 4
H
H
H
D
D
H
H
H
H
H
5 5
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
D
H
H
6 6
P
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
H
7 7
P
P
P
P
P
P
H
H
H
H
8 8
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
S
P
9 9
P
P
P
P
P
S
P
P
S
S
10's
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
A's
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
H-hit, S-stand, D-double down, P-split
* HIT = If double after splitting is not allowed.