Blackjack Single Deck Strategy
Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game.: 342 The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One.This family of card games also includes the British game of Pontoon and the European game, Vingt-et-Un. Blackjack players do not. EXAMPLES OF HOW TO USE THE BLACKJACK BASIC STRATEGY. Single-deck game with hard 17, you hold 16, dealer’s upcard is a 10. You should surrender. Double-deck game with soft 17, you hold 15, dealer’s upcard is an ace. You should hit (surrender only against dealer’s 10). Six-deck game with soft 17, you hold 16, dealer’s upcard is a 9. It’s getting harder to find good Single Deck Blackjack games out there. Quite often, the odds will be cranked in the house’s favor by changing the Blackjack payouts to 6:5. Our online version of Single Deck Blackjack uses the standard 3:2 payout for getting a natural, meaning you’ll get $15 from a $10 wager instead of $12 like you would. Spanish Blackjack isn’t spread as often as other Blackjack games due to the low house edge. As a rule of thumb, if you have the option to play Spanish 21, play it! Spanish 21 is kind of like taking the best parts of every Blackjack version and creating a new Blackjack version around them. Most Blackjack games will have some good and bad.
- Blackjack Single Deck Strategy Card
- How To Win At Single Deck Blackjack
- Blackjack Single Deck Basic Strategy
Here are a couple of rules to follow regarding basic strategy for single-deck blackjack: Do not opt for the insurance bet as it raises the house edge to a high 5.9% in single-deck blackjack. If you are not able to re-split a hand treat it as a hard total hand and follow the strategy for that hand as per the tables below.
Blackjack is the most popular casino table game of all drawing in countless numbers of hungry players both in the brick and mortar casino, and in online casinos.
Blackjack Single Deck Strategy Card
Are you a player who is knowledgeable about blackjack strategy? In this article, we detail the basic blackjack strategy charts and provide you with other handy tips to give you the best possible chance of leaving the casino – physical or virtual – in profit.
Basic Blackjack Terms
As with every classic casino table game, there is a lot of lingo thrown about which might sound double Dutch to novice blackjack players. What on earth does it all mean?
Ultimately, you will become more familiar with all the blackjack lingo as you develop your game, whether that is in the brick and mortar casino or at an online casino.
Nonetheless, we have listed some handy basic blackjack terminology below:
- Stand. The player stays with the cards they were dealt
- Hit. The player is dealt another card, and they can be dealt more if they wish. If the total of the cards exceeds 21 at any point, the player is bust and loses the hand
- Surrender. This is where the player gives up half his bet to forfeit the hand
- Double down. The player doubles their original bet and is dealt one more card, and it can only be one
- Split. If a player is dealt a pair (two 4s for example), or two ten-valued cards, such as a queen and a king, the player can split those cards into two different hands. The player is then dealt another card to each hand. The player must make a second bet of equal value to the first to use the split
- Hard hand. A hand without an ace
- Soft hand. A hand with an ace
Blackjack Strategy Chart
The first thing to get to grips with is ‘basic strategy’ which is probably the most essential ingredient of blackjack strategy.
The basic strategy detailed below is based on blackjack games played with 4 or more decks. Essentially, the basic strategy is a template which shows you the best course of action to take based on the cards dealt.
The below chart: Blackjack Basic Strategy Chart
More Blackjack Tips
The tables above are based on the standard blackjack rulesets. However, there are many different variations of blackjack both in physical casinos and in the online casino landscape.
These variations have different rulesets, so be mindful of the fact that some of the strategies above may not directly apply to the particular blackjack game you are playing.
In fact, the most useful thing you can do is check the specific ruleset of the blackjack game you are playing as soon as you sit down at the table.
Here are some general pointers and questions to keep in mind when playing your particular game of blackjack:
- How many decks are used?
- Are surrenders permitted and are they early or late ones?
- Are there any restrictions on double downs?
- Are there rules regarding splits?
- Is the dealer obliged to hit on a soft 17?
Here are some extra tips which relate to any blackjack game:
- Do not take on any side bets
- Don’t take insurance. This is a side bet which can be placed if the dealer’s face card is an Ace to ‘insure’ you against the dealer having a blackjack. In reality, the odds are stacked against you and it is not worth taking this bet up
- If it is not possible to split your pair, treat your pair as a hard hand
Basic Blackjack Strategy Guide
The charts above may look a bit intimidating and confusing if you are seeking a simple strategy to take to the blackjack table. However, there is a simpler method you can use to memorise the general points of the blackjack strategy above.
Also, you won’t be surprised to hear that in brick and mortar casinos you won’t exactly be welcomed with open arms into a casino if you rock up with these charts in hand.
The majority of casinos simply won’t allow you to enter with these kinds of guides. So, here are simplified guides of the charts above:
Player’s Hand Dealer’s Upfacing Card
HARD | 2 – 6 | 7 – A |
| 4 – 8 | H | H |
| 9 | D | H |
| 10 – 11 | D with more than dealer | D with more than dealer |
| 12 – 16 | S | H |
| 17 – 21 | S | S |
Player’s Hand Dealer’s Upfacing Card
SOFT | 2 – 6 | 7 – A |
| 13 – 15 | H | H |
| 16 – 18 | D | H |
| 19 – 21 | D | S |
Player’s Hand Dealer’s Upfacing Card
SPLITS | 2 – 6 | 7 – A |
| 22, 33, 66, 77, 99 | Split | Don’t split |
| 88, A | Split | Split |
| 44, 55, 1010 | Don’t Split | Don’t Split |
Extra tips:
How To Win At Single Deck Blackjack
- Surrender 16 when the dealer has a 10
- If strategy says to double but it’s not permitted, hit. If you have a soft 18, stand
Are You Ready To Master Blackjack?
Blackjack strategy is all about being mindful of the best action to take. If you memorise the main points of the charts above, you will be well on your way to mastering the wonderful world of blackjack.
There are advanced techniques which you can use, chief of which is blackjack card counting, which is essentially a method of tracking the cards which are dealt. However, this technique will not work with online blackjack games, as the virtual deck is shuffled for every single hand.
Blackjack Single Deck Basic Strategy
The best thing you can do to begin is to be fully aware of the specific ruleset relating to the blackjack game you are playing.
That being said, the majority, if not all, of the information in the charts will be applicable to any blackjack game. We are confident in saying that you will be thanking us for these magical blackjack charts!
Are you a blackjack buff? Are there any specific strategies which you use at the blackjack table? Comment below and let us know!