The Best Blackjack Strategies

Blackjack has strategies that increase the chances of a player winning against the dealer. There are slight differences depending on where you play. At an online casino, the dealer controls the shuffling and dealing of cards and handles the bets. In a land-based casino, all of the players have the opportunity to deal the cards. The best strategies we look at here are relevant to both formats.

Six deck game

It is standard for casinos to offer a six-deck blackjack game. This is to stop card counting which can give players an advantage, but those playing online from home or anywhere on a mobile device can gain access to a blackjack betting chart that advises the best strategic move for every hand. If you are playing at a brick-and-mortar casino you cannot sit at a table with the chart, so will have to memorise all strategies.

Strategy

If the player has a good card like an ace, seven, eight, nine or 10-card, the strategy should be to draw until a total of 17 or more is reached. All strategic decisions must also take into account the dealer's hand. If the dealer's upcard is a poor card, like a four, five or six, the player stops at a total of 12 or higher to reduce the risk of going bust, hoping for the dealer to go over 21. If the dealer's card is one, two or three, the player should stop at a total of 13 or higher.

Natural

If a player's first two cards equal 21, this is known as a "natural" and the player wins unless the dealer also has a natural, in which case the game is a tie and the round starts again with the player taking back the betting chips.

Soft hand

An ace and a card that is a value other than 10 is called a "soft hand". Players can count the ace as a one or 11. The best strategy is for players to keep hitting until they reach at least 18 since the value of the ace can change until the player decides to stick.

Dealers hand

The decisions about whether to stand, hit or stick in the dealer's hand is not a choice but follow rigid rules. For example, when the dealer's hand has a value of 17 or more, it must stand. To help memorise strategies, it is worth knowing the rules for the dealer's hand.

Splitting pairs

If the player is dealt a pair as the first two cards, they can become two separate hands, though a bet equal to the first must be added to the second hand. When it comes to strategy, players should always split a pair of aces or eights. Do not split all pairs, as they may be more valuable together. Do not split a pair of four, fives or tens. Twos, threes and sevens can be split, but not if the dealer has an eight, nine, ten-card, or ace. Sixes should not be split unless the dealer's card is poor (two through six).

Double down

Players can double down their bet when their first two cards have a value of nine, 10, or 11. A dealer hand cannot split or double down. Players should double down with a total of 11. And with 10, unless the dealer has a 10-card or an ace. A player should only double down on nine if the dealer's hand value is between two and six.