Basic Strategy: Black Jack for Beginners

How To Maximize Your Chance of Winning

Use the basic strategy card for single deck blackjack:

	Dealers Up Card
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
7 or less	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
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
13,14, 15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H/SU	H/SU
17+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A8	S	S	S	S	D	S	S	S	S	S
A7	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	S
A6	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A5, A4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A3, A2	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A-A	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
10-10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9-9	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	S	SP	SP	S	S
8-8	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
7-7	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	S/SU	H
6-6	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
5-5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
4-4	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
3-3	H	H	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
2-2	H	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
	Dealers Up Card

H	=Hit	S	=Stand	D	=DoubleDown	SP	=Split
H/SU	=Surrender if able to, otherwise Hit
S/SU	=Surrentder if able to, otherwise Stand

 

Use the basic strategy card for multi deck blackjack:

	Dealers Up Card
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
8 or less	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/SU	H
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H/SU	H/SU	H/SU
17+	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A8-10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A7	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A2	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A-A,8-8	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
10-10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9-9	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	S	SP	SP	S	S
7-7	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
6-6	H	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
5-5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
4-4	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
3-3,2-2	H	H	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
	Dealers Up Card

 

Multiple Deck Variations

The strategies for single and multiple deck blackjack differ only slightly, but we've presented them here so you can play winning blackjack in all situations.

Except for the following changes, single and multiple deck play is identical. In a multiple deck game:

Hit the following hands - do not double:

 

Player's Action		Dealer's Upcard
Hit 8	vs.	5 or 6
Hit 9	vs.	2
Hit 11	vs.	Ace
Hit A2 and A3	vs.	4
Hit A6	vs.	2

 

Hit the following hands - do not split:

 

Player's Action		Dealer's Upcard
Hit 22	vs.	3
Hit 66	vs.	2

 

Now you know how to play blackjack, the world's most popular casino table game. It's simple, fun, and with your new-found knowledge, you're all set to win. Have fun, and good luck!

 

 

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