Advanced Strategies
In the previous chapter
Basic Blackjack Strategy
we discussed how to use
the casino's "16-17 rule" to your advantage. This is the basic strategy.
Now we're going to elaborate on that idea.
Noticed the blackjack chart below :
full sized blackjack chart
On this blackjack
chart, there are five exceptions to the "16-17 rule."
The first one is, starting with your two aces, and going from left to right, you
will see a “p” in every square. The “p” stands for "pair," or "split," and means
you should split your pair of aces.
Always split aces. This includes any additional aces you get.
If you split your aces and get another ace, split this hand too. You split, by waiting
until the dealer comes to you, then you turn both of your cards face up and say,
“split”.
Then you put another bet up for the second hand. The dealer will separate
the two cards and deal one card face down on each. Most casinos won't allow you to hit "slpit aces.
The second exception to the "16-17 rule" is, in your 16 row.
You will notice all the letters in this row are circled. This means that if your
16 is made up of a pair of eights, you should split it. Always split eights. Otherwise
ignore the circle and just do as the letter on the chart suggests, either
Hit or Stand
The next two exceptions
are in your 10 and 11 rows. You will
notice there are D’s in all the squares in these two rows. What this means is you
should "double down" if you have a total of 10 or 11. Sometimes you may want to double down with a
9 against the dealers 4, 5 or 6, but this is risky and should only be attempted once you have learned to
count cards. Until you do, just hit your 9 against the dealers 4, 5 or 6, until
you have 17 or more.
You double down by waiting until the dealer gets to you, turn
both your cards
face up and say “double”, then double your bet. The dealer will
give you one card face down and move on to the next player. When you double down
you are saying, “I will bet double that I can draw one card and beat the dealer”.
The reason you always split aces and eights, and double down
on 10 and 11, is, the majority of the time the odds are in your favor. For example, with a flat
even deck, the odds favor you over the house 61.5% to 38.5%, or roughly
two out of three times, and the odds can only get better the hotter the deck gets.
Even with an unfavorable deck, you still have a 50-50 chance of winning. What’s
more, you win twice as much money when you split or double.
The last exception to the "16 17 rule" is, if you have
a total of 12-16 with your first two cards. These hands are called "Breaking hands"
and are a major advantage to the house. I’m going to show you how they work against
you, and what you can do about it.
Many tourist come to town, sit down at a blackjack table, and
get their first two cards. They say to themselves, “14, that’s not very good. There are 13 cards
in a suit, and I need a 7 or less, so I have a better than 50-50 chance,"
(wrong). Then they will ask for a hit, without ever even looking at the dealers
face up card. This is a very bad play. Let me show you why.
Out of 169 possible two-card combinations, 64 will total up
between 12 and 16. The odds of improving these hands with another card vary from 30.7%
for the 16, to 69.3% for the 12, but even if you don’t bust, there is a 30.7% chance, you will
have to once more run the gauntlet, and take another hit, against even higher odds.
So, even though you have a 30.7% chance of making your 12, (for example), you have
a 69.3% chance of getting a bad hand and/or busting. That’s almost 70% against you,
not good odds
“So what do I do, you may ask? “I can’t just stand with a 12, the dealer will beat
me”.
Although this sounds very logical, this is intuitive thinking and not based on
facts.
When the dealer has a 2-6 showing, against your 12-16, what you do is in fact stand.
Let me show you why. If you, against the odds, take the chance and bust, the dealer
immediately picks up your cards and money. Then later, if they bust, they still
have your money;
as well as the money of approximately 64% of the other players,
that use intuitive thinking, go against the odds, and take a hit against a dealer’s
2-6. This is a windfall for the casinos
By standing when the dealer has to take a hit, against your
breaking hand, you take away the houses advantage and put the odds in your favor.
They now have 38.5% chance of making 17 or more, and you have a 61.5% chance they
will bust, or have to hit again against higher odds. So, let the dealer take the
chance of busting, and put this advantage to work for you.
You should always "hit" until you have 17 or more, unless the
dealer has a 2-6 showing against your "Breaking Hand," (12-16). However, once you
have learned to count cards, you will have a pretty good idea what the next card is,
and rather than some hard and fast rule, it will be obvious what you should do.
Until you do learn to count cards I would recommend that you
always assume the dealer has a ten in the hole, always split aces and eights, always
double down on 10 and 11 and never hit a "Breaking Hand" when the dealer has a 2-6
showing.
Surrender
Some casinos offered the option to "Surrender." What this means is
you can surrender half your bet and be excluded from playing the hand out. Personally,
I have never seen much of an advantage to doing this. Until you learn the count
cards you really have no idea what's going to happen, so, until you learn the count
cards never surrender.
Insurance
Never, ever take "Insurance";
it’s a suckers bet. The odds are 12
to 1, or approximate eight percent, of them having "Blackjack". so, don't ever
take insurance.
Miscellaneous information
Not all casinos play by the same rules. It is important that you are
aware of the rules at the particular casino you're playing at. Don't ever
play at a casino where the dealer wins all ties. Do not ever play a casino that
only pays even money on black Jack. Do not played a casino where the dealer
does not hit sixteen and stand on seventeen. Do play at casinos that allow you to re-split
pairs.
To continue see:
Card Counting