How to Look at Basic Blackjack Strategy
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What Do Players at Land-based Casinos Play?
Here is an interesting question. Do players at land-based casinos play a variety of games? Do they stick with one or two games for the entirety of their long weekend at the casino?
Gamers at an online casino play a large range of games. This is the segue we were waiting for to get to the subject of today’s lesson: the two different ways we can look at blackjack strategy.
You see, at a land-based casino, a player might never get around to playing blackjack. In addition to not having the time, over the course of a three-day trip to the casino, to play even a single hand of blackjack, the minimum bet at the table might be too high for them.
Blackjack is a Game that Stretches the Mind
It is so easy to play blackjack at Everygame Casino. All you have to do is choose the blackjack variation you want to play, put down a bet which can range from very small to quite big, click deal and you’re playing!
Now you have to know HOW to play in order to have a good chance to end the session with a win!
Basic Blackjack Strategy Can be Intimidating
There are charts online for every variation of blackjack. Some of the people who purvey these charts make them very complicated. We will now show you the two basic ways to view standard blackjack strategy: look at strategy from the standpoint of your cards and look at blackjack strategy from the standpoint of the dealer’s up card.
The confluence of these two points of view will determine what you should do next.
The 12 Point Quandary
When you play at a land-based casino, you will inevitably come across a player who always stands with 12 points. That strategy does prevent the player from busting but it also loses a lot of hands when the dealer is showing a seven through an ace.
Are There Really Times when Hitting with 12 Points is the Best Strategy?
Yes, and in a very big way.
Let’s look at this from the dealer’s point of view. If she has 16 or fewer points, she has to hit. So, if she is showing a 6 or a 5 or even a 4, there is good reason to “let her bust”. But if the dealer is showing a 7 through ace, the chances are that you will lose this hand with 12 points unless you hit.
Don’t Memorize Strategy Charts!
The key, then, is to understand basic blackjack strategy from a purely logical point of view.
The dealer can show only one of 13 cards and the 10, jack, queen, and king are all worth 10 points. It really isn’t that large a challenge to learn how to see each of these in essence ten cards in the dealer’s hand. You, as the player, can have 20 different point counts from your first two cards, from 2 to 21.
Even that is a bit of a misnomer since two aces is always a splitting hand and an ace and a two is a soft 13.
Let’s Look at the Hands you Might Have
- If you have 19, 20, or 21 points, you will always stand. The chances of busting are far too great to take a card even in the face of a 10-point card or an ace.
- If you have 18 points, you also stand unless the 18 points are a pair of 9’s at which point you will usually split the cards. It is statistically poor play to split 18 points when the dealer has a 7, a 10, or an ace. The reason for not splitting 9’s when the dealer has a 7 is because you can win the hand outright if the dealer then reveals a 10.
- When you have 17 points, you will usually stand. But you can double down with soft 17 if the dealer has a high card that forces her to hit. There are many cases where she will bust.
- With, 14, 15, or 16 points, you will usually stand if you have a hard hand and you will hit if you have a soft hand. With 14 points, you will hit if the dealer has 7 through ace but not with 15 or 16 points. In addition, if the dealer has good busting hand and you have a soft hand, you can double down.
- If you have 11 points, you double down.
- If you have 10 points, you double down unless the dealer has a 10 or an ace. In that case, you stand rather than risk extra money on a very problematic hand.
- If you have 9 points, you usually double down but not if the dealer has a 9, 10 or an ace.
- If you have 4 through 8, you should hit. Some players double down if the dealer has a 5 or a 6.
- A 3 point hand is always better seen as a soft 13.
- Always split aces.
Practice at Everygame Casino
We offer free play for gamers who need some time to learn basic strategy. Once you get the hang of looking at the confluence between your hand and the dealer’s up card, you will begin to make the correct decision often if not always.
Doubling Down and Splitting
These are the two most powerful decisions you can make in blackjack. Both of these is strategy play that doubles your bet. They are invaluable for hands where you want to take advantage either of your hand’s strength or the dealer’s weakness.
Many blackjack players are afraid to double down with soft hands. Even a soft 13 will win substantially if the dealer has a busting hand. Don’t try this gambit if the dealer has a 7 to an ace.
As important as it is to see blackjack from both the dealer’s point of view and from your own point of view, it is also important to jump at the strategically sound opportunities to win double yoyo bet by doubling down or splitting.
Online Gaming is in its Golden Era
Millions of gamers have discovered the pleasure of online casino gaming where they can play a large number of different games. With blackjack, as a game of skill, you need to be fully conversant with basic strategy. Then, just a little luck will put you in the winner’s circle!
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