Blackjack Strategy Cards
Unlike many other games of chance, blackjack is a card game that is heavily based on mathematics. This means that there are plenty of helpful tools out there to make your life as an (online) blackjack player much easier. Unlike many other betting systems, blackjack strategy cards and charts are backed up by science.
Basic Blackjack Strategy
There are only a handful of things you need to pay attention to when playing blackjack. The first one is the number of decks being used. The more decks, the less likely your chances to get a blackjack.
The second one are the rules. If you are not yet familiar with the blackjack rules, do learn them before playing for real money.
And the third thing you need to consider are the betting options. You should not only know which options exist, but also which are being offered at the table you decided to play at.
Once these three important factors have become the first thing you think about when someone mentions blackjack, it is time to move on to the blackjack basic strategy.
How to Memorize Basic Blackjack Strategy
John Marchell offers you a basic and easy to remember strategy that you can apply to every blackjack game you will ever play.
The aim of this blackjack strategy is to tip the house edge slightly more in your favor than the casino’s.
This is Marchell’s strategy regarding the optimal betting options:
- Your hand: 12 and 16, Dealer’s hand: 2 and 6 -> Stand
- Your hand: 12 and 16, Dealer’s hand: 7 and Ace -> Hit
- Your hand: Ace and Ace or 8 and 8 -> Split
- Your hand: 11, Dealer’s hand: 2 and 10 -> Double
- Your hand: Ace and 6 -> Hit or Double
Moreover, Marchell also gives advice on further aspects of the blackjack game:
- Insurance should not be played
- Always check the dealer’s upcard before deciding
- Avoid the first base seat
- Get used to a table or new dealer before making bigger bets
- Other players’ decisions have no effect on your chances of winning
- Stop playing when you reach your budget’s limit
I have no doubt that you will be able to memorize this basic blackjack strategy. It is pretty straight forward.
But should you prefer a more complex strategy, that covers every single possibility of card combinations, you might want to use a blackjack basic strategy card.
Blackjack Strategy Cards
It is not illegal to use a blackjack strategy card at a casino. Therefore, you do not have to memorize every single possible card combination and the best possible bet for it. You can make your life easy and buy a card, which you can take with you to the casino.
Once again, be aware that different tables offer different betting options. The chart you use should reflect this as well as the number of decks used to play blackjack at that table.
As soon as you know that the blackjack chart you are using matches the decks and options available, it is quite easy to find out which betting option you should choose.
In the first row, you can see the dealer’s upcard. In the first column are the options for your hand. Let us say the dealer’s upcard is a six and your hand are two aces. According to our downloadable blackjack card, you should choose Stand or Split.
Does Free Radical Play Have an Effect on My Cards?
We get this question a lot. If you remember Marchell’s basic blackjack strategy, you should already know the answer. What other players do has no effect on your cards unless their behavior is distracting you. From a mathematical point of view, it makes no difference what any one at this table, except for you.
This is true because the cards have already been shuffled and cannot be influenced by another player’s decision. Which hand you and anyone else at the table is going to get is therefore already predetermined.
Should another player’s actions make you nervous or you lose your ability to concentrate because of him or her, it is a wise decision to move to another table. Whenever you play for real money you should keep a sharp mind.
Basic Blackjack Strategy Chart
Below you will find a blackjack strategy char that you can look at and use to your advantage when you are playing at the blackjack table.
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